Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Anne Wenzel’s journey from family caregiver to volunteer caregiver to private-duty caregiver and finally to a professional senior-care agency with Home Instead included an amazing number of twists and turns. In fewer than three months with owner Michael Lammers’ award-winning Home Instead franchise in Louisville, Colorado, Anne was honored as Care Pro of the Month for January. A common thread in her top-notch care at every stage is an emphasis on companionship.
As a family caregiver, Anne took care of her former mother-in-law before the start of COVID-19 in 2020. Anne’s former mother-in-law, 95, was living with her daughter and son-in-law, who both worked full time, so Anne’s family caregiving assistance was a godsend. Five years ago, Anne’s former mother-in-law lost her husband of 70 years, and the elderly woman never recovered from that loss.
Anne explained further: “My former mother-in-law suffered from ongoing grief and depression, and she also had had several falls and periods of rehabilitation. I spent long days keeping her company, letting her retell stories of her life, reading to her, cooking with her and helping with dressing and toileting. She also was beginning to exhibit signs of dementia. Since I had known her from the time she was in her 50s, I could understand why she found it difficult to adjust to the ravages of old age when she had been so active and vital to her family.”
Then, several years ago, Anne became a volunteer peer counselor with the Longmont Senior Center in a program that matches volunteers with seniors who need emotional support, which is done by simply listening. “Oftentimes a client was housebound and lonely,” Anne said, “so a visit from one of us volunteer peer counselors was the highlight of his or her week.”
Anne then struck out on her own as a private-duty caregiver and found several elderly clients for whom she could provide light housekeeping, cook and run errands, as well as lend an ear and offer words of support and encouragement. Prior to Anne’s employment with Home Instead, she assisted a 90-year-old man who was legally blind. “He hired me to clean his apartment, but he looked forward to my making his sandwich for lunch. He insisted I make one for myself and have lunch with him. We would have a very nice chat while we ate. This is something he looked forward to,” Anne said.
Another private-duty client, an 85-year-old woman, had just lost her husband and had moved in with her daughter and family who worked full time. Anne said: “She was mourning the loss of her spouse, and she told me that someone coldly told her to ‘just get over it.’ I sat with her and listened, rubbed lotion on her dry legs and made her tea. She was so grateful that she asked me what could she do for me!” One other private-duty client, a 75-year-old widow, lived alone, received few visits from her sons and was depressed. Anne said: “She was unable to keep her apartment clean. I cleaned, changed her bed, ran errands and otherwise listened and chatted with her.”
“In general, I came to realize those seniors’ greatest need is that of being heard and desiring of companionship,” Anne said. “As an employee of Home Instead, I try to incorporate those aspects of care into the list of tasks in the clients’ care plans.”
Anne began working at Home Instead on Oct. 26, 2022, joining a well-established franchise that serves Boulder, Broomfield and northwest Adams Counties. “A good friend who is living in Missouri worked for a Home Instead franchise there and highly recommended this agency,” Anne said. “I decided to return to work for a bit more structure in my life and chose this profession because it is a good fit and in which I have much experience.”
Anne added, “I think I am a caregiver by nature because I have the necessary compassion and attitude to do this kind of work. Also, as an elder myself, I can often identify with my clients’ issues that come with aging. I lend a hand where needed but an important component in caregiving is listening and understanding whatever challenges the client is living with. Recently, one of my Home Instead clients told me she would prefer that some of the cleaning would be set aside and more time spent with her personally. What these clients have in common is their need for company, for a conversation, a compassionate listener.”
Anne’s bottom line as far as understanding seniors is this: “I remind myself that when I’m with a client, this person had a youth, a career, probably a spouse and children, good health and a full life of ups and downs, just like me. Of course, they weren’t always this old person.”
Anne further pointed out: “They want to feel as though they still have some control over their lives, so I let them do things for themselves when it’s safe for them to do so. It requires patience, because it may take longer for them to do whatever it is, but as a Care Professional, I am there to serve the client’s needs and one of those needs is for them to have a sense of independence.”
Home Instead Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Brenda Munro, while announcing Anne’s honor, said: “Anne has worked for us for only a short time, but she is off to an amazing start and is doing a great job with all of her clients. Several of those clients have called the office to sing her praises. It is clear that she is so deserving of her Care Pro of the Month award.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (720) 890-0184 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
