Care Professional of the Month Maeve Tometra is a miracle worker.
The staff at Home Instead® of Boulder, Broomfield and northwest Adams Counties is eager to testify to that fact. “Maeve stepped in and literally saved the client. Maeve is humble about it, but we firmly believed she performed a miracle,” Client Care Coordinator Stojanka Mikulic said. Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Brenda Munro offered: “There’s a big story concerning Maeve, a really big one.”
Stojanka explained: “The client, a bachelor who lived alone, had undergone a massive weight loss and was seldom eating or drinking because he did not have an appetite or thirst. He had all kinds of medical issues, including dehydration. Maeve is an amazing Care Pro who knows so much about all aspects of caregiving because she has been a nurse for a number of years. She really helped him when no one else could. Maeve put in overtime to make sure the client was improving and had a clean environment. The client was saying, ‘Somebody please help me.’ Maeve has a sweetheart for a client.”
Stojanka added: “Maeve corrected the hygiene situation. She also got him on the right diet. At first, when he looked like skin and bones, he gained 32 pounds with Maeve’s help. I went to see him after Maeve had begun assisting him. What a huge difference she has made in his life. He has had no new infections since she began helping him. His medications are working well. His doctors previously had given him two to three years to live. What Maeve has done is amazing in my eyes. She poured herself into his care. She’s been with him for more than three months.”
Stojanka noted that Maeve leads the client’s Care Pro team, advising them because she knows exactly what he needs. “Maeve figured out what happened, and she formulated a plan. She feels so good about the progress he’s made,” Stojanka said.
Maeve spent 27 years in nursing and has been with Home Instead for more than three years.
“This client is the best case I’ve had for my entire career. He is a total sweetheart who wants to improve his physical condition. I can say Home Instead found my favorite client ever. He is a treasure who is a loving soul. We all are his family. His Home Instead team is five people. I stay until 9 p.m. We always celebrate a good night of sleep for him. His sleep has improved.
Home Instead entered the client’s life through the client’s physical therapist, who became his care manager.
Maeve said: “The client had to go to the hospital as a result of a fall and was very fortunate to end up with a very compassionate physical therapist who involved our Home Instead franchise by initiating the call to us. She found our Home Instead franchise through the word of mouth. She wanted the best for him. When I met the client, I thought, ‘He is so cool, so really awesome and brilliant. He is a walking treasure who made his mark in the world of music.’ We talked about his condition. He needed nutritious food that was warm and made with love. He needed pure nutritious juices and ample water, given with encouragement and love. When I explained all the physiological benefits, he tuned right in, because he is intelligent and broadminded.”
Maeve added: “The first time I weighed him, he was 128 pounds and weak. Now he weighs 159 pounds, sometimes 160, which is a gain of 32 pounds. Now he walks often, four to five times every week. His physical therapist, who is very dear to him and is his life manager, showed the staff the best way to safely manage his walker and wheelchair. The rest of the team is the best, take good care of him and cheer him up.”
Maeve knows a lot about nutrition, among many other things in the medical world, as a licensed nurse. She is a Licensed Practical Nurse who is tracheostomy and ventilator respiratory certified, and also wound-care certified.
“I have studied holistic nutrition, and I drew from that knowledge and my own practices to help him. As a nurse, I like the one-on-one of in-home care. Among other jobs, I used to be a charge nurse who has more than 40 patients at a time. Then I was a private-duty nurse, but travel for the clients outside of the Boulder area got to be too much. For seven years in another job, I was driving 90 minutes one way. Eventually, I tried Home Instead, which is flexible,” Maeve said.
With the Home Instead client, Maeve said: “I got buy-in from him immediately for an extensive care plan. He is not close-minded. He is kind to everyone who is helping him. He is very receptive and open. He needed help. He listened because he said he knew I had knowledge of matters that could help him. For my part, I am positive and provide reinforcement and encouragement. He never says anything negative about anyone. He is a special person.”
Maeve added: “At the beginning, it took five or six days before he started feeling stronger. Three weeks later, registered nurses from an agency gave me their feedback on his condition and shook my hand. The client agreed that he was feeling better. I am steady about my approach to his care. He says, ‘Thank you so much!’ He is the star of this show.”
Home Instead staff members say Maeve is like a daughter to the client, but the 80-year-old humorously calls her “Mom” because of the way Maeve has shepherded the entire situation so successfully. Stojanka said: “The client is happy, and his smile just shines. When we took his case, he told us he thought he would die. I am speechless. There are no words.”
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.
