Suzanne Is Honored as CAREGiver of Year
The CAREGiver of the Year spotlight brightly shines on Suzanne MacDonald after three previous honors for CAREGiver of the Month at the award-winning Home Instead® franchise in Lubbock, Texas, owned by Tracy and Terry Baugh. Suzanne embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart” at the only home-care agency in Lubbock County to be recognized as a 2021 Caring Super Star. Suzanne is the best of the best among an all-star CAREGiver team.
Speaking for the Home Instead office, Suzanne’s clients and their family members, Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Juanita Camacho said: “Suzanne’s amazing. There are not enough words to thank her for her service to our clients. Suzanne is a beautiful person inside and out. When we talk, she truly warms my heart because she’s so kind and caring.”
Suzanne’s first CAREGiver of the Month honor came in January 2014, followed by awards in December 2020 and November 2021. “As time flows quickly through the hourglass,” Juanita said, “so have Suzanne’s years with Home Instead since she started in December 2010. I emphasize Suzanne’s time with us has been beautifully meaningful and valuable to our clients and their family members.”
To Suzanne, the clients’ quality of that meaningful time with her is closely tied to her goal of attempting to maintain as much independence for them as possible while also keeping them safe.
“I am always observing in this role as a CAREGiver the needs my clients have to keep their independence. Independence is such a strong part of their lives, and it is an honor to be there for them when they need me,” Suzanne said. “I have four wonderful seniors, three ladies and one gentleman, with whom I am so happy to be working. They are all four somewhat independent in the fact they live alone but require a few hours a week for assistance.”
Suzanne added: “All of these clients are a joy to work with. They each have their own different issues, but they all love their independence. However, they are all very appreciative of the help they receive.”
- “One client lives in a care community, and she basically needs help with bathing and some stand-by assistance while eating.”
- “Whether it be running errands together, grocery shopping, going to the craft store or taking them to their medical appointments, it really means so much to them.”
- “They also are appreciative of the assistance with preparing a meal or help with cleaning tasks and laundry if needed. It makes me happy and content to know the help and caring we provide for our clients is what Home Instead is all about.”
Explaining her job fulfillment with Home Instead during the past 11 years, Suzanne said: “I love the feeling at the end of my shifts when the clients thank me and tell me how much they appreciate the assistance. I have been very fortunate to get to work with the clients I am now assisting, as well as the others who I have helped in the past. I have felt such an awesome and rewarding feeling while working with my clients.”
Suzanne has had many unforgettable experiences. Thinking back more than a year, Suzanne paid tribute to a 93-year-old client who passed away in October 2020. Suzanne had helped the 24/7 client for almost two years. “Oh, she was so much fun,” Suzanne said. “When I started with her, we CAREGivers were taking her outside the home all the time. I got to do that for a few months, and it was fun. She’d say, ‘Wow, this is great.’ She loved to go to little stores and shop. She liked to look at jewelry.”
The client was disappointed when she couldn’t go out. That happened when weather did not allow it. “All CAREGivers loved to take her out. She’d get dressed up and ready to go out in style. She had beautiful clothes and wore heels. I never had a client like that. It was a good client-CAREGiver relationship, and I felt we were friends. I wasn’t the only CAREGiver who felt that way. She loved all of her CAREGivers, and we had a good group helping her. She lighted up a lot of lives. She was so cute and had a cute personality. Everybody loved her,” Suzanne said.
The client always had rebounded from challenges, including a successful rehabilitation stint after recovering from a fall. She also rebounded from a bout with pneumonia. Two months before her death, she began to have a loss of appetite and started a slow decline. “She was weaker and needed more help in October. It wasn’t a shock when she passed away. She had always bounced back, but not in October. It was her time. As far as we and her nurse could tell, she did not have COVID-19. Her little body was winding down. I miss her,” Suzanne said.
Listing superlatives for Suzanne, Juanita offered:
- “Suzanne is a critical part of the beautiful ministry of caring for others.”
- “She has a warm, caring smile that wins over the hearts of our clients as she cares for our clients with compassion, dignity and love.”
- “Suzanne has a gentle way of gaining the trust of our clients, who know she genuinely cares about their health and well-being.”
- “She can adjust to any given situation. She has experienced many changes in her journey as a Home Instead CAREGiver.”
- “Suzanne communicates well with our clients, the clients’ families, her co-workers and our Home Instead office.”
- “She is a great Home Instead representative. We are grateful to have her on our team!”
Suzanne is a member of a highly rated organization. For the third time, Home Instead was honored with a Caring Super Star for its home-care service excellence in consumer ratings and Caring.com reviews. “Caregiving is simply doing things to enhance the quality of life for older adults and help keep them independent for as long as possible,” franchise co-owner Tracy Baugh said. “We like to say it takes a special person to become a Home Instead CAREGiver, not a special degree. It can be a rewarding career for individuals from every walk of life and age group.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (806) 281-4663 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
