Latanya Shows Grace, Wins Over Challenging Client
The day started awkwardly for Latanya Sommerville, but she showed why she was honored as a Care Professional of the Month at Home Instead® of Philadelphia. Among her numerous award-winning caregiving skills, Latanya has compassion, empathy, grace and a very thick skin. She needed the latter to win over a client.
When Latanya went to serve the client for the first time as a fill-in, the client made it clear he did not want Latanya’s help. Latanya said, “Please tell me how your regular Care Pros help you.” The response was swift and certain. He told Latanya, “Sit down and leave me alone.” So, Latanya went to check things out in the kitchen for a half-hour before she noticed the client laboring to get dressed.
Latanya recalled: “I felt I had to offer to assist him because he was struggling to put his pants on.
I quietly asked, ‘Do you need help?’ He didn’t say anything, but he did let me help. Then he started talking to me and let me do what I was supposed to do for him. We got along so well after that.”
Latanya said she did not take offense to their first interaction and pointed out: “Many clients, like this one in particular, are so used to their regular Care Pros, and they don’t want anyone else. You can’t blame them. It is very easy to understand. You have to earn their trust. The client gave in to allowing me to help him, and I generated a smile from him. That made my day.”
Latanya added, “To describe what I like to do best, I would say I like to keep a smile on my clients’ faces. Some of my clients don’t have family, so all they want is companionship, someone with whom to talk. Of course, they also need care, too. All of my attention goes to them, not on my phone. The clients and I play games and talk a lot when they are not dozing off. I just like to see them happy when I’m around.”
Latanya entered her professional caregiving career in 2004, and in July 2023, she joined owner Steve Levin’s Home Instead franchise. “I found out about Home Instead on Indeed.com. When I got my interview, I knew I wanted to work for Home Instead. The interview went so smoothly. The whole office staff is wonderful,” Latanya said. “I’ve been a home health aide for 19 years. This is a wonderful job. It’s really not about the money. You have to have passion and patience to take care of people. I work with all types of people and enjoy doing it.”
Before Latanya came to Home Instead, she had served as a family caregiver for her mother and stepfather, both of whom have passed away. “It was challenging,” Latanya said, “but I loved every bit of taking care of them. I took them to all of their doctors’ appointments. I also performed housekeeping duties, provided medication reminders and helped with personal care. Both had heart problems and kidney failure. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”
When Home Instead Service Manager Janelle Muhlanga announced Latanya’s honor, Janelle pointed out that Latanya displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.” Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown he or she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Latanya offers personal assistance with eating, grooming, dressing, bathing, incontinence care, cognitive impairment, hospice support and mobility. By expertly doing so, Latanya not only assists her clients, but helps their families eliminate worry, reduce stress and re-establish personal freedom.
Latanya loves being a part of the Care Pro team for the Philadelphia franchise, a member of a network comprised of Home Instead, Inc. and its parent company, Honor. With the world’s largest home-care network and the most advanced care platform, Honor and Home Instead are revolutionizing care for older adults, their families and Care Pros. Combined, the network has more than 100,000 Care Pros across 13 countries, meeting the growing needs of millions of older adults and their families worldwide.
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (215) 925-4610 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
