Mercedes Is Always Ready for a Challenge
For the third time in her eight-year Home Instead® career, Mercedes Dawson has been honored as the Philadelphia franchise’s Care Professional of the Month. The March 2023 award follows others in April 2016 and January 2021. Mercedes also has been nominated for Care Pro of the Year at owner Steve Levin's award-winning franchise.
There is no doubt that Mercedes is among Home Instead’s leading “go-to” Care Pros for challenging situations, including the heartbreaking hospice work where an empathetic, compassionate heart is as much of an asset as physical senior-care skills are. Home Instead Service Manager Janelle Muhlanga said: “Mercedes is phenomenal.”
Detailing a client’s final month, Mercedes recently said: “Whatever he asked, I got it for him. At 96 years of age, he deserved it. He was dying. I was there when his life was ebbing away. He held onto my hand and asked me, ‘Are you OK?’ Then he was asked if it was OK for him ‘to go.’ I said it was OK.”
As fate would have it, Mercedes lost another hospice client during the same month.
“That client’s situation was hard to accept. I had her only a couple of months. She was suffering badly, and at age 98, she just wanted ‘to go’ and said so at different times. I told her, ‘God’s not ready for you yet. He is making preparations for you. Let’s hang in there until His time comes.’ She was sharp as a tack with no dementia and was capable of making her own decisions,” Mercedes explained.
Mercedes’ current 80-year-old client learned of a catastrophic medical diagnosis last November after being taken to a hospital. “The doctors told him he’s past the stage for treatments for his condition, and he said he was ‘sent home to die.’ But he has lived on longer than expected. They say it’s because of the care he’s receiving,” Mercedes explained.
Even more stories about Mercedes’ compassionate care abound. Mercedes remembered several years ago when she was more than just a friendly face to a 78-year-old client. Mercedes was an angel, a confidante and like the daughter she never had. One day the client told Mercedes, “I love you so much. I hope you know that.”
From the very start of their relationship, Mercedes was the perfect match for a client who had rejected others who’d tried to help. A Home Instead manager explained: “The client told me Mercedes was so much more than just her Care Pro. Their relationship was very special. With this client, who really thought of her as a daughter, Mercedes worked for two straight weeks in one stretch, and the family considered Mercedes to be part of their family. Mercedes’ compassion and commitment for her clients are commendable.”
Mercedes got her start at Home Instead by accepting a friend’s unqualified recommendation. The friend was a Care Pro at the time and knew Mercedes’ heart. At the time, Mercedes already had had plenty of senior-care experience, including serving as a long-distance family caregiver for her grandmother, who lived in Jamaica before passing away. “I saw how good my aunt was with my grandmother, and it was an inspiration,” Mercedes said. For my job, the Home Instead training has been good, but a person also needs common sense, wisdom and patience. Each client is different, and you have to be prepared to adjust all the time.”
Mercedes wouldn’t want any other job. “This is my gift from God. Growing up, I wanted to be a singer. I never thought I’d be in this field, but this is fulfilling work,” Mercedes said.
She added: “I admit there are challenges. I’ve felt the brunt of those challenges. You need a thick skin, and I have that. You must have compassion and a loving heart. If your heart is not in it, you shouldn’t try to do this job. Sometimes there is a rough start and you might see ‘a tough exterior,’ but you find out the clients just want someone to talk to them. I never give up on them. As far as my future goes, I have no time frame for anything. I want to keep doing my job.”
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.
