Scarmientha Began Caregiving by Taking Care of Siblings
Home Instead® CAREGiver of the Month Scarmientha Codio has been helping people – both young and old – for as long as she can remember. Her huge, compassionate heart, which seems to have grown exponentially each year since her teenage days, has served her well as she pursues her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at La Salle University as well as taking care of seniors on behalf of the Home Instead franchise owned by Steve Levin.
With 12 siblings, Scarmientha has vivid family caregiving memories from her childhood. “Growing up, I always took care of the little ones. So, caregiving was part of my routine. As I took care of my siblings, I also helped my parents clean and cook. Both of my parents worked, so I helped my siblings get ready for school and assisted them with tutoring. I also took care of my grandma while I was in high school because she was sick for a long time. I helped bathe her in the mornings and got her ready for breakfast,” Scarmientha recalled.
In high school, Scarmientha was accepted to an Allied Health internship program, which gave her the opportunity to work with certified nursing assistants and registered nurses. “Through my Allied Health program,” Scarmientha said, “I was trained to be a caregiver.” She formally was known as a nurse intern at the program at the Eastern Center for Arts & Technology in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. The internship ran from September 2018 to May 2019.
“I shadowed doctors and nurses throughout their day and helped take care of the patients. This involved feeding patients and helping them to their room or other places in the hospital. The internship allowed me to gain extensive clinical experience and earn 100-plus community hours at different health-care facilities,” Scarmientha explained.
Scarmientha also served as a volunteer at the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church of Philadelphia from September 2017 to December 2019. Among her duties, she helped with children and also interpreted for new church members as well as translating the pastors’ messages and speeches. Those responsibilities were perfect for Scarmientha, who grew up in a diverse community where she was not only able to learn English, Creole and French, but she also communicated with people of different backgrounds and cultures.
In January 2020, Scarmientha joined the award-winning Home Instead franchise in downtown Philadelphia. “I found Home Instead through my own online research. I was looking for a job related to the field of nursing because I knew I wanted more experience while in nursing school. Home Instead works best for me when you consider both my school’s academic load and my work schedule. Home Instead is flexible, and my employer understood my needs. I work for Home Instead because the job gives me a wide range of experiences and great opportunities to continue my learning,” said Scarmientha, who also is working on a minor in psychology as she takes aim at her goal of being a nurse practitioner.
In September, Home Instead General Manager Charlea Lyn Grieco announced Scarmientha had been honored as a CAREGiver of the Month. “What I like most about my job is the one-on-one interaction with the people for whom I care. I have learned different things from each client, and the clients also trust and talk about their life experiences,” Scarmientha said.
“My favorite story about a client was seeing a client get better over time. When I began working with this client, the client was immobile and needed a lot of help. To see the client get better at walking alone and gaining independence as time went on really brought me joy.”
Scarmientha is among more than 100,000 CAREGivers worldwide, and she has helped add to those numbers because of her strong belief in Home Instead’s purpose. It isn’t hard to see Scarmientha lives the Home Instead principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (215) 925-4610 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
