There may be no higher compliment for CAREGiver of the Month Donna Gentles-Clarke than to be considered a family member. Her 89-year-old client believes Donna is her daughter. "It makes me feel good. I get along very well with her daughter and other family members. Her family appreciates me. My client also likes the fact that we share the same first name," said Donna, who has served the widow for about eight months.
The two also have a spiritual bond. "She is strongly faith-based. I pray with her every day when I come in. She likes her Gospel music and has a lovely singing voice, so I play the music for her. She was very, very active in her church," said Donna, who holds five 12-hour shifts a week with the client who receives 24/7 care from owner Greg Gomez-Mira's award-winning Home Instead Senior Care franchise in Houston.
When Donna is not with the client, she frets. In the evenings when Donna leaves, the client hugs her, cries and asks, "Will you come back?" Donna is careful not to mention when her back-to-back days off arrive in order to alleviate stress. "Her memory comes and goes," Donna said. "When tough times come, I know how to deal with it. For one thing, I keep quiet and calm. Then I ask how I can help her. She comes back around. She says, 'I love you, and I am sorry if I upset you.' "
Donna's client, who uses both a walker and wheelchair, is an active senior. "She spends very little time in bed. There are no naps. I take her outside for sunshine — we call it 'Vitamin D time.' Sometimes we drive over to the park and watch people," Donna explained.
They have a good, consistent morning routine when Donna arrives. The preparations include personal care, breakfast and dressing, which is important to the client. "Looking good has never left her memory. She really likes to dress up and look good. I help her with such things as her earrings and fix her hair. She knows exactly what she wants, including outfits, lipstick and makeup, earrings, hair, everything. She had dressed very well for her secretarial career. Sometimes she tells me she worked very hard," said Donna, who pointed out that the client's daughter from Houston and son from Arkansas visit often.
As they age, some seniors tend to lose their appetite, but not this client, who loves Donna's good meal preparation. "She has a good appetite and likes 'proper food,' such as steak, fish and chicken. I make her food from scratch. Every evening, she has a bowl of ice cream," Donna said.
Donna's detailed, compassionate and skillful approach to care made her an easy choice for the franchise's CAREGiver of the Month in May, Scheduling Coordinator Rebecca Garcia said. With Donna, the franchise added an exceptionally experienced senior-care specialist when she joined Home Instead on her birthday, Jan. 8, two years ago.
Donna was a CNA for eight years in her native Jamaica before she moved in 2013 to New Jersey, where she worked in home care. It is in New Jersey where Donna's son just graduated from the Rutgers University medical school. He also graduated with a bachelor's degree from Rutgers after receiving a scholarship. Donna's 19-year-old daughter just finished her second year at Rutgers, where she is pursuing a medical research degree. "I am very proud of both of them," Donna said. "They are going to have careers where they will be helping people."
That is exactly what Donna did before she became a CNA. "When I was growing up, I did child care. I also went to the hospital and helped while growing up. I grew up wanting to be a CNA. When I was 19, I was taking care of my grandmother. We were living in the same house together, my grandmother, my mom and me," Donna explained. "Later, I took care of Mom for maybe 11 years. She had a hole in her heart and also had Alzheimer's. I took care of her until 2003, when she died."
Donna said she is happy and comfortable with Home Instead Senior Care. "It is a very good, nice and caring company. I like the way they put you on the job – making CAREGiver-client matchups – and how they make sure you are in a safe environment. The office also calls and checks up on how things are going with the client. They drop in and see you and the client, and I like that. Greg is a very good boss. They are all good people in the office," Donna said.
Home Instead CAREGivers, who are screened, trained, bonded and insured, provide a variety of non-medical services to help keep seniors independent. For inquiries about employment with Home Instead Senior Care, please call (713) 955-1909, email Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Margi Kenny at margi.kenny@homeinstead.com or fill in the email prompts at our Home Care Jobs page. Home Instead Senior Care also accepts online applications to become an in-home caregiver. For further information about the company, visit Home Instead Senior Care, or to learn more about the company's senior home care services, view our digital brochure. Our Home Instead Senior Care franchise serves Houston, Arcola, Bellaire, First Colony, Fresno, Greatwood, Iowa Colony, Lake Olympia, Meyer Park, Meyerland, Missouri City, Pearland, Quail Valley, Riverstone, Rosharon, Shadow Creek Ranch, Sienna Plantation, Stafford, Sugar Land, Sunnyside, Sweetwater, Thompsons and Westbury.
