Janet Has Made a Career of Helping Others
Welcome to Home Instead® of Ocala’s CAREGiver Spotlight. Each month, one of our amazing CAREGivers will be randomly selected to share their story with their peers — YOU. We know you will enjoy reading and learning more about Janet.
Janet is the ultimate “people person.” And “pet person.” Really, anyone or anything she can help.
For example, many of Janet’s Home Instead clients have pets, and she is happy to also care for them. One client had two cats, and he was bound for a nursing home where he was allowed to keep one cat. “The client’s daughter was upset, crying one evening and telling me she’d have to put one of the cats to sleep because she had no other choice. I told her I’d take the cat. After all, I had been taking care of them while I’d cared for her father,” Janet recalled.
The client’s daughter thanked Janet as she took the cat and provided tender loving care. “Sadly, three months after I took the cat, my veterinarian said the cat had bladder cancer and was in a lot of pain. I loved that cat, and it was painful to let her go,” Janet said. “The vet provided a death certificate, an urn with her ashes and some pictures I’d taken with her on her last day. I have her buried beside my other cat. No matter who the client is, I have a favorite story with each one.”
Perhaps Janet’s best client memory is singing with a client for whom music had a great impact. “We’d sing along with the songs of yesteryear and Christmas. She was just a joy,” Janet said.
Singing also evoked a powerful Christmas remembrance for a hospice client and her family. “The client was near the end of care. Three daughters were at the home one evening with her and their father. I was tending to their mother while the girls were in the kitchen,” Janet explained.
“I began singing ‘Silent Night,’ and the girls came out of the kitchen. They looked at their mother, who was smiling for the first time since they were there. She even tried to sit up, looking at them and smiling. Two daughters began to cry and they said, ‘Look, she’s smiling.’ They asked why I started singing. I said, ‘It just came over me, since she had been looking at the Christmas lights beside her bed.’ ” The daughters thanked Janet.
Janet’s memories with a 6-foot-5 client stood tall. “He was a big gentleman, and it was a joy to work with him. We had long discussions on just about everything after I’d given him a shower. We’d go out in the garden and sit for a while. I always enjoyed talking with him,” Janet said.
Each memory is invaluable to Janet, who summed up her experiences by saying: “What I like most about being a Home Instead CAREGiver is helping people be the best they can be while dealing with whatever circumstance they find themselves in.”
More than just her body of work with Home Instead of Ocala, Janet has led an impactful life that has added significance to other people’s lives. Included, of course, are her family members. “The only personal experience I have as a family caregiver is that of raising my children,” she said.
But Janet has always worked with others, pointing out: “I’ve worked in retail for many years and in education for a number of years. I also served in various community organizations with a focus on people becoming the best they can be and helping them work through barriers that were hindering them in achieving that goal.”
In 2005, Janet graduated from Central Florida Community College and received an Associate of Arts degree in Social Work, a degree she has used to help many others.
Janet explained: “I’ve worked in various capacities whereby seniors, young people and children have benefited. I served as a senior activities leader, where I worked with seniors who were diagnosed with a disability such as depression, schizophrenic or bipolar disorder. As long as they were ‘med compliant,’ I would take them to movies, parks, shopping and other various activities. I worked with young men and women who faced difficulties in getting their GED because of challenges such as hunger, no transportation and other issues. I worked with children under the age of 12 with conflict resolution issues, and I’ve worked as a supervisor in juvenile prisons.”
Before Janet joined Home Instead in May 2019, she admitted to feeling “down in the dumps” regarding a former job that began in 2011. “Every time I asked for a raise, they told me they did not have the funding. So, I never got a raise. My husband passed away Feb. 12, 2017. You would think I’d get a raise since I was now living on one salary instead of two. It was as if no one there had any compassion,” Janet said.
One day, Janet was looking through her emails and came across a “Become a Caregiver” advertisement. When she clicked into the email, it gave several places where she could apply to become a caregiver. Janet responded to two of them; one was Home Instead. “On the next day, I received an email from Home Instead Human Resources Coordinator Richard Castillo, who asked if I could come in for an interview. I responded quickly,” Janet recalled.
Home Instead Home Care Consultant Anthoni Simonelli and franchise owner Carolyn Quintanilla are glad Janet sent the email to their award-winning office on Ocala, where the office staff was eager to offer Janet a job where she could greatly impact seniors and their families in Marion County. Anthoni said: “Janet truly is an outstanding CAREGiver. She will excel in any scenario regardless of the client or situation. July happens to be her birthday month, which is even more reason to celebrate Janet.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (352) 622-6447 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
