Lisa Finds Treasure While Working With Seniors
CAREGiver of the Month Lisa must have felt like practicing her pirate lingo of the late 1600s and early 1700s as a mood setter one unique day because that was the role her fun-loving 98-year-old client hilariously played.
“Most recently, one of my clients had a short-term, temporary condition that was affecting her eyes and mouth. Because this condition would go away in a couple of weeks, and the fact she is such a happy 98-year-old who likes to joke around, her family sent her a pirate costume. I helped her put her pirate hat and eye patch on. She had a little fake parrot to put on her shoulder. She had so much fun playing her pirate role and even said, ‘Ahoy, Matie!’ in her best pirate voice,” Lisa said. “It is hard to pick a favorite story or memory with a client because I have quite a few, but that one story is a hard one to forget.
Lisa has experienced more than six wonderful years while working for Home Instead® of Lorain County, Ohio, in North Ridgeville, an award-winning franchise owned by Karin Kollar, RN, BSN. “I applied with Home Instead in June 2015 and have enjoyed the time very much. I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by!” Lisa said.
She wanted a job to help someone, young or old. “I was looking for a new job and saw online that Home Instead was hiring. In my job search, I had been thinking about going to work with preschool age children or helping with seniors. I wasn't sure which. Before working at Home Instead, I had previously worked in an office part time. I hadn’t been a caregiver before this Home Instead job, other than taking care of my two children,” Lisa explained.
“There are so many reasons I like being a CAREGiver, but I would have to say it all comes down to being able to help someone do what they can no longer do. It could be the littlest thing for me to do, but it is the biggest, most important thing of the day for a client, The seniors with whom I work with are so grateful and so appreciative. I love learning about my clients and listening to their stories.”
In addition to her strong companionship skills, Lisa provides safety assurance, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and transportation and errands. Lisa and other CAREGivers offer personal assistance with eating, grooming, dressing, bathing, incontinence care, dementia support, cognitive impairment, hospice support and mobility assistance. By expertly doing so, CAREGivers not only assist their clients, but help their families eliminate worry, reduce stress and re-establish personal freedom.
As Lisa mentioned, she loves being a part of the CAREGiver team for the Ohio franchise, a member of a highly successful network founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Home Instead network is the world’s leading provider of in-home care services for older adults, with more than 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 90 million hours of care annually throughout the U.S. and 13 other countries.
Lisa 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 Lisa lives the Home Instead principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
One of Lisa’s favorite sayings is “enjoy the wait, embrace the uncertainty, enjoy the beauty of becoming and when nothing is certain, anything is possible.” She added: “As a CAREGiver, there is never a dull moment, and I never know what a new day will bring when I walk in the door.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (440) 353-3080 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
