Julie Is Glad She Found Home Instead
Before Julie Jackson joined Home Instead® of Martinsburg, her big, compassionate heart had been aching. Six years of helping a paralyzed woman on behalf of another home-care agency had ended when the Maryland client died. “She was a special lady who was a kindred spirit and was determined to live in her home,” Julie said.
“In order to take care of her,” Julie explained, “I had to learn a lot. For instance, she needed to be moved with a Hoyer lift. When I first started with her, I felt so ‘green,’ and I developed a lot of confidence as time went on. A long time ago, I had worked in a nursing home as a CNA, but I had not done that kind of work for a long time.”
Home Instead, its clients and their family members benefited when Julie carefully chose her next step. “I had to look around for another company after losing the client, and I joined Home Instead in June 2017. I found Home Instead online, although I had seen the Home Instead card in a medical-supply office,” Julie said.
Home Instead was a godsend for Julie, who’d actually worked for two other agencies before joining the award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. “Home Instead is superior to the two other employers. I am happier with Home Instead than the others. Home Instead’s office staff members are kind and considerate. They talk to you like a human, and I do not feel like a component in a machine,” Julie said.
Julie could not have foreseen the fact that she’d be an immediate hit with Home Instead’s staff after her first shift with a dementia client in Berkeley Springs. When she began helping the client with bathing, Julie noticed serious sores on the client’s legs. “I was startled and immediately informed her son. I wanted to get her to the hospital to have her checked out and treated, and he agreed,” Julie recalled.
When Julie told the client’s son she’d go to the hospital with his mother, the son was impressed. “Of course I was going. The client was a real sweetheart, and we were at the hospital for an hour and a half. As time went on, she healed,” Julie said. After that day at the hospital, the client’s son called the Home Instead office and praised Julie.
Julie handled weekend duties as Home Instead’s only CAREGiver to assist the client, who received care from another source on weekdays. There evidently was a contrast of care because Julie was puzzled when she read reports about weekday care that included details of tension. “She was a sweet person, but things did not seem to go well on weekdays. I had a different experience with her and never saw her in the negative light. She had a bad fall on a weekday, went to the hospital, came home, went downhill physically and passed away. That hurt, too, because she felt like family to me,” Julie said.
Julie has been with a 94-year-old client since starting with Home Instead and shares night shifts with another CAREGiver. Julie is reluctant to leave her client, other than for days off. “Her family wanted someone they could depend on. I don’t ask for time off. I do the extra and work with her at every opportunity. I worked an entire week in January when the other CAREGiver’s mother passed away. Our staffing coordinator and lead scheduler, Nina Eastham, set up a really nice schedule for the client and me,” Julie said.
It was no surprise when Marilyn Stokes, Home Instead’s client care coordinator and office administrator, announced Julie had been honored as Martinsburg’s CAREGiver of the Month. The client writes for the local newspaper and mentioned Julie and her co-worker in her column for the care they provide. “That was a nice surprise because she usually doesn’t say much about the care. We’re with her overnight, and she has great family support during the day from a niece, who was a registered nurse, and a nephew. The niece checks on her every day,” Julie explained.
“The client is very sharp and amazes me. She knows so much history of the county and has a good memory. She’s been with Home Instead for five or six years, since she came home from hip surgery. She needed someone to stay with her at night. Besides being sharp, she’s tough. She grew up on a farm and was the oldest of three girls. She worked hard.”
The client situation is a good one for Julie. “She is nice, and I live close by. Her spirits are good, and she receives good support from her niece and nephew. All of those factors add up, and I’d like to stay with her. Once I get a client and bond, I like to stay with them. Relationships are important to me.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (304) 263-4472 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
