The Home Instead® client was a man of few words because of the effects of his brain cancer. But when CAREGiver of the Month Lisa Rutherford pulled up to the client’s home one day, the client peered out a bay window and said, “Here comes ‘Miss Queenie.’ ” Lisa isn’t sure how she got her nickname, but everyone else knew they were words of praise for a CAREGiver who treated her client like a king.
“I always tended to his every wish and encouraged him. Even though it was one-sided in terms of spoken words, I still carried on conversations with him, just to get him to smile. You can see facial expressions and read the body language. It is important to have conversations with your clients. He was special to me. I feel that way about all of my clients in one way or another. My time with this client was too short,” Lisa said.
The client’s good friend noticed his interaction with Lisa after a shift or two, and his friend called the scheduler at Home Instead of Martinsburg and requested Lisa for more shifts because of the impact she was having. Sadly, the 72-year-old client passed away. Lisa received a card from the late client’s friend for the care Lisa had compassionately provided. “It was a sweet card. I will never throw it away,” Lisa said.
Clients and their families quickly notice Lisa’s soothing, empathetic touch. “One client keeps asking me if I would stay and then asks if I will come back. It touches your heart. It feels good to have made a great impression on him. As far as the clients go, I try to put myself in their shoes. This is what I was meant to do. This is God’s work. I have my faith, but I am not perfect,” said Lisa, who joined the award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in October 2020.
Nina Eastham and Allyson Starling are pleased to have Lisa aboard as a Home Instead CAREGiver. Nina is the supervisor at the Martinsburg office. Splitting her time between the Martinsburg franchise and owner Keith Clay’s other franchise in Winchester, Virginia, Allyson is a manager who works in the human relations department and in recruitment and retention. Allyson announced Lisa’s CAREGiver of the Month honor.
Before Lisa became a professional caregiver, she already had experience as a family caregiver. “I helped with caregiving when I was young. My grandmother would live with us for a while, and other family members took turns by having her stay with them. It was an early senior-care experience for me because she would take sponge baths instead of showering or regular baths. She was afraid because she had fallen in the bathtub. Later on, she developed dementia. Grandma was a beautiful woman who had the longest, most beautiful hair,” Lisa said.
Lisa’s professional caregiving began at age 18 and has continued for 36 years. For a time, she drove a school bus, which is a unique kind of challenging care. “By the time I joined Home Instead, I already had worked for a different in-home care company. I was familiar with Home Instead and had seen a company car wrapped with Home Instead advertising,” Lisa said.
Professional senior care often can offer more challenges than family caregiving. Lisa is always up for the challenges and doesn’t hesitate to take hospice assignments. “One client has trouble sleeping and has nightmares. He wakes up every 10 to 15 minutes. He is scared because he imagines himself falling, I held his hand that night and told him everything was OK,” Lisa said.
When asked what she envisioned for the future, Lisa said, “Home Instead is my future.”
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.
