After a Quiet Start, Tasha’s Excellent Work Speaks Loudly
Tasha Whitt has come a long way in a year and a half. She admitted when she first applied for a Care Professional’s job at Home Instead® of Mount Airy that she was a bit fearful. She overcame that fear and then the normal job challenges to soar to the honored status as Care Pro of the Month in January at the award-winning franchise owned by Van and Ann Lankford
Tasha found Home Instead one day by driving past the office. After she went inside and completed an application, she recalled: “I got so nervous that I ended up not going back. After about four months, I went back and explained how nervous I was and didn’t know if the job was for me. They gave me another chance and told me not to be nervous, just be myself so I did. I absolutely love my job.”
While announcing Tasha’s honor, Home Instead Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe said: “Tasha was so quiet when we hired her, but she has been a great addition to our Care Pro team.” Among the considerations for achieving Care Pro of the Month status, an employee has shown he or she has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Empathy and compassion are taken into account for
the award, as well as skill and wisdom for dealing with challenging situations. Tasha embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
A momentous day in Tasha’s Care Pro journey came with her first client, whom she had been warned “could be a little on the grumpy side.” Fact of the matter is, for some reason, Tasha didn’t enter the undertaking with trepidation. “After I was warned, I laughed aloud because I tend to take challenging situations with a grain of salt. I was OK with the warning as I entered the first day with the client. We kicked it off on the right foot, and every day was always something new,” Tasha said.
The client enjoyed cooking and grilling, so every day he and Tasha would always cook or grill.
“One day we planned on grilling steaks and had some side dishes to go with them. The client dropped the macaroni shells and got mad. I told him it was OK. He told me to go ahead and laugh. Would you believe that when it was time for the steaks, I had dropped them. He laughed so hard and said, ‘Well, let’s go have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.’ You just had to be there to see how funny that day was. He was very special to me because he was my first client. He has passed away. I miss him dearly,” Tasha said.
Based on her Home Instead success and family-caregiving experience, Tasha may simply have underestimated her caregiving ability when she first applied at Home Instead. “I’ve had to help look after my father-in-law after he had to have one of his legs amputated. I’ve learned a lot from that,” Tasha said, when thinking of her family-caregiving challenges.
Describing what she likes most about her Home Instead job, Tasha said: “Every client is different. I get to hear all different kinds of stories from my clients. One served in the Navy and was stationed in the Philippines. Other clients received the opportunities to live in South America for half of their lives and also got to travel around the world. Other clients worked at a college. I really enjoy listening to all of my clients and hearing about the lives they lived. I
always walk in with a smile on my face, and I’m ready to hear what they have to tell me today. I always want to make sure I listen.”
Tasha loves being a part of the Care Pro team for the North Carolina franchise, a member of a network comprised of Home Instead, Inc. and its parent company, Honor. With the world’s largest home-care network and the most advanced care platform, Honor and Home Instead are revolutionizing care for older adults, their families and Care Pros. Combined, the network has more than 100,000 Care Pros across 13 countries, meeting the growing needs of millions of older adults and their families worldwide.
“When I go to work, I always make sure to show the clients nothing but respect and kindness from my heart. I deeply care about every client, whether I am their regular Care Pro or a fill-in,” Tasha said. “Who knows? Maybe one day, it will be my mom or dad who needs a Care Pro, and I hope my parents will receive the same compassionate, skilled care that I give to my clients.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (336) 344-8231 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
