In the late summer of 2020, Jenny Hernandez, a registered nurse with a number of medical specialty certifications, wanted to take a break from what she called “the tedious politics of hospital care.” Through a series of online connections, Jenny met Recruiting and Retention Coordinator Maegan Coldewey of the award-winning Home Instead® franchise in Victoria.
“There was something special about Maegan that made me want to help her. For one thing, she is so sweet. I might not have taken the CAREGiver job if it had been someone else other than Maegan doing the hiring. When I talked to Maegan, I thought to myself, ‘Let me try this kind of job.’ I thought I ought to get back to practicing care just like I did when I had started many years ago and had dedicated myself to helping others. I like dealing with people the most, not administrative chains,” recalled Jenny, a registered nurse with certifications in areas such as mechanical ventilation, critical care and medication technician.
On April 2, 2020, Jenny achieved the Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification in accordance with the Advanced Certification Institute curriculum and the American Heart Association’s guidelines. As an ACLS provider, Jenny is proficient in the following topics: Adult ACLS Assessment, Cardiac Arrest and Stroke, Respiratory Arrest, ACLS Scenarios, ACLS Pharmacology, Immediate Post-Arrest Care, V-Tach, V-Fib, Asystole, PEA, Bradyarrhythmias, Tachyarrhythmias, High Quality CPR, EKG Arrhythmia Recognition and Team Member Dynamics.
Among her many educational feats, Jenny was certified by the Harvard Medical School for participating in and successfully completing the educational activity for Mechanical Ventilation for COVID-19 on April 23, 2021. The day after the national emergency was announced for COVID-19, Jenny joined the American Red Cross. After its review process, she was placed in the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of Bio Medical Services.
Before Jenny joined Home Instead in September 2020, her family had seen that her previous job weighed heavily on her. She explained further: “It was upsetting, and I knew I had to make a change. I had gotten so far away from treating humans. My job had become impersonal. At Home Instead, there is Maegan, and the co-owners, Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice, give the franchise a nice personal touch. One of them went through the same screening that the other new CAREGivers and I went through. That impressed me. I don’t want to let them down.”
Home Instead had an extraordinary job in mind for Jenny, which consisted of training a 24/7 CAREGiver team for a client. “I can use all my skills and textbook education to help the client and her family. With a specialized client, I am building a team. There are complexities,” Jenny said. “I take my turn with shifts and have worked some long ones. I am an advocate, a protective ‘Mama Bear,’ on her behalf. I adjust day by day. We are watchful all the time.”
Jenny added: “I want to impart an inspiring message about how important it is that every team member has the same goal in mind for serving a client. As the old adage goes, ‘The team is only as strong and effective as its weakest member,’ and I truly believe that. Every CAREGiver brings with him or her a unique and diverse education, training and experiences. I think the greatest gifts we can give of ourselves is taking all we know and all we have to help the client realize and experience a more enriched quality of life. It’s important to find a point of commonality with them and build on that. Establishing trust is the first step to accomplishing a higher quality of life. This enriches the client, and it also enriches ourselves.”
The client has been with Home Instead for a year and a half. Jenny hopes to be able to praise each CAREGiver as “devoted” as they strive for their goals. She said, “It’s not so much having to impart a great deal of knowledge to prepare the CAREGivers. In the balance of expertise and effort, there’s a little more ‘want-to’ than ‘how-to’ involved with the care and a personality who doesn’t take things too personally.”
Jenny added: “In terms of wanting to improve her condition where it is possible, the client is a fighter. I’ve seen some strides that make us feel good. She responds to me because I am a UT Longhorn like she is. She has an athletic competitive spirit, and my stance with her is like a coach wanting her ‘to stretch for more.’ When there are accomplishments, just to look at her face was amazing.”
Thinking of her own personal goals, Jenny would like to aim for a doctorate in nursing in the state of Texas. “I moved back to Texas after years of traveling. I’ve worked all over the U.S., but I love Texas. Someday, I’d like my own clinic and the ability to conduct home-health visits. But I am not leaving the client until we have an effective team,” Jenny said.
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (361) 433-0330 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
