February CAREGiver of the Month

Susan is our CAREGiver of the month for February! She has been a caregiver with us since September, 2012. Susan has a fantastic sense of humour. She’s personable and caring; a wonderful caregiver and a real pleasure to be around.

We asked her why she decided to become a caregiver, her most memorable moments, advice for new caregivers and what she likes to do when she’s not working.

“I decided to become a CAREGiver because I felt that Home Instead offered me the best opportunity to provide quality care to seniors. I have worked in hospitals, care homes and other home care companies and have always felt uneasy with the almost "production line" quality of care provided to the patients. With Home Instead, it is clear that our clients are truly valued, and I am given an opportunity to provide a level of care that I can be proud of.

An amazing project that I have been working on with my current client over the past year or so is helping her to record her life story. I can't even begin to describe the privilege of hearing of her awesome journey, and helping her preserve her story for the generations to come. Honestly, the wisdom (not to mention the university level history lessons!) I am gleaning from this project is so beneficial to me. The biggest perk of my job is that I have been blessed with a dear friend that I otherwise would not have met. My client and I share the same sort of humor and nothing beats sharing a laugh or two with a friend for a couple of hours!

My advice to any new CAREGivers would be to really get to know their clients. Pay attention and notice the little things that make them smile, or more relaxed, and do what you can to make your time with them the highlight of their day. Maybe what is required to brighten their day isn't on the care plan, but if you go that one step further to make your client happy, you won't regret it. To quote one of my kids’ favourite movies, "See a need, fill a need!"

My husband, our four kids (and the cat and dog, too) and all their activities keep me pretty busy when I am not at work. To be honest, my time at work feels more like a day off then my time at home! On weekends I can be seen cheering my girls on in basketball or not seen at all because I have been buried by mountain of laundry. If I find my way out of the laundry room unscathed, then I help out with children's ministries on Sundays.  My guilty pleasures are tea, chocolate, gardening, Pinterest and running marathons on Netflix.”

Thanks so much, Susan. We appreciate having you as one of our caring CAREGivers!