Alex Does Whatever Is Necessary to Help Clients
Home Instead® Lead Scheduler Christy Sizemore loves to brag about her Winchester franchise’s CAREGivers, and she wanted to especially shine the spotlight in June on CAREGiver of the Month Calixto “Alex” Ramirez. Allyson Starling and Kristi Piotter, who are managers for the Winchester and Martinsburg Home Instead franchises, concurred.
Christy explained: “Recently, one of Alex’s clients called our Home Instead office and asked if Alex could come in early. But Alex already had scheduled a doctor’s appointment at that time. An hour later, Alex called our Home Instead office and told us he could go in earlier for the client because he had changed his own appointment so he could be there for him.”
Christy Sizemore added: “Alex has become a great help to the Winchester office. He is willing to drive from his home in West Virginia to Winchester to help us. Alex has gone to a three-hour shift with one of our clients who lived a round-trip distance of 150 miles. Alex is always willing to help us at the last minute. He has a way of making clients feel comfortable. He cares about his clients. Our Winchester clients love Alex and call our Home Instead office to request him again.”
Alex recalled seeing a road sign last year for the award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves the Northern Shenandoah Valley. He went to the Home Instead office at 1400 Amherst Street on the northwest side of Winchester and applied. With Alex, Home Instead gladly welcomed a veteran senior-care specialist who had worked as a CNA in Maryland at the same nursing home facility for 25 years.
“My experience includes working in the facility’s dementia unit. I retired in 2015. Later, I tried two other jobs before I joined Home Instead, including a home-care job for about a year,” Alex said. “With Home Instead, I have helped clients for both of owner Keith Clay’s franchise offices, including the one in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Most of my clients are from Virginia. For me, driving is no problem.”
Detailing the night-and-day differences in jobs he has held, Alex said: “One-on-one care obviously has its advantages. In a facility, a CNA might have responsibilities for 15 or more residents. It was a hard challenge sometimes, but I survived. As I am getting older, I still like to take care of people, but I am not as much on my feet constantly with one-on-one care of a Home Instead employee. You are helping all different kinds of clients with different challenges. I am patient with all of them. Of course, you lose some, and that is the sad part of the job.”
In addition to his strong companionship skills, Alex provides safety assurance, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping, and transportation and errands. Alex and other CAREGivers offer personal assistance with eating, grooming, dressing, bathing, incontinence care, dementia support, cognitive impairment, hospice support and mobility assistance. By expertly doing so, CAREGivers not only assist their clients, but help their families eliminate worry, reduce stress and re-establish personal freedom.
“I want clients to feel comfortable and enjoy life as much as they can. I am enjoying the Home Instead clients. There is a lot of history in their stories. Sometimes they will tell me everything about their lives. Sometimes I hear the same stories over and over, but that is OK because I enjoy what I am doing,” Alex said.
Alex tries to pick up as many hours as he can and usually accepts the assignment when the Home Instead office calls with fill-in shifts. “Sometimes I have worked from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and then took a shift from 4 p.m. to 7 on the same day,” Alex said.
Explaining his eagerness to help his Home Instead schedulers as much as he can, Alex explained: “I am trying to earn a little more money because my son will be starting college in Pittsburgh this fall. He received a college scholarship, but every little bit helps. He will be working on a degree in information technology. He earned five academic medals before he graduated magna cum laude from high school in May. I am proud of him, and yes – of course – he is proud of me, too.”
Alex is among more than 90,000 CAREGivers worldwide, and he has helped add to those numbers because of his strong belief in Home Instead’s purpose. It isn’t hard to see Alex lives the Home Instead® principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (540) 722-8750 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
