Home Instead® Caregiver of the Month Linda “Susie” Stewart is a later-day Will Rogers. Susie has never met a client who she hasn’t liked. The affable Rogers, a world-renowned entertainer and humorist who died in 1935, coined the memorable phrase, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” Like Rogers, Susie is a down-to-earth person who meets people “where they’re at in life” and always honors and respects them. Her easy laugh is infectious.
In Susie’s case, the reverse also has proved to be true. Her clients quickly bond with her and love her, including one who recently called the Home Instead office in Winchester and on short notice wanted Susie to come to her house on back-to-back days. Of course, Susie said, “Yes.”
Susie recalled: “The client, a dear lady, met me at the door and gave me a hug. In general, the clients get attached to me. I never met a client who I didn’t like. Even their dogs like me. I have had a couple of them with their clients. The clients are kind people. The bottom line is that I like working with people.”
Susie, who joined Home Instead in December 2022, was an easy choice for Caregiver of the Month in July. General Manager Allyson Starling announced the honor on behalf of owner Keith Clay’s award-winning franchise. Allyson and the other Home Instead office staff members truly appreciate the fact that Susie is up for any challenge, will travel nearly any distance in Home Instead’s Northern Shenandoah Valley coverage area from her home in Maurertown to help a client and always brings an upbeat attitude when she arrives.
Susie has gone to clients in New Market, Front Royal, Woodstock and other towns, and she has a reputation of being one of the franchise’s go-to Caregivers in a pinch. “I get along great with the office girls. They thank me for taking last-minute assignments. I don’t mind doing that. I’m on the go all the time. I never refuse them when they call. I also know if I need anything, they can provide it.”
Before Susie joined Home Instead, she had more than 20 years of experience as a professional caregiver, medication technician and CNA. As a family caregiver, she quit her job at a hospice center to provide 24/7 care for her aging parents, who died three months apart in 2014 when they were in their 80s. “I helped my mother and dad and kept them out of a nursing home. Mom had breast cancer, which she beat once, at least for a while. My dad had a heart problem. I do miss them and am honored to have received the chance to stay with them until they both passed away,” Susie said.
Susie, who had worked for other senior-care agencies and care communities, didn’t have to use a computer to search for job websites before she applied at Home Instead. “I just went to the Home Instead office in person. I had heard a lot of people talk positively about Home Instead, whether they were working for the company or if someone they knew had been a client,” Susie said. “And nothing is different from what I had heard. Home Instead is good people.”
Susie said she has Home Instead in mind for a long-term job. “I am going to continue to work until I am not able to do the job. I am 72, but I don’t act my age – in a good way. I am always upbeat. There’s nothing to be cranky about. That’s not how you live your life. People don’t think I am as old as I am. I don’t feel old, and I intend to keep it that way.”
All Home Instead Caregivers are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please apply online. For further information about Home Instead services, visit our website.
