Florence Earns Second Care Pro Honor
Poignant on-the-job memories have continued to accumulate since November 2017 for Florence Doss, who has experienced a warm fulfillment and a wide range of emotions from doing what she does best in life – helping others. Florence has been honored twice as a Care Professional of the Month for Home Instead® of Clawson, Michigan, in February 2019 and May 2023.
Florence’s humility was evident as she took her second Home Instead honor in stride, preferring that “no big deal be made of it.” For the award-winning Home Instead franchise, owned by Bert and Stephanie Copple, Florence’s compassionate and skillful work with seniors “is a big deal.” The employee-friendly franchise has been spotlighted for 13 straight years by the Detroit Free Press newspaper as one of Michigan’s Top Workplaces. Home Instead also was honored nationally in 2022 as a “Caring Super Star” by Caring.com. Of course, one of the reasons for the franchise’s awards is the strong efforts from Florence and its Care Pro team.
General Manager Anne Monaghan and the Home Instead staff are glad that Florence checked out Home Instead’s franchise website after finding the company online nearly six years ago. At that time, Florence had been a stay-at-home mom who had not been in the workforce for 15 years. But she was no newbie to professional senior care. For the 20 previous years, Florence had been either a private-duty caregiver or a nursing-home CNA.
One reason Florence chose Home Instead was its flexibility in scheduling. When she joined Home Instead, Florence still had school-age children. “I could work my job around the needs of my family,” she explained. Florence’s employment decision turned out to be a stroke of serendipity for both her and the franchise. And Florence’s arrival at Home Instead turned out to be an answer to a client’s prayer.
When Florence arrived at the client’s door for the first time, the 89-year-old client greeted Florence with these words: “The door is open. I was praying that you’d come. Someone (God) was listening, and you came.” Florence recalled: “She was truly a good lady. We became buddies right away. To be welcomed in such a manner was overwhelming. She was so happy to have me. Her name also was Florence, and she picked up on my name in the introduction. She called us ‘The Two Flos.’ ”
The client, who lived alone and used a walker, did her own meal preparation, but Florence kept an eye on things and cleaned up. Allowing clients to manage their own tasks – if it is safe for them to do so – is an effective senior-care approach that Care Pros use. “It promotes independence and a sense of fulfillment,” Florence said. “We went out for groceries and medical appointments, planning to do both things in the same day for efficiency. For groceries, I did a kitchen survey of what she needed. There was no shopping list. The client depended on me to make the judgments on food and supplies.” The client told Florence, “You know what I want.”
Discussing her motivation for her job, Florence said, “It’s true from my heart: I try to treat my clients the way I’d want to be treated. What is fulfilling is when my clients and I develop the one-on-one relationship. That’s the way I give care. I want the trust factor and bonding to reach the highest level possible. My first Home Instead client loved her cat as if it were a child and trusted me for everything related to the cat’s care while I was on a shift with the client.”
Florence added: “The challenging part of the job is losing a client.” The wonderful memories mostly outpace the sad ones. For Florence, Christmas 2018 was made even more special because of a client’s request. “Eight members of the client’s family came to her home for Christmas. I was already there helping before the lunch started when the family invited me to stay and eat with them. I wasn’t expecting to do that. I was touched when the client wanted me to sit with her,” Florence said. “As a Care Pro, you want to step back when the family comes, so they can enjoy each other. The client felt secure with me. Our relationship was like mother and daughter.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (248) 203-2273 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
