Crystal Davis has been honored for the second time as CAREGiver of the Month for the award-winning Home Instead franchise No. 541, located on the Southwest Freeway in South Central Houston. Owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s office staff members also selected Crystal for the accolade in January 2018.
Recruitment Engagement Coordinator Margi Kenny hired Crystal in August 2017. Margi recalled: “Crystal had a lot of experience, caring for her grandmother, and some experience in a professional setting. But the real reasons we hired Crystal was that her gentle soul and kindness shined in her outward mannerisms. ‘CAREGiver’ was written all over her!”
As time went, Crystal began receiving assignments for the care of the more challenging clients, ones who suffered from dementia or behavioral health issues. “Without realizing it,” Margi said, “Crystal enhanced her skills in managing agitated behaviors by diffusing and refocusing those clients. She did it all by using her natural, calming manner, or by calling her supervisors for advice. She has the patience of a saint.”
Crystal is well liked by her clients and their families because of her gentle nature, hearty laugh and willingness to learn and grow in order to help her clients. She is comfortable asking questions in order to improve. Margi pointed out: “That is why she always gets the answers she is looking for.”
Margi explained that not only is Crystal dependable and reliable in meeting her schedule, but she communicates well with the office and rarely misses work. “Those elements create longevity,” Margi said. “Crystal was caring for some of the same clients for more than three years until just recently.”
Crystal’s ability to tune into the clients’ needs and knowing her clients prompted her to call the office while she was on duty with her male client. Crystal was concerned he was having a stroke and needed advice from her supervisor.
So, Margi and Crystal, discussing the medical episode on the phone, monitored the client’s condition together by using the F.A.S.T tactics to detect if he was having a stroke:
- F – face: Are the facial muscles droopy? (The client’s muscles were not.)
- A – arms: Does one arm “float away,” or can the person raise both arms? (He could.)
- S – speech: Can the person repeat a simple phrase? (He could not speak properly or say, “today is Thursday.”)
- T – time: If any of these symptoms are prominent, it’s time call 911! (F.A.S.T.)
Since the client could not speak, Crystal called 911. The outcome was positive. The client received medical attention and was taken to an emergency room, but the diagnosis was not a stroke. The client had extremely high enzyme levels that could have created their own batch of problems if Crystal had not quickly gotten him the medical attention.
Margi added: “The client and the staff are very proud of Crystal for recognizing something wasn’t quite right. We applaud her for calling her supervisor for support to make the best choice for the client’s health. That is what Crystal always does – she puts others first!”
Before she was honored as CAREGiver of the Month three years ago, Crystal had regularly entered a celebrity realm at a YMCA branch. That’s when she accompanied her client to the regularly scheduled birthday parties for the older members. Crystal smiled when she heard, “I wish I had someone like you to come with me to these parties.”
Referring to the 90-minute YMCA get-togethers, Crystal said: “My client loved to have me there with her. It was a big deal for her and her friends, and I got dressed up for the event. All the elderly people knew me, and they were very nice.”
It was not unusual to hear YMCA party-goers gush over Crystal for the care she provided for her 85-year-old client nor was it uncommon to see her chat warmly with her client’s friends. The client often told her daughter she was fortunate to have Crystal as a CAREGiver, and the client’s daughter told Crystal, “Mom loved you. She never wanted to let you go.”
Office Manager and Client Care Manager Destiny Wesley was not surprised Crystal was a hit with her client, and the clients’ friends and families. “Crystal has been such a joy and brings sunshine into the room since she joined us,” Destiny said. “Crystal provides great companionship and personal care assistance, and she makes our clients feel important and that they still have a purpose.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (713) 774-2215 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
