It had to be quite a sight.
Three older adults were crying tears of joy in the driveway of a West Virginia home. Home Instead® Caregiver of the Month Robert Hubbard had just carefully guided a wheelchair-bound client through a narrow door in his house and into the amazingly crisp outdoor air. The client hadn’t been outside the home for quite a while. The panoramic view, including the azure blue sky, was something that most people take for granted.
Robert, in his second shift with his new client, had noticed the senior peering out a window for periods of time on his first day with the client. Setting the stage for the memorable scene, Robert explained: “For two years, the client’s leg had been paralyzed. I’m sure he’d been to medical appointments, but how can you enjoy those trips? The second time I was there, I measured a door to the outside. I figured out his wheelchair could fit through the door, but I had to be slow and deliberate. So, I took him outside, and we were there for two hours.”
Robert added: “After we got outside, I thought something was wrong with him because he started to cry. It turned out he got emotional from being able to get outside the house. As he was crying, his wife came out, saw him crying and started to cry over the moment. Then I cried. All three of us were crying on his driveway. It seemed like such a little thing to get him outside, but it was huge to him and his wife. When you take a little effort, it can make big things happen for a senior and their family members.”
Robert couldn’t help but dwell on the enjoyment he receives from his Caregiver job. “I love the feeling I get when my clients are feeling good. If possible, I help them work out their worries. I make a difference. I never saw this kind of fulfillment coming from this job. I want to keep this feeling coming. I should have been doing this work 10 years ago. I did not know what I was missing,” Robert said.
Robert joined Home Instead of Martinsburg in January 2023. For more than 30 years, Bob and his wife had owned a successful cleaning business that served commercial and governmental agency buildings. Until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, they had done quite well, at one time overseeing 30 to 40 employees. Their people-person skills and good business instincts had guided them well. After COVID-19, the business changed drastically. “We couldn’t get or retain enough employees to maintain our success. My wife always was on the computer with the numbers end of things. I was out with the crews. We weren’t getting any younger. It got to the point where I told my wife I could see the end to the business coming. We sold to my brother-in-law who’d worked with us for 15 years,” Robert explained.
He added: “After we sold off the business, we no longer had those worries. In retirement, I golfed, and we traveled. Above all, my wife told me: ‘Don’t sit around.’ We have a friend who is a private-duty caregiver and talked positively about it, but I couldn’t see myself doing something like that. One day, I went with my friend on a caregiving shift and ended up sitting with the elderly couple and talking for four hours. They were looking for companionship. I started thinking this kind of job could be a possibility for me.”
Fast-forward to last January, when Robert interviewed with Home Instead. One of the staff members, Robert recalled, was nice and friendly. But Robert added: “I was still not sure I’d like the job. In three to four weeks, I had received the Home Instead training. When I started, I was curious about how I’d handle it. Then I began listening to all of the stories. There were physical needs, such as light housekeeping and meal preparation, but the biggest need was companionship. I could do that, and do it well.”
Referring to his dementia clients, Robert found five books to read about dementia care so he could research the subject thoroughly and help in the best way possible. “My heart was in it. I learned.”
One male client had stopped showering, and dementia appeared to be a factor in his behavioral change. His wife asked Robert if he could help the situation. “I read some dementia-care information about this problem. The next day, I softly told him that showering would help prevent him from ending up in the hospital with unwanted medical challenges. The light went on, and he got up and showered. As the days went by, he kept showering, and we didn’t have to coax him to change clothes, either. I made him a chart where he could be reminded what to do each day and to check them off,” Robert said.
Robert is convinced his job, in some respects, has been life changing. “I always was fair with my employees when I ran the cleaning company and took an interest in them personally. Depending on the day, I could be the ‘The Pope’ or a policeman,” Robert said with a chuckle. “My patience has grown since I took this job, or perhaps I had a depth of patience but had never tapped into it until I joined Home Instead. My problem-solving skills are becoming even better. First, I am a stranger to the clients and then I become a friend. That’s how it works out.”
For example, the Home Instead staff sent Robert to a challenging assignment to help a career military veteran. They told Robert, “We think you’ll be OK with him. Just give him some grace.” On Robert’s first day, the client gruffly ordered Robert to get his mail. After a while, the client ordered Robert to go outside and get his newspaper. Then get him a drink. Then it was one after another.
Robert said, “I memorized everything he wanted and the order in which he wanted it. The next time I was with him, I walked in and did everything well. We were best friends after that, and we started talking. One thing I figured out that bugged him was having too many different Caregivers. One other Caregiver and I worked with the office so he could be assisted by basically the same Caregivers. That helped settle things down. Some clients are fine with a variety of helpers and others are not.”
Robert, who is 76, said, “I think the fact that I am an older Caregiver helps with my effectiveness. By and large, seniors are lonely people who can’t get out and socialize. Younger people, whether they work with seniors or not, really need to work to engage with seniors. You should find common ground and learn what interests them. At the very least, let them tell you their stories – even if they are repeating – and listen intently.”
Robert said he intends to be a Home Instead Caregiver “until I can’t do it anymore.” He pointed out: “I keep myself in good shape. I don’t feel as if I am 76. It’s only a number. I keep an optimistic attitude. This job has added more meaning to my life. I like getting to know the clients and doing the little things that please them.”
All Home Instead Caregivers are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
