Client Told Erika: ‘I’ll Never Forget You’
For Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Erika Almaraz, her final two episodes with a dear client might have been just as poignant as anything you’d see in a sentimental Hallmark movie.
The client, who would soon be moving to a skilled nursing facility, asked if Erika would take her shopping “one last time.” Erika recalled: “I said, ‘Yes,’ and she looked just the happiest. When we finally got back home, she asked if I would watch a scary movie with her. Of course, I couldn’t say no. She was honestly so sweet.”
Erika added: “On my way out, she told me she would never forget me. I can’t believe I brought that much joy to someone.”
The client was a retired registered nurse who’d worked at the Northern Regional Hospital in Mount Airy and who herself had no doubt been a compassionate medical professional. “She told me some really interesting nursing stories and how much she loved to help people. Toward the end, I was no longer going to be able to take care of her because of medical needs that were available only at a nursing home. That’s when the shopping trip and scary movie experiences were forever imprinted in my memory,” Erika said.
There will be many more unique memories to come for Erika, who joined Home Instead of Mount Airy in June, an award-winning franchise started by Van and Ann Lankford in 2011.
“I found Home Instead through Indeed.com. I had focused on my desire to get into a job where I was helping others. I have always felt as if I was put in this world to help others, and when I saw Home Instead, I truly felt as if I wanted to do this,” said Erika, a graduate of North Surry High School in Mount Airy before taking the CNA curriculum at Surry Community College in Dobson, North Carolina.
“I started at Surry Community College with the idea of wanting to be a physical therapy assistant. I saw the CNA program and thought, ‘Wow, it is so amazing that people help each other,’ ” Erika explained. She has served as a family caregiver and felt a fulfillment. “I have always taken care of my mother when she has gotten sick or has had surgery, and I truly felt as if it was a calling when I was doing that,” Erika said.
On Dec. 1, Home Instead Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe announced Erika had been selected as the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month. What led up to the honor? Perhaps the retired nurse could feel Erika’s compassion and empathy on the first day she showed up to assist her. Those are two of the characteristics that are evaluated when a Care Pro is considered for the employee of the month award. Of course, there are others.
Has the Care Pro gone above and beyond the call of duty? Does the Care Pro possess the skills and wisdom to be successful? Is the Care Pro exceptional at her work with any client? Finally, does the Care Pro focus on Home Instead’s training, processes and procedures of successful caregiving? In other words, does the Care Pro work at getting better? For Sharon and the Home Instead staff, the answers were yes. Erika displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
Erika loves being a part of the Care Pro team for the Mount Airy franchise, a member of a network comprised of Home Instead, Inc. and its parent company, Honor. With the world’s largest home-care network and the most advanced care platform, Honor and Home Instead are revolutionizing care for older adults, their families and Care Pros. Combined, the network has more than 100,000 Care Pros across 13 countries, meeting the growing needs of millions of older adults and their families worldwide.
“What I truly like most about working for Home Instead is that everyone is so friendly,” Erika said, “and that I get to help people who need it.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (336) 789-4472 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
