The Home Instead® client couldn’t help thinking about the future. He already was lamenting what lies ahead in two years when twice-honored Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Frances Pena retires after having assisted him since Nov. 15, 2021. The client’s challenges are far different from most of the other clients’ situations. He’s in his 40s, and he is a paraplegic as a result of a car accident. The client joked with Frances by saying, “I think I’m screwed when you retire. For one thing, I need someone to cook for me like you do.”
Frances replied, “Two years are a way off. Everything will be fine. Let’s just enjoy the present time.” Frances smiled when she revealed she had her doubts about being able to care for the client when franchise co-owner Dillon Rice first proposed the assignment a little more than two years ago. Dillon, however, wasn’t asking a newbie to enter the situation. Frances’s Care Pro longevity with Home Instead® of Victoria, Texas, is unmatched. She joined Home Instead on Nov. 19, 2014, and was first honored as Care Pro of the Month in June 2015. She recently matched that honor.
Frances recalled: “I had never helped a paraplegic client. After meeting him, I told Home Instead I didn’t think I could do it. Dillon asked me to try it for a week or two. I learned the routine and found it was just as fulfilling as any other situation. During my time with Home Instead, I’ve had only three clients, and I intend to remain with this client until retirement. I have been away from him for only two weeks. I had a week of jury duty and a week of vacation.”
Frances has been a godsend for the client’s mother, who had cared for him for about three years. When she learned they could get help for him, his mother looked for agencies. Before going with Home Instead, she and her family had employed several other agencies, but they weren’t meeting his needs. Along came Home Instead, Frances and several other Care Pros.
After gaining the client’s trust, Care Pro-client bonding took a little more than two weeks. The client was living with his mother at the time and has since moved into a home that has been modified for his needs. Among her detailed tasks during her day shifts, Frances operates a Hoyer lift to move the client from his bed, dress him for the day and place him in a motorized chair. He trusts Frances to drive his van. She drives slowly and does not take sharp turns that would shift him around. Errands include grocery shopping and medical appointments.
“The client is very straightforward with what he needs. I emphasize that he is not a complainer. I listen, and that’s how you earn his trust. You must be attentive and see what’s wrong as the day goes along and remedy the problem. For instance, there’s a knack to feeding him. He can’t turn his head to get food while you hold a spoon or fork. It must be done the right way,” Frances explained. “I was off for four straight days because of Thanksgiving, and he was happy to see me return. Hearing that makes me feel good. He often compliments me. In turn, I make sure he knows I am there for him. Of course, there are others involved in his 24/7 care, including visiting nurses and a night-shift team. His family is a great help when the need arises, including his mother, brother, sister and a niece.”
The client enjoys simple pleasures. “He loves to be outside if it’s good weather because he’s an outdoors person who loved working with vehicles. He likes his back porch, where he sees the deer and watches his dogs. We venture down the driveway and find things to do such as filling the bird feeders. Being outdoors is uplifting,” Frances noted.
Frances didn’t enter professional caregiving until her 40s. A people-person, she had worked in sales. Then a change came. “My father-in-law had early onset dementia. I helped my husband take care of him. My father-in-law always wanted us there. One day, he would not budge from his sofa. I took his hand and gently said, ‘Come on.’ He got up and walked with me and got some exercise. It was at that point caregiving took my heart. I took care of my father-in-law for four years. Later, I helped my mother-in-law. It was in my heart to help seniors,” Frances said.
Home Instead Recruiting and Retention Coordinator Maegan Coldewey was honored to announce Frances had been selected as Care Pro of the Month for the second time in her nine-plus years with the franchise. Maegan noted: “Frances lives Home Instead’s guiding principles of ‘Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.’ ”
Dillon and Pietro Jordao, who have been thrilled with Frances’s work, have been the Home Instead franchise’s co-owners since Aug. 1, 2020. Pietro, Dillon, Maegan and Frances are proud members of a franchise network directed by 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.
At our award-winning Home Instead franchise, owned by Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice, Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (361) 433-0330 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead services, visit our website.