CAREGiver of the Month Mallory Jackson grins from ear to ear when she thinks about one of her Home Instead® clients. To say he’s a character would be putting it mildly. While he has had his ups and downs, he always has been attached to Mallory and her winsome smile, which could light a room at midnight.
Near the end of one shift, the client was worried about Mallory’s safety on her drive home and told her, “You can’t go outside because you’re a little girl, and the Indians are going to take you prisoner.” On another occasion, he also said, “You have to be careful because you’re a good-looking girl, and someone will take you right up and hide you.” Of course, Mallory smiles and assures him everything will be fine and tells him she’ll come back.
“His chatter makes the night go by quickly because he just keeps the energy flowing. I just do as he says, and we talk about the oil industry history, cattle production history, ranch houses and everything else he wants to tell me. He keeps the night alive,” Mallory said.
“Live-wire” clients? Mallory chuckled as she recalled her June 2020 start with Home Instead of Victoria, an award-winning franchise owned by Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice. Mallory admitted: “I had a rough start because I had quite a test, but I took it on and basically nailed it. I’ve had some challenging and not-as-challenging clients. It’s been a little bit of a work in progress, but I love the energy I’ve encountered. My clients are nice and stick with me.”
Mallory savors those occasions when it is evident her clients missed her after she’s had a day or two off. “It’s like a night-and-day difference with their smiles and the looks on their faces from the time I walk out the door until my return a couple of days later. One client’s smile just beams when he sees me return,” Mallory said.
“He has had difficult nights. One time when he was feeling out of sorts and just wanted to be alone, he told me to leave. Later, he told me he was sorry, and he went back to being nice. I like the fact I can make his day just by having a conversation and talking about cows and ranches. I love that I can have emotional connections with my clients, and I love that I can make them feel special in some sort of way where they remember things from their past.”
Thirty-year-old Mallory entered professional caregiving in 2018 and learned about Home Instead from her mother, who was honored as the Home Instead franchise’s CAREGiver of the Month in October 2019. Sandra Palacios, Mallory’s mother, was selected for the award just two months after starting with Home Instead on Aug. 2, 2019. Recruiting and Retention Coordinator Maegan Coldewey said: “It is special for our franchise to have a mother-daughter combination who have both been chosen as CAREGivers of the Month. We are so glad to have Sandra and Mallory.”
Mallory explained: “I went to school to be a CNA, and I worked in post-acute care for six months. I also worked at a nursing home for a year and a half while handling CNA responsibilities. I am accustomed to this kind of work that I do on behalf of Home Instead. I was working as a private-duty caregiver and with Home Instead at the same time before I went to Home Instead only. The Home Instead energy and the atmosphere was a good positive vibe for me, and the office people worked with me on my schedule. My mother was always working and staying busy, so I figured Home Instead was a good company and would keep me busy.”
Other than the No. 1 priority of taking care of her four children, Mallory has not been involved in any other family caregiving. “My grandfather was sick and in hospice when I was fresh out of CNA school. I learned a lot by visiting him at the hospital and saw a lot of care methods, but I didn’t actually care for him,” Mallory said.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my kids. I work a lot to stay busy and provide for my children to give them the world. I have two boys, James 11, and Camdyn 9, and I have two girls, Blakeleigh 7, and Armani 3. If I’m not working, I’m at the softball fields with Blakeleigh because that’s her hobby. She plays on a select-club team.”
Mallory is an excellent team member at Home Instead, and she is among more than 100,000 CAREGivers worldwide. She has helped add to those numbers because of her strong belief in Home Instead’s purpose. It isn’t hard to see Mallory lives the Home Instead principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (361) 433-0330 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
Rewarding Care Careers in Victoria, TX
