We constantly hear that hiring and retaining quality caregivers is the biggest challenge you face as a home care agency owner. In spirit of National Family Caregivers Month, we want to recognize your outstanding caregivers for continuously providing exceptional care to clients. We know that not all caregivers are family, but many caregivers become part of the families they work with.
Last month, we asked you to share your caregiver hero stories with us. Thank you to all who participated! There were so many moving submissions, it was difficult to pick our winners. Over the next several weeks we’ll be highlighting a different caregiver’s story.
This week please meet Wendy Clarke who was nominated by Heather Curtis-Tenney, owner of Curtis Quality Care in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The picture to the left is Wendy with her client Mr. Rodman Dickie.
Wendy Clarke has been with our company for four years as a Personal Care Attendant. Her dedication to her clients, fellow staff and our agency has been unbelievable. Wendy specializes in working with our most difficult Alzheimer's and dementia clients. Wendy has vigorously pursued any and all information and trainings that will assist her in connecting with those individuals and their families who are negatively affected by cognitive impairments. She then offers to teach the techniques she has developed per client to her fellow staff, and especially to the family caregivers who are trying to maintain quality of life care to their loved one.
Wendy takes each specialized plan of care the company has developed and adds small comforts to each. Such as finding that brushing a Alzheimer's affected client’s hair with a baby brush is soothing. When the gentleman starts to become agitated preparing for bath time routine the brushing of hair will de-escalate his somewhat combative behavior to the point that he will sit calmly and allow the bath time routine to happen.
Wendy even will take classes and education series outside of the work environment such as the ALZ Cares Approach training. We, as an agency, offer the basic and the advanced classes at our cost, but Wendy has taken five more classes of the Cares Approach on her own, and has then written her notes and makes copies for her fellow staff, to make sure our clients really are getting the benefit.
The downside of Wendy is that if we put her in a client’s home they only want Wendy!
Wendy is making a huge impact on the quality of life for her Alzheimer's clients. If you'd like to share more Alzheimer's resources with your own caregivers and staff, click the button below to download the Top 6 Resources for Alzheimer's Caregiving.
Do you have an amazing caregiver story you would like to share? Let us know! Email us at marketing@clearcareonline.com.
