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Join Our Team Caregiver of the Year Award
Chikondi H. - O'Fallon Nominee
Assistance Home Care was founded in 2011. In our company’s first year of serving seniors, our team met and welcomed Chikondi to our small but growing team of Care Pros. Our team quickly learned how much family and culture was valued by Chikondi as those were the main characteristics that drew her to join our organization. Chikondi’s family-oriented values equipped her with the empathy, patience and compassion necessary to support and care for a case in which over the span of several years she provided care for three relatives under one roof whose needs ranged from dependent to independent. Ultimately, Chikondi supported each of the relative’s care throughout and up until the end of their aging journey and went on to provide emotional support for the relatives in each unique period of grief. Jen Johnson, Chikondi’s supervisor and Area Care Manager offers this quote and testament to her character, “Chikondi has been a pillar of AHC since 2012. She has received accolades from families that some would consider "challenging" circumstances, while always maintaining professionalism and sunshine and smiles. She communicates proactively and takes initiative in every home she has been present at. There are a lot of diverse families she has supported throughout the years, and she has made an incredible and positive impact on each and every one of them!” Chikondi has been more than a pillar and serves as one of the many ‘faces’ of the company, having been involved in two professional photo shoots to showcase and support the unique culture that Assistance Home Care has being a family and locally owned home care company. Our team truly lights up when she arrives at our holiday parties and events as she shares equal warmth and kindness to her teammates as she does with the clients she serves! Chikondi is our first Care Pro to reach the 10-Year anniversary milestone, and we are so humbled to have a Care Pro with unmatched loyalty and devotion to our Assistance Home Care family!
Ella C. - St. Louis County Nominee
Ella's journey as a Caregiver began as a family caregiver for both her mother and her grandmother througout their journey of aging. Her experience in caring for dear loved ones inspired Ella to pursue her CNA license in 2018. Freshly certified, Ella worked within a memory care facility setting for 13 months before realizing it was time for a change. Ella joined Assistance Home Care in 2019 and has been providing 1-on-1 care for seniors and respite for their families in St. Louis County. Ella's communication shines through her proactive nature of connecting with our local office team should her client have a change in condition, or simply to check in or see how she can further assist. Ella's commitment to her client has gone beyond reliability. When her client faced a major change in care needs, Ella identified an opportunity to refresh her skills and confidence by connecting with our training department to consult with 1:1 training to ensure that she did everything possible to be the best fit to serve her client today and in the long term. Ella's demeanor exudes our core value of 'Providing Peace of Mind by Being Present and Professional'. Ella has been able to effortlessly make meaningful connections with her clients and their family members and is always looking for ways to make her client smile. What's more, our team confidently proclaims that if one were to open a dictionary today and flip to the definition of "Compassionate", in lieu of words there would be a beaming portrait of our nominee and Care Professional, Ella.
Carl R. - South County Nominee
On behalf of the South County branch of Assistance Home Care, our team is proud to nominate Carl for Caregiver Of Year. Carl's path into caring for others began several years ago after enjoying a career as a school teacher and a published author. Before joining Assistance Home Care, Carl served as a live-in caregiver as a way to continue to give back and not opt for full retirement. Over the last four years with Assistance Home Care Carl has shown true dedication to our company and to his clients. Carl brings innovation and organization into the homes of the clients he supports, often times developing new ways to best Carl never complains and never asks for anything in return. Outside of AHC, Carl is extremely active in the community. As a proud, retired Marine Sergeant, Carl dedicates his free time volunteering at his local VFW branches, serves as a historian for the local Prisoner of War museum, is involved with his churches and enjoys staying connected with his St. Louis Marine groups. One unique part of Carl's demeanor that is always enjoyed by our office team is his exclamatory phrases, "Huzzah!" and "Oo-Rah!" when he's happy or receives good news! Honoring one's wishes.. An ongoing testament to Carl's commitment his client's wishes began 3 years ago and continues to this day. From generalized weakness and safety oversight to hospice care and fully dependent care, Carl has made positive impacts throughout his client's care journey. Since the Fall of last year, his client progressed to requiring a hoyer lift for transfers. During a Quality Assurance Home Visit in the Spring of this year, his client shared with our team how Carl assisting him to join his wife of nearly 69 years at the breakfast table to eat together is the highlight of his day. When speaking with the client's children they say Carl is a 10/10 and they're grateful to have him all these years!
Corissa C. - DuPage County Nominee
The Downers Grove team is proud to announce that Corissa has been selected as our Care Professional of The Year! Corissa joined our team in December of 2021 and has been a pleasure to work with from the very beginning. Corissa clearly represents our Core Values each and every day. She is very reliable and has proven to be an excellent communicator. in fact, Corissa has worked more than any other Care Professional on our team in 2022 thus far…by a sizeable margin! Upon starting with us, Corissa was committed to continuing her education to be able to provide exceptional support to our dementia clients. She was able to complete the entire 33 hours of her Certified Dementia Specialist program within THREE weeks of working with Assistance Home Care! Corissa shines by providing peace of mind to her client by being present and professional. Her client joined our agency almost a year ago and has responded astoundingly better to Corissa than any other Care Professional that has been on his team. Because of the fantastic care she provides, her unbelievable work ethic, her consistent reliability, and her excellent communication skills, Corissa has been selected as our Care Professional of the Month twice already in 2022 in January and February. During a Quality Assurance Home Visit, the client’s daughter expressed that Care Pro (Corissa) is amazing at engaging her father throughout the day. She stated that she sees a noticeable difference with Corissa as compared to the other Care Pro’s. The client's daughter expressed that she likes the manner in which Corissa gains and maintains her dad’s attention and is sure not to overwhelm him. The client’s daughter stated that her top two requirements regarding Care Pro’s are dementia experience and engaging personality, which Corissa fulfills. Client’s daughter stated that she is open to feedback from Care Pro’s or office staff and actually prefers it. The client’s sister rated her happiness with the caregiver a 10/10. She rated performance a 10/10. We are so honored and thankful to have someone of Corissa’s caliber as part of our Chicago Team! On behalf of the entire Downers Grove Assistance Home Care Team…We would like to thank Corissa for all she does and congratulate her on her selection as our Care Professional of the Year nominee!
Lexie Z. - Franklin County Nominee
Alexis or "Lexie", can be described by our team as a strong communicator who is committed to serving not only her assigned clients, but any client who needs her support. Lexie has always felt as though she has a big potential to reach in life and wants to also makes a difference in the lives of others. Lexie is a people person, which makes her exceptionally strong in her ability to spread sunshine and smiles to her clients and to our local office team members. Before joining Assistance Home Care, Lexie completed a program for Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Before Lexie could begin her work as an EMT, she was faced with circumstances beyond her control and instead began her career as a caregiver. As a caregiver in one of our newest branch locations (Franklin County), Lexie has proved herself to be reliable and flexible caregiver! Lexie has also made major strides to bridge any gaps in skills and knowledge from her EMT program to home care skills. Lexie will never hesitate to ensure that her clients' needs are met, and then some. To best illustrate this, we share a story of Lexie's dedication and compassion toward's her client's emotional wellbeing. in early winter of 2021, one of Lexie's clients began to experience anxiety about the incoming weather. This began near the time when Lexie was scheduled to end her visit. Lexie recognized that she could not leave her client in the state she was in and did not hesitate to stay over her scheduled time of 8:00PM to ensure her client was calm and reassured that the weather would pass! We share this story to show just one of the many ways Lexie is dedicated and committed to providing compassionate care and maintaining a high level of empathy for the clients she serves.
Bria I. - West County Nominee
Our team nominates our Care Pro, Bria for the HCAOA's Caregiver of the Year Award for 2022. Bria's call to serve others comes from a young age and witnessing her mother in her career as a Registered Nurse. This family tie shaped Bria's education as she elected to take Health Occupation courses in High School gaining a certificate at graduation. Her education continued as she joined the field of caregiving in 2015 and elected to gain more certifications like CPS and LIMA to broaden her skills in caring for others. During orientation with Assistance Home Care, Bria shared, "I love working with people and making their day. Seeing smiles and knowing i'm the cause... always makes my day!". Our team quickly learned just how committed Bria was to ensuring that everyday was a great day for their clients, and we continue to see new ways that Bria makes a positive impact on her client. Whether it be motivating her client to spend time outside on a nice day, or being proactive and organized in transporting her client to critical Doctor appointments, Bria consistently is a major player in making a positive impact in her client's day and life! How to Achieve 110% Attendance: Bria Edition. Our nominated Care Pro, Bria exudes our Assistance Home Care core value, “Responsibility and Reliability are the Foundation of our Great Team”. Bria embodies reliability with her impeccable track record of perfect attendance. This level of reliability offers steadiness and the comfort of peace of mind to her client who struggles with anxiety and also lives with a rare neurological disorder, Gullian-Barre syndrome. Since joining our team in February of 2022, Bria has demonstrated to our team how she takes personal responsibility in the care of her client beyond anything ever expected. To take perfect attendance a step further, we recognize over five instances in which Bria has not hesitated to assist and orient a new member of her client’s team during shift change, often staying as long as needed to ensure both the Care Pro and her client were comfortable and confident in the transition. Our team recognizes the distinction of Bria as she cares for her client as more than just another assigned case, but as a person who is worthy of compassion, dignity and respect!
Maggie L. - St. Charles Nominee
Maggie joined Assistance Home Care as a caregiver 3 years ago and quickly rose into a crucial role of a Care Pro Select after showing her dedication and adaptability in her role as a caregiver. As a member of our Care Pro Select team, Maggie supports as an On-Call caregiver who is equipped with broad yet refined skills which allow her to assist any client within our St. Louis operations whenever the need may arise. Often internally referenced as our team of ‘firefighters’, Maggie not only has served as an integral support player for our clients but also is able to visit clients where the scheduled Care Pro is in need. From problem solving dementia related behaviors to assisting Care Pros hands-on with best practices in transfer techniques, Maggie supports both our clients’ care and the success of her fellow Care Pros! Even amidst the height of the pandemic’s second wave in 2021, Maggie showed unwavering loyalty and commitment to our clients, our employees and safety through a time of uncertainty. Our team recognizes and commends Maggie’s commitment to education as she pursued and achieved her CARES Certified Dementia Specialist certification which consists of over 33 hours of content in dementia care practices and passing a 100-question exam all while balancing her responsibilities as a Care Pro Select with unmatched grace. Maggie’s supervisor and Assistance Home Care’s Training and Development Manager, Jodi Petersen describes her as being, “Always flexible to accommodate the offices.” Petersen goes on to describe Maggie’s love for caregiving as, “She truly loves the clients and immediately feels a bond with them and their families.”. Our team looks forward to Maggie’s growth and further development within her role and are so grateful that she is called to serve others!
