Julie Haisley is September’s EasyLiving Inspirational Home Caregiver!
Julie works with one client who has dementia and shows particular skill and compassion in how she works with this client. Here’s what Sue Lewis, Care Manager for that client, has to say about Julie’s great work:
Julie has a calm and reassuring presence. She is able to read Peggy’s body language and knows when to go forward, when to stop and importantly when to step aside when Peggy is most combative. She is consistent in her support and reassurance. She is aware of Peggy’s limitations and compromised abilities. Combative behavior sometimes comes from a place of fear and that reassurance makes all the difference. Julie does not judge Peggy by her outbursts or behavior — those are a result of the disease process and not ‘who Peggy is’. Julie calmly waits and then re-approaches as if the incident never happened. This is Peggy’s reality given her disease, as she has no ability to recall the event.
Julie has been instrumental in utilizing music prior to approach. This allows for Peggy to wake up to familiar sounds and start the day on the right foot prior to dressing and preparing for the day. Julie works well with Peggy’s care facility staff and understands they are not always available at the drop of a hat. She attends all activities at the facility and eagerly sings alongside Peggy. If Peggy does not want to eat dinner Julie ensures she takes in sufficient fluids to maintain her hydration.
There is a saying, “every day is a new day”. With Peggy’s disease every moment is a new day. Should a caregiver retain the challenges Peggy experiences, Peggy would feel that resentment or feelings of distrust. Peggy’s feelings are intact; she knows if you want to be with her.
Julie is an example of a caregiver who utilizes her excellent training and life skills to adapt to the needs of my client. I am so happy to have Peggy under her care.
Clearly, Julie demonstrates the qualities of an inspirational caregiver! Dealing with Alzheimers/dementia care can be one of the most challenging areas for caregivers to manage. We take a lot of time to focus on quality memory care at EasyLiving, through training, coaching and support for our team. Kudos to Julie for putting those skills and training into practice to provide such excellent care for this client!
About the Inspirational Home Caregiver Award: EasyLiving selects an Inspirational Caregiver each month from five finalists. Each finalist receives a $25 gift card and the winner receives $100. The winner is announced on the last Monday of the month on The Caregiver Hour radio show on 1250 AM as well as being spotlighted here on EasyLiving’s website and Facebook page. This award is our way of saying thank you to our home caregivers for their dedication, but also to share the inspiring work they do with the larger community and promote quality caregiving.
Congratulations to our other finalists for the September home caregiver award: Tania Hutchison, Melissa Turcotte, Sequoia Copeland and Wayne Burnham!
About iCaRewards™: We created our unique iCaRewards program to recognize and support home caregivers more fully. This program consists of various incentives, rewards, fun events and initiatives like the Inspirational Caregiver Award. Our mission is to create an environment where we set our team members up for success empowering them to provide the best in home care to the community.
For more information about working for EasyLiving as a home caregiver, check out our Home Health Careers page. For information on quality home caregivers for you or your family members in Clearwater, St. Pete, Largo, Palm Harbor and surrounding towns, give us a call today at 727-448-0900!
