An AARP headline caught Deborah Roberts’ eye. On a story dated Nov. 10, 2022, the headline said: “Nationwide Caregiver Shortage Felt by Older Adults.” In January 2023, Deborah ended her retirement and joined owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s award-winning Home Instead® franchise that serves southwest Houston, Missouri City and 15 other communities. In May 2023, Deborah was honored as a Care Professional of the Month, Home Instead’s highest employee honor.
“As I was reading the AARP article, it touched my heart and drove me to research senior-care jobs. The story and subsequent research really grabbed me and moved me. The country has a big need of caregivers for seniors,” said Deborah, who had retired in 2019 to become the full-time family caregiver for her late husband.
Since helping people of any age is Deborah’s passion, she already had been volunteering for a youth reading program. “They had a need, and I had a want. I volunteered once or twice a week and continue to do so,” Deborah said. With her interest drawn to senior care, Deborah checked out an agency online before she found Home Instead. “I also had seen a Home Instead commercial. They were hiring at the time. I thought to myself, ‘I have to help,’ ” Deborah said.
After contacting Home Instead and chatting with Recruitment and Human Resource Manager Margi Kenny, things moved quickly. “Home Instead stood out among the agencies I checked out. Margi told me they were willing to train me. I knew I was not prepared to start immediately. My background was in real estate and law,” Deborah explained. “In addition to my husband, I had been a family caregiver for grandmother when I was 17 or 18. It was so long ago. It was a hard time for my grandmother, who had cancer. Treatments then were not like they are now. I am glad I was there. I think of Grandma when I am caregiving.”
Home Instead, Deborah pointed out, does the right thing by training its Care Pros and then holding ongoing training. I want to do the best job I can. I appreciate the hands-on training with such things as a Hoyer lift and gait belt. There are so many questions, and they were patient and answered every question. I had my hand up a lot. The trainer’s answers had a personal touch. She has years of experience, and has seen and done it all. The trainer had stories that were phenomenal, and she mixed in humor. I felt 100 percent assured about what I was doing.”
Deborah added: “In the field, the office answers questions immediately. There is ongoing education. You never know enough. The senior-care world moves forward all the time with best practices. Education is very important to me. They are very supportive. They listen to me when I have questions or observations.”
While announcing Deborah’s Care Pro of the Month honor, Scheduling Coordinator Jessica Williams said: “Deborah has been a wonderful addition to the team. She recognized she wasn’t as skilled as some of the other Care Pros, and she took full advantage of training with our in-house trainer, Kelee Penn. That speaks to her humbleness as she desires to further herself in professional senior care. Deborah focuses at all times on doing the best that she can, and she is absolutely worthy of her award. Deborah displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of ‘Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.’ ”
Deborah praised Home Instead’s knack for matching Care Pros and clients. “In a perfect example of how detail-oriented our Home Instead office is, they researched my background and matched me with the right client, so there was compatibility. I also prefer working with just one client so that person gets the best of me,” Deborah said.
Referring to her clients, Deborah said: “They want to get to know you. My client asked where I had lived, and the answer was Lodi, California, for much of my life. She had lived very close to Lodi. The client noted: ’We could have been neighbors?’ We had the commonality, the same basis of knowledge. My granddaughter lives in Lodi. My husband is buried there.”
Deborah also noted: “My previous client was a kindergarten-through-third grade teacher, and I volunteered for a K-3 reading program. It was a perfect fit for a client-Care Pro relationship. The matching for both of my clients could have been a coincidence, but it did not feel that way.”
As for Deborah’s current client, Deborah met her family April 4 before starting with the 100-year-old client April 5. Deborah had bonded with her client by the end of the first shift. “She lives a structured life, and my hours of assistance fit deliberately into her day. “I am her only Care Pro. She is so full of stories. She has a hundred years of stories. It blows my mind that she has such a memory. She didn’t retire until she was 70. A seamstress, she designed her own clothes and still wears some clothes she made herself. She started as a seamstress at age 10.”
The client, her son and her daughter have been highly complimentary of Deborah, who appreciates the feedback. Deborah said her fulfillment comes during every shift. “She is a pleasure -- an amazing, upbeat woman with such a spirit. She wants to maintain as much independence as possible and handles most aspects of personal care quite well. There are many ways to help her and assure her safety,” Deborah said.
“She will be 101 in July. When she is asked how she has lived to 100, she says she takes care of herself. No drinking, no smoking and eating right. She lives with a conscious effort to do the best she can. You can see her wisdom. I prepare her noon meal and make enough for leftovers. She tells me, ‘You cook so well.’ We eat lunch together. She is friendly and funny, and has sent me home laughing many times.”
When asked what she foresees with Home Instead, Deborah said: “I appreciate Home Instead. It’s very important for me to have just one regular client. I don’t want to burn out. I want to bond with the one. As long as I can do it. I want to give the best of me.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (713) 774-2215 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
