Twice-honored Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Emily Hartman could write a book if she had journaled all of her intriguing conversations with her Home Instead clients. There’d be quite a bit of history, some genealogy, a generous helping of quirky things and discussions of pets, among the wide-ranging subjects. For instance, Emily said: “I had a client with a house full of cats that her granddaughter had. One cat slept with the client. I love to see my clients with their beloved pets.”
Owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s Home Instead franchise, which serves 23 cities and communities in south-central Houston, recently selected Emily as one of its Care Pros of the Month. It was her second Home Instead honor, with the first one coming in September 2021.
Expressing an awe and wonderment during one particular situation, Emily said: “I was with a client who was a retired high school music teacher. We were watching ‘Family Feud’ on the television one day and the game-show host asked, ‘If you could collect anything, what would it be?’ My client said, ‘Pianos.’ My lady would often ‘go to town’ on a piano, which is to say she still enjoyed playing. She had three pianos, and she was an unbelievably good pianist. It put her in the zone and got her out of her periods of challenging behaviors for a while.”
The story of how Emily found Home Instead is itself an amazing one. Emily landed at Home Instead in April 2021 as a result of the winter weather catastrophe that enveloped nearly the entire state of Texas earlier that year and caused widespread power outages and huge energy bills. “I was working at an assisted living and memory care facility in Katy in February 2021 when the freeze hit. I lost my employment as a result of the winter storm. I was looking for jobs online and kept noticing Home Instead,” she said.
Emily, who has worked at several care communities and also served as a family caregiver for her mother, always has had a huge heart for seniors. “I respect and appreciate the elderly. Many of them are so often dismissed, ignored and treated like children who are put somewhere and forgotten,” Emily said.
“Before I went to work at a care community, I took care of my elderly mother when she became bedridden, so I was used to working one-on-one within the home. Home care is much better for individuals who have lost their independence. The care community where I worked was not large, and I did my best to accommodate the residents as best I could, but unfortunately that’s not the norm for seniors when it comes to being away from home and family.”
Home Instead Human Resources Manager Margi Kenny was serving as the franchise’s recruitment and retention coordinator when Emily joined the award-winning company. Margi said: “Emily has almost seven years of professional senior-care experience, including almost three with Home Instead. She has high quality skills and can help just about any client in any situation. I remember during her orientation Emily was very outgoing and shared stories of her years of experience with the rest of our newly hired class. Emily was a joy to have in the class. She is hard-working and very dependable, and she has thoughtful ideas on how to manage behaviors if clients get overanxious or challenging. Emily has the patience of a saint.”
Home Instead Scheduling Coordinator Jessica Williams added: “Emily is always a team player. She helps any client for whom I ask her to fill in. Emily is always requested back by the clients and their families!”
After Emily joined Home Instead, she observed: “I came to appreciate the fact that everyone working in the office had experience with care, so they knew exactly what they were asking us to do. Home Instead allowed me to work closer to home and provide our clients individual attention as I learned more about them. I love to have conversations with those clients who like to talk.”
Emily has faced virtually every possible senior-care challenge. She has made a point to learn all of the skills necessary to care for someone with various levels of dementia to help them feel safe, comfortable and cared for. Emily pointed out: “Some are not making sense when they talk, but they seem to have some sense of purpose for what they are saying, so I go along with them. They seem to enjoy that and feel comforted that someone is listening.”
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.
Our franchise serves Houston, Arcola, Bellaire, First Colony, Fresno, Greatwood, Iowa Colony, Lake Olympia, Meyer Park, Meyerland, Missouri City, Pearland, Quail Valley, Riverstone, Rosharon, Shadow Creek Ranch, Sienna Plantation, Stafford, Sugar Land, Sunnyside, Sweetwater, Thompsons and Westbury.
