Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Miriti Zakios says there can be many facets to outstanding senior care and caregiving skills are important, but her primary goal boils down to one phrase: “I take my clients’ pain and try to turn it into comfort for them.”
Miriti’s empathy and compassion for her clients and their families have been on display at owner Greg Gomez-Mira’s Home Instead® franchise in south-central Houston since the end of December 2022. “I applied for my Home Instead job in November 2022 when I talked to Margi Kenny, our human resources manager, before taking the job,” said Miriti, who began working as a senior-care professional in February 2020.
Miriti’s uncompromising loyalty to a longtime client held up her arrival at Home Instead until the client passed away Dec. 21, 2022. “I had decided to make the move to Home Instead,” Miriti explained, “but I could not leave the client until after her death. I value all my relationships with clients and the ties I have with their family members. Your heart goes out to them.”
The franchise’s September Care Pro of the Month added: “Things are working well with Home Instead. God is good. The clients are good. All my clients love me, and I love them. The families are very nice. When I am with clients, it’s just like being in my house. I am very lucky, very blessed. I have three regular clients, two ladies and one gentleman.”
During just one month with one client, Miriti has seen so much improvement as the client battles to bounce back from cancer surgery and chemotherapy that Miriti has been amazed and fulfilled. Some observers have been quick to credit Miriti’s important role in the client’s recovery. “I am very glad about my client’s progress. She has gotten so much better. It makes me smile. She is a very nice woman who wants to be independent,” Miriti said.
Miriti further explained: “She just finished chemotherapy. The good news is, she is not on hospice. At first, she had a hard time getting from bed to a sitting position. I use lotion and massage her legs, and she feels better. I prepare her breakfast, and she naps better when I am with her. Evidence of her progress is that she’s up on a walker. We go out for walks. She showers on her own. She has a wonderful family who has witnessed her upswing. My client’s husband works from home, and her mom comes to visit often.”
Every client’s situation is different. Miriti’s 80-year-old male client likes the Scrabble board game and watches his Bible Story videos online. “He definitely has a spiritual aspect that is important to him, just as it is with me. I pray with him. His wife takes him to church.”
Miriti loves being a part of the Care Pro team for one of Texas’ outstanding Home Instead franchises, members of the world’s largest home-care network and the most advanced care platform. Overall, there are more than 100,000 Care Pros across 13 countries, meeting the growing needs of millions of older adults and their families worldwide. For Miriti and her fellow Care Pros, touching lives impacts their souls, whether they are providing physical help such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders or personal care or if they are offering emotional support in a companionship role.
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.
