Star Draws on Family Caregiving Experience to Help Clients
Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Star Trejo’s inspired beginning in caregiving has its roots in the close relationship Star embraced with her late grandmother. As a result, Star’s occupation serves as a lasting tribute to her beloved grandmother, a truly unforgettable figure in Star’s life.
“I started working in home health care because my grandma was diagnosed with cancer in 2015,” Star explained. “In 2017, she went on hospice care, and my grandpa asked me to move in and help take care of her. I did, because my grandma was very special to me, and she was my best friend. There were two distinctly different feelings. It was the hardest time I’ve experienced, but it was the most rewarding thing I’ve done.”
Star has used those experiences and the memories of caring for a senior loved to fashion her amazing start with Home Instead of San Angelo, Texas. After three months with the award-winning franchise owned by Lorena and William Shensky, Star was named the June Care Pro of the Month, Engagement and Training Coordinator Rozephyr Jean revealed.
Star’s clients have felt her compassion and empathy when she arrived to assist them. Those are two of the characteristics that are evaluated when a Care Pro is considered for the employee of the month award. Of course, there are others.
Has the Care Pro gone above and beyond the call of duty? Does the Care Pro possess the skills and wisdom to be successful? Is the Care Pro exceptional at her work with any client? Finally, does the Care Pro focus on Home Instead’s training, processes and procedures of successful caregiving? In other words, does the Care Pro work at getting better?
For the Home Instead staff, the answers were a resounding yes. When Rozephyr announced Star had been honored as Care Pro of the Month, Rozephyr pointed out Star displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.” Home Instead’s mission is to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families, and to pioneer greater professionalism within care work. “That’s why we’ve created a care experience that’s based on human touch, transparency and compassion,” Rozephyr said.
Star’s clients receive safety assurance, meal preparation, medication reminders, light housekeeping and transportation as needed. Star is always ready to deliver assistance with eating, grooming, dressing, bathing, incontinence care, cognitive impairment, hospice support and mobility. Her clients’ families feel their level of worry dwindle as their stress is reduced and they re-establish personal freedom.
Star and other Care Pros embrace opportunities to increase their dementia-care skills by taking part in the Home Instead network’s one-of-a-kind training protocol. Home Instead’s Person-Centered Care Training for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias is recognized by the Alzheimer’s Association® for incorporating the evidence-based dementia-care practice recommendations in these topic areas: person-centered care, assessment and care planning, activities of daily living, and behaviors and communication.
Companionship and security assurance are strong features of Star’s care. “I love when my clients talk about the times when they were young. I love hearing their stories. The outcome of care I love most is being able to help my clients stay in their homes, where they are comfortable.”
Pointing to a specific example of building strong relationships, Star said: “Mrs. E. is very special to me because she reminds me a lot of my grandma. She is s very sweet lady. She loves talking about her background and her life on the ranch. It’s a win-win. I receive the chance to learn about the culture and how everyday life went on long before I was born. It’s like an interactive history book, and Mrs. E. gets the chance to relive the great days of her life.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (325) 644-8387 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
