Family Caregiving Experience Prepared Care Pro Sherri
Before Sherri Hill joined Home Instead® of Mount Airy on Oct. 6, 2023, she had never worked in professional senior care. However, Sherri had served as the primary family caregiver for her brother for 32 years before he died three years ago as the result of a heart attack.
“My brother was mentally handicapped. When my mother died years ago, I took over my brother’s full care, and my two sisters helped me on the weekends. It was a good schedule,” said Sherri, who also works three days a week as a hair stylist and usually has only Sunday as her day off. “I love being around people. I have been a hair stylist for 35 years, and now I work part time at that job. I like Home Instead. They have a great organization.”
Sherri was tipped off to the open Care Professional positions at the award-winning Home Instead franchise owned by Van and Ann Lankford. “This sounded as if it was something I would be interested in pursuing,” Sherri explained.
When asked about her introduction to professional caregiving, Sherri replied: “I benefited from some of the Home Instead training. I knew some of the caregiving ‘ins and outs’ because of the care I had provided for my late brother. Home Instead provided training that updated my skill set and techniques, and I also got accustomed to Home Instead’s procedures and protocols.”
Sherri’s 96-year-old Home Instead client is a Korean War veteran. “He still gets around pretty well and does not have dementia. He might have a few memory issues but nothing serious. He previously had suffered strokes but has bounced back. He uses a walker and sometimes a cane. His medical obstacles are his soreness in his knees and hips. He does his own personal care, such as showering. My primary work is meal preparation and light housekeeping. Companionship is important to him and his wife,” Sherri said.
The client and his wife have faced a series of challenges since last year. The wife is not Sherri’s client. “They were both in a skilled nursing home last year for rehabilitation. He had pneumonia, and she was there for four or five months with her first broken hip. His wife fell and broke the other hip two months ago. I was not there on the Sunday when she fell,” Sherri said.
Sherri added: “My client’s wife is getting better. The help I provide for my client directly benefits his wife. She is a happy person but can get emotional. Sometimes my client can be down in the dumps like any of us. He loves company. He’s got a good attitude. They are both courageous. I think God has worked things out so that I can be with them. I’d like to continue as I am now and maybe pick up a few more hours with Home Instead if the opportunities come up.”
The caregiving situation is a winning arrangement for everyone involved. In fact, Home Instead Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe announced that Sherri was honored as the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month for May. Sharon said: “Sherri is dedicated to her client and is a great Care Pro. Sherri displays Home Instead’s guiding principles of ‘Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.’ ”
