Employee Spotlight is a new Homewatch CareGivers of Crystal Lakeblog seriesmeant to surface stories of the amazing individuals behind our local caregiving service. From office workers and owners to the actual caregivers in the field, you’ll get to hear stories from our team so you can get to know the people who makes us who we are.
Tina has worked as a caregiver for Homewatch CareGivers (HWCG) of Crystal Lake for about three years. Before starting her position at HWCG, Tina had worked in caregiving for over 12 years, starting when she was only 15 and cared for her grandmother over the weekends. Between her days caring for her grandmother and becoming a professional caregiver, Tina worked in food service. In that position, she became friends with some of the regular customers and one of them told Tina she needed help caring for her dad who was living with MS, so Tina started caring for him before her shifts. Eventually, Tina gained more private clients and began working full-time with various home care companies, which eventually lead her to working with HWCG.
In addition to working with HWCG, and her private clients, Tina also works with elders in a small group home setting. The reason Tina enjoys this type of care is because in all three setting she gets to make personal connections with individuals and provide a highly relational form of care. Tina’s passion for coming alongside elders is what motivates all the care work she does. She especially loves to hear stories about elders lives and join them in their favorite activities.
One of Tina’s current clients is an elderly woman who is mentally robust but lives with some physical frailty that prevents her from doing a lot of her favorite things. Tina noticed that she was always ordering pie fillings and ingredients to make crust in her groceries, but she had not ever seen her bake. One day, Tina asked her if she would be interested in baking a pie together. Tina isn’t much of a baker, so she partnered with her client who was able to direct her in the process of making a beautiful pie together. This experience of baking with her client was deeply meaningful for both of them and embodies the type of “person directed care” we at HWCG emphasize. Tina didn’t simply bake the pie for her client but empowered her to have an active role in the process and this simple act of baking became an experience where both her and her client felt fulfilled and where the caring relationship was truly reciprocal.
When Tina is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her three daughters, and husband of 22 years. She has enjoyed life in Hebron where her and her family have lived for generations. In fact, her father is the local barber as was his father before him. In normal times, Tina enjoyes going out to restaurants with her family, but lately she has been enjoying any opportunity she has to stay in her pajamas at home all day.
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