Home Care Benefit 

​Working with seniors is something that was instilled upon me from a young age by my mother. When my mother was a volunteer visitor I would occasionally join her on her visits to see Katarina when I was about 8 years old. Katarina was Russian and spoke only a little bit of English. I still remember that Katarina would be in absolute amazement when I would put the straw in my drinking box – she had never seen anything like it and I would show her how it worked! In sharing the same passion with my mother, I continued on during my high school years volunteering at a Long Term Care facility & volunteer visiting also. Later in life when my grandmother was in Long Term Care, just over an hour away, I regularly went to visit her with my three children until she passed away in 2010. Seeing the enjoyment that she would get watching the children run around and engage her was priceless and truly memorable. Being the owner of Etobicoke’s Home Instead allows me to work at my passion and sincerely feel like I am making a difference in a senior’s life. I am honored to have the privilege to provide services to our clients and it is something I take very personally.

“I was fortunate to have spent the majority of my childhood with all four grandparents. The advantages of having them nearby and learning valuable lessons such as, the power of integrity, importance of education and persistence of hard work, undoubtedly had a positive influence throughout every aspect of my life. They repeatedly advised, aging is a blessing and to live each day to the fullest. They were named, ‘The Greatest Generation’ for good reason”.

Tom’s natural aptitude for leadership has earned him an impressive track record of operational success as a change management & strategic leadership professional. From building and overhauling operational programs to driving cultural business transformation initiatives through his hands-on approach to leadership, Tom fosters a culture of collaboration, empowerment, accountability, employee engagement and customer satisfaction supported by his People, Process, Customer leadership philosophy. He states; “Joining the Home Instead team has been the highlight of my professional career. The opportunity to work with a team of dedicated, caring and focused individuals while being able to make each & every customer interaction a personal experience fills my heart with gratitude. Helping the seniors in our community and at the same, playing a vital part in changing the face of aging is an experience I can only describe as incredible”. Tom has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Liverpool and prior to joining Home Instead, successfully held various operational positions for both national and internationally recognized brands. Through a combination of client focused strategies, an overall determination for excellence whilst Tom’s strong track record developing high performance teams are key focus areas to ensure Home Instead continues to enhance the quality of life for seniors and their families.

Adrian has joined the Home Instead team as the General Manager-Etobicoke following a career in municipal government and the healthcare sector.

Prior to his current role, Adrian was the Administrator at Notre Dame Convent in Waterdown, a community for retired Sisters (nuns). The selflessness and dedication of the Sisters further strengthened Adrian’s commitment to his community and to his belief in providing superior client care services to the senior sector.

Adrian lives in Burlington with his wife and two children who are attending university.

In his role, Dan Gallagher lets healthcare professionals in the community know about Home Instead Services and helps families find immediate care in emergency situations. He will responsible for connecting Home Instead in the communities. Dan was selected because of his keen interest in seniors and his desire to help them maintain their independent lifestyle. Dan will be out in communities working with our community partners presenting our public education programs and sharing how Home Instead can help seniors and their families. Dan will also be involved in the community supporting non profit and other organizations that serve seniors.

Paul grew up in the westend and is grateful to now be able support his community. His career with Home Instead has given him the opportunity to connect with the vast amount of resources that exist to family CAREGivers and their senior loved ones, including those provided by Home Instead. He is a good listener and will do his best to understand your unique needs and present you with only the very best of options. His goal is return family caregivers to the role of spouses, sons and daughters and seniors to higher quality of life, by ensuring that your CAREGiver and solutions are "best-fit".

As a Registered Nurse, Belinda has a strong focus in gerontology and is committed to allowing our aging community to be treated with dignity and empathy while preserving a person’s independence and self-respect. In her role Belinda's if focused on delivery of service and ensuring top quality care for our clients. Her nursing background is a highly valuable asset when assisting clients and their families to develop the right Care Plan for their specific needs. Belinda evaluates the Care Plan with the Care Team, the client and the family to ensure delivery of high quality care and client satisfaction.

Born in the Philippines, Maria came to Canada as a young child and has called Etobicoke home since then. She is a former Home Instead CAREGiver and more importantly, a CAREGiver of the Year, so Maria intuitively understands the needs of both our staff and our clients. As the Service Coordinator she will use her experience to schedule clients and CAREGivers in order to provide the highest quality service to clients.

Karen has worked in customer service for over 35 years. She chose to work at Home Instead because she is very passionate that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect no matter what age they are. Karen likes to take on challenges and will do her best to get the job done properly. She takes pride in any job she does. I am a very compassionate and caring person with a bubbly fun personability. I am also a very trust worthy and honest person. And I am honoured to be working with such an amazing company and great co-workers.

I come from a large and tight-knit family in which love was always part of our education and way of living; love amongst each other especially towards our grandparents and elders. Working at Home Instead gives me the opportunity to reflect that love with my community. I am a passionate professional, a reliable person and every day I strive to understand the needs of our clients and CAREGivers. My experience working in Human Resources and Administrative positions gave me the chance to improve my communication and empathy skills, which I put in practice with every call I receive, seeing it is a new chance to learn, improve and strengthen the bond between HISC, the seniors and their families.

As a Key Player Assistant, Riva’s return to Home Instead has been a journey of close relationships. Riva originally joined Home Instead in 2008 as a Recruitment & Retention Coordinator. After 2010 she unfortunately had to return home three times on separate occasions to take care of 2 older brothers and her mom when they got ill. Riva’s passion and pride of caring for the community around her is truly reflective of her actions with her family history and moreover, here at Home Instead. She feels very fortunate to be part of a great team of people that adds value to their clients in an extraordinary fashion.

Prior to immigrating to Canada, she was an overseas foreign worker in Abu Dhabi / Dubai United Arab Emirates for a decade where she worked for global companies such as Credit Suisse, Rizzani De Eccher among others. She also served as HR Officer for an EU development project in the city of Puerto Princesa and as an IELTS Invigilator for the British Consulate in the Philippines. In Canada, she was blessed to have the opportunity to work for one other amazing company in Ontario for years.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her granddaughter and trying to learn new things.

Erin has joined Home Instead as Manager of Quality & Standards after a lengthy career in the Food Service industry. For over 20 years Erin has had many roles such as lead trainer for Canada opening up new franchisee restaurants, to working within the Franchisee head office in various roles, to finally owning 2 franchise’s along with her husband. She also started a separate food and beverage catering company working with private clubs for the past 11 years. During the course of time, Erin was honoured to be involved with numerous charities such as Heart and Stroke Foundation, Relay for Life, MS Society, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Run for the Cure. Erin is very excited to join Home Instead as her passion for Seniors started from a young age, by volunteering at a retirement home doing odd jobs for those who needed help. But quickly discovered the Seniors wanted more of companion. Erin was extremely fortunate to grow up having both sets of grandparents very active in her life with weekly visits, As she grew older, she started to see their health challenges take over which caused her to be even more involved in their lives. Erin is excited to complete the full circle working with such an amazing organization helping Senior’s continue to live their best life.