Twice-honored Care Professional of the Month Anita Jackson has liked the idea of adding new clients if her schedule can accommodate it. She had never imagined gaining a new client in the unusual way she recently did. The new client was the wife of an existing client who has dementia. “They are my most interesting clients,” Anita said. “They are originally from an Asian country, and they have lived and traveled all over the world.”
During Thanksgiving week, the client’s wife, who at the time was not a Home Instead® client and has terminal cancer, was not feeling well. For two days, the couple’s home-health nurse and Anita urged her to go to the emergency room, but the client’s wife refused.
On Thanksgiving afternoon, she began having difficulty breathing. The couple and Anita were the only ones at home. Anita notified the Home Instead exchange, which is an answering service for Anita’s Home Instead franchise in Victoria, Texas. Anita explained that the wife was not a Home Instead client. But because of the situation, Anita knew she had to do something. So, she decided they were all going to a hospital emergency room. The Home Instead exchange said Anita’s office would be notified.
Anita explained: “I drove to the ER, which is about 10 minutes away. I got her into a wheelchair and moved her and her husband into the hospital. He began having feelings of anxiety. I explained everything to the desk clerk, and the wife was taken immediately. The husband and I waited for a diagnosis, but it became uncomfortable because her husband didn’t understand what was happening. I explained the situation to the clerk. So, we were allowed to go into the treatment room with her, where we remained for six hours while tests were being done. Meanwhile, her husband continued to fidget. Finally, the decision was made to admit the wife.”
But in a twist, the wife refused to be admitted because her husband was not allowed to remain in the hospital room with her. As a result, Anita called their son, who works in a neighboring city a few hours away. He came to take them home. A few days later, while working at the client’s home, Anita was back at the hospital with the client and his wife, who had been admitted.
Anita again notified her Home Instead office. Home Instead staff members thanked Anita several times for handling the emergency. When the situation was explained, the Home Instead office sent a staff member to the hospital to obtain the wife’s consent to be added as a client. “Before she became a client, I simply had to react quickly and get her to the ER. I would do it again if the same situation presented itself,” Anita said.
“It turns out that the client’s illness causes fluids to build up in her body, which results in breathing difficulties. She is having fluid removed to try to prevent this emergency from occurring again. The result of all of this is that I now have two clients in one house. God is good all of the time!” Anita said.
Two years ago, the faith-filled Care Pro saw God’s hand in her arrival at Home Instead. She said she responded to “a God Wink,” which can be defined as “an event or personal experience, often identified as coincidence, so astonishing that it is seen as a sign of divine intervention, especially when perceived as the answer to a prayer.”
Anita said her “God Wink” was a confirmation she should apply at Home Instead. She explained: “I learned about Home Instead while working for another company. I was caring for a couple who had dementia and happened to see a Home Instead commercial. When that assignment ended 2½ years later, I took a much-needed break. When I decided to return to the workforce, I remembered the Home Instead commercial.”
Anita added: “The next morning, as I was dressing, the Home Instead commercial came on again. I thought of this as a ‘God Wink’ – a confirmation – that I should apply at Home Instead. I drove to the office, where I met Maegan and Rebecca. I told them about seeing the commercial.”
Referring to Recruiting and Retention Coordinator Maegan Coldewey and Service Coordinator Rebecca Stracener, Anita said, “I talked about my experiences as a professional and family caregiver with them. Maegan, Rebecca and I were all excited. I joined the franchise on Feb. 8, 2022.” On June 24, 2022, Maegan announced Anita had been honored as the July Care Pro of the Month for the franchise owned by Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice. In February 2024, Maegan again announced Anita had been selected as a Care Pro of the Month.
Those awards are no surprise to those who know Anita, an experienced senior-care specialist long before she joined Home Instead. In fact, Anita had owned a caregiver agency and embraced the “caregiving” part but not necessarily other aspects. “While I enjoyed working with families and caregiver employees, I had reached a point where I didn’t enjoy all of the paperwork that is required,” said Anita, who had served as a family caregiver before starting her own agency.
“My mother had dementia, and she required a lot of care. While caring for my mother, I learned a lot about dementia from both sides – as the caregiver and the family member,” Anita said. “The family caregiver requires care as well. I have taken courses on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. I also have read several books on those topics. Most of my clients have had those illnesses. I have learned a lot while caring for them.”
For Anita, assisting seniors and their families is more than just the routine of going to work every day and carrying out the necessary tasks. “For me,” she said, “caregiving is not a job but my ministry. I strive to be the Care Professional who I would want to have.”
At our award-winning Home Instead franchise, owned by Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice, Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (361) 433-0330 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead services, visit our website.
