Congratulations, Ruby S, for being our Caregiver of the Year – 2022!!
Ruby is one of our most experienced care pros and loved by all her clients and their families. We always know that our clients are in great hands whenever assigned to Ruby. She adapts quickly and extremely well to any given situation or client behavior. Ruby is a tough cookie with the kindest heart. Ruby is a joy whenever she comes to visit us, she always has little nuggets of wisdom to share from her many years of experience. Ruby is always helpful to her peers, and she is always willing to train and help other care pros as well.
We are blessed to have a fantastic Care Pro like you in our team!
Where were you born?
I was born in the Northern part of the Philippines.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town we call Lapaz Torre, city of Laoag, Province of Ilocos Norte.
How long have you been worked at HISC?
I been working with Home Instead since March 2021
What is your favorite part of caregiving?
My favorite part of caregiving is seeing my clients happy to see me as soon as I enter their home. This motivates me throughout my shift and helps me enjoy the work that I am supposed to do. With my clients, I always look to have some fun; we sing, we laugh and to me it is really important that the client and I enjoy each others company.
Is there a story about a client that stands out to you?
I have lots of stories to share but I have one client, she was quite a challenge. At first, I thought I could not handle her, and I assumed that I won’t be able to last working with her. But among all the client’s caregivers I am the only one that her family decided to keep on an ongoing basis. The client has been diagnosed with advance Alzheimer’s.
When my client was hospitalized, I was assigned to go to the hospital to see her and after six weeks in the hospital, she was moved to a care home, as she was deemed not fit to live alone. The client resisted the idea of moving out of her home and moving to a facility. She had many fond memories at home and I understood where she was coming from but I explained that it was no longer safe for her to be at her home. The client’s family was grateful and appreciative that I was able to convince the client to stay at the care home. They call me their “living angel’ and often say that without me, my client’s transfer to the care home would not have been possible.
Overall, I am not only her caregiver but a person she trusts. To keep her memory active, I take videos and pictures and to remind her of all the things that she’s been doing daily. There was one time she told me that I am her “brain”. It takes a lot of patience and understanding when working clients like her. Every time my shift ends, she would ask me on when I’d be visiting her next. I consider my clients as my family.
Tell a little about yourself?
My name is Maria Rubilda Soliman. My friends call me Ruby. I am 62 years old. I graduated from nursing, and I passed my license exam as a nurse from the Philippines. After I acquired my license, I applied to Singapore and worked as a nursing assistant in a home for the aged, that was run by the Singapore government. That’s when I decided to continue working with seniors and then I was given the chance to come to Vancouver. Work with the seniors became my passion and I find this work to be extremely rewarding.
I have two kids and I raised them both by myself. I used to workday and night in a few jobs while my kids were still young so that I could give them a good life. Now that my kids are grown up and are working, I try to focus on my future and prepare myself to be old myself! I wish I will also be treated just the way I have treated my senior clients.
They said growing old is not fun but the way I see it, its better to grow old than not to grow old. I guess it on depends how healthy one is in the long run. I just take it one day at a time, live life to the fullest, avoid stress as much as I can!
God bless you, Ruby!
