December 2021 CAREGiver of the Month - Bernadette D'Souza
We are pleased to announce Bernadette D’Souza as the third recipient of Home Instead Markham’s CAREGiver of the Month award for December 2021.
Bernadette has been an employee of our office since November of 2020 which was a month after we opened. She worked in a number of different fields throughout her career such as Insurance, Banking, Telecommunication, Government and Volunteer services. From a young age she has volunteered in hospitals, residential homes, churches, and for over 10 years at Sheppard Village in Toronto. Outside of work her interests include caring, sharing, and delivering activities/service that simply makes people’s lives better.
Bernadette is a very humble and caring person who sets out to make a positive difference in the lives of others on a daily basis. She chose to get into caregiving because of the satisfaction she feels in giving back to people. If you are reading this we are sure it is clear to you that Bernadette has the perfect experience and personality traits to make her an ideal CAREGiver at Home Instead. She has been an integral part of our team from the moment she was hired and has taught us so much along the way. Her favourite part of working at Home Instead is that she feels that there is simply no better place for her to deliver her caring services to seniors. She is also very grateful of the support the rest of the team provides her to do her job.
Our office matched Bernadette up with her first client immediately after she joined the team and to this day she is still providing care for her. Originally the family of this client was quite adamant on a Greek speaking caregiver due to this being the client’s first language. We felt that even though Bernadette did not speak Greek, she had the experience with dementia and the personality traits to provide great care to this individual. The family decided to move forward with this arrangement and it has worked out tremendously. Bernadette spends about 30 hours per week with this client while the daughter is at work, keeping her safe, engaging her with games and puzzles, and watching the clients favourite TV shows together (like Family Feud)! They have become good friends and the family is so thankful for Bernadette’s presence in their lives. She loves hearing stories from her client how she was a wonderful teacher and her life back in Kastouria, Greece where her father operated three bakeries.
Bernadette is so organized and is so keen on doing everything the right way. She is beyond reliable and is constantly looking for new ways to engage and make her client happy. She is also an absolute joy to be around. We are so lucky to have met Bernadette and have her on our team. Thanks for all that you do Bernadette and congratulations on this well deserved award!
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (905) 604-4223 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
