October 2021 CAREGiver of the Month - Helen Mekwunye
We are pleased to announce Helen Mekwunye as the first recipient of Home Instead Markham’s CAREGiver of the Month award for October 2021.
Helen has been an employee of our office since November of 2020 which was only one month after we opened the business. She was born and raised in Nigeria and emigrated to Canada with her husband and son a few years back. Her decision to pursue a career in caregiving was born out of her past experience of caring for her mother in the hospital after she had a stroke. When she arrived in Canada and heard about the huge need for individuals to work in the field of caregiving, she decided to forgo her chosen profession and enrolled in the Personal Support Worker (PSW) program. This has allowed her to care for other seniors that need assistance which she has enjoyed tremendously.
Helen is a very patient person with good listening ears and calm demeanor well able to work under pressure. She focuses on providing timely and efficient care to clients while ensuring respect, comfort, and safety at all times. The compassion she has for her clients is so immense and has been recognized many times. One of the things Helen loves about her job is that she has the ability to provide emotional and personalized support to seniors that want to age peacefully at home. Working with the elderly gives her so much joy and she feels honoured that she gets to play a positive role in their aging process.
From the moment Helen saw an article about Home Instead Markham in the papers, she knew she wanted to join the team. The fact that it was a family-owned business was particularly intriguing because of how important family is in her life. After her initial conversations with owners Jake and Tracy, it became clearer that this was the organization she wanted to be a part of. She appreciates that the environment at Home Instead makes it easy to share her aspirations, concerns and fears without any inhibitions. She calls it a beautiful experience being able to call the office team regarding her needs and get a listening ear without being judged or embarrassed. Helen has also really enjoyed the instances where she has crossed paths or worked with other CAREGiver’s, all of which have showed her compassion and kindness.
Helen has been instrumental in the success of Home Instead Markham since the very beginning. Every time she arrives to another shift, we know 100% that the client is in great hands and is getting treated with the utmost dignity and respect. She brings her reliability, gentleness, professionalism, and sense of humour to the job every single day. We are blessed to have her on our team and we can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes in the future!
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.
