KUDOS from Kelly

by Kelly McNamara

Dawn Reed: Yes, we realize we are being a bit repetitive here. Dawn was only recently recognized in this column for her unique brand of caregiving. But we feel the need to make an exception this month.

Dawn’s expertise lies not only in n her superb direct caregiving of her clients and support to their families. She is also an important and excellent resource for us as an expert in her field, possessing the ability to assess the additional needs of new clients, insuring all their needs are being met. In her brief time on a relief case recently, she expanded the clients’ plan of care, organized their environment as well as their everyday care, their daily schedules, and structure.

Dawn was called in to relieve a caregiver for her one-week vacation. Dawn is an otherwise busy, high in demand caregiver, so we choose her extra assignments carefully. This was a relatively new case; an elderly couple with many healthcare needs in addition to everyday activities of daily living needs.

Dawn went right to work with her customary focus on meeting all the couple’s needs. She began with the environment, giving a list of needed household supplies herself. She then focused on the daily care and hygiene needs of the couple, and devised many means of improving their care and environment to keep them healthy and free of infection. A sudden care issue arose with one of these clients, necessitating an emergency hospital admission, medication change, and aggressive follow up with his primary doctor on discharge.

Once again Dawn’s superior cooking skills came into play as she prepared several nutritious meals for the clients one of whom required a special diet, and enjoyed sharing mealtimes with them.

Dawn was in frequent contact with the family during her time on the case and greatly expanded the plan of care so that the regular caregivers could easily follow it upon her departure.

Dawn’s role as a catalyst with her extraordinary assessment skills and problem solving abilities combine to make her an especially valuable asset to our company as well as a top notch caregiver in her own right.

From all of us, Thanks Dawn!

All caregivers mentioned in this column will receive a gift card and our sincere appreciation! Many many thanks to all of you for once again extending yourselves to ensure that we are of course Always There…!! ■