Elder Care in Gates, New York

I am a caretaker; it is what I was born to do. I have dedicated a majority of my life to helping people by providing superior care, so they can be as comfortable as possible, maintain their dignity and be encouraged to perform to their level of capability. I treat all of my clients as if they were my own family member through engaging them in conversation, reading, cooking with or for them, getting them where they need to go, encouraging social activities, making sure they are clean and properly tended to, and overall by treating them with the respect and compassion they deserve. If I see something that needs to be addressed, whether it's preventing a new pressure ulcer from getting worse, emptying the garbage, or bringing an onion for dinner; I take the initiative to do it without hesitation. I am a likable, astute, attentive, dedicated, reliable, competent woman with 10 years of professional experience caring for people with a vast array of mental, physical and social needs. I have worked in oncology, cardiology, intensive care, and orthopedic units in hospitals around the country, but have had the most interaction and spent most of my time with the elderly and terminally ill, and I truly love working with these people. I listen to them. Through their experiences and coming to terms with their own mortality, they have developed a sense of what's important in life and what's irrelevant. I was in a nursing program and have current NYS EMT certification with American Heart BLS/CPR, as well as psychological/psychosocial/bereavement training. I am quite capable of monitoring blood pressure, performing glucose checks, wound care, and medication administration. I have assisted people, or provided every aspect of their daily care, from just getting out of bed to doing range of motion exercises to doing tracheotomy care. My strong communication skills coupled with being easy-going has helped my success with Alzheimer's/Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury patients. Through my own experiences, I have decided that working in an institutional setting is not conducive to giving, or receiving the level of care that is encouraging success and healing in a comfortable environment. I want to dedicate my full attention to the people I care for and treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve, while helping them do what they can without being made to feel like their pace or lessened ability is a nuisance. I am very talkative, a fantastic listener, and quite engaging because I know how important it is for folks to maintain a sense of identity and purpose, and staying fairly active and social helps them heal faster and maintain an overall better quality of life.