Caregiver Appreciation Luncheon November 17, 2018
We have a tradition at Gauthier Family Home Care of saying “THANK YOU” to our caregiving staff every year as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. This year’s event was held at Pietro’s and attended by 50 of the best Caregivers in the Midwest! We understand how difficult the work can be that our Caregivers do, so we take time to talk about our business and share with our staff the remarkable, holistic, collective influence they have on families in west Michigan.
We also shower them with gifts, tools and service awards at this annual gathering because they deserve this kind of support and we truly value loyalty, the foundation of long-term employment relationships. Besides the requisite pen and note pad, inside of the nice totes we gave out were signed (personalized) copies of the book “Taking Care of Miss Bee Bee”. The author, Cheryl Edwards-Cannon is from Grand Rapids. Her book is about being the primary Caregiver for her mother who had Alzheimer’s, and the challenges she faced as she cared for her mother (Miss Bee Bee!) till her death. Cheryl was our keynote speaker and her message was so inspiring for our staff to hear first-hand!
Why do we place such a high value on loyalty? Because that is what is best for our clients (which is the only reason we exist!). We build relationships with our clients, over weeks, months and years that result in happy, independent clients and that takes the pressure off the children of our aging clients who often are the ones who bring us into the picture. We think of it as our family taking care of other families, that we are so honored to work with.
And exactly how remarkable is our caregivers’ collective influence on our families in west Michigan? This is what we shared with our staff at this year’s luncheon. In the seven years that we have been in existence, we have logged 328,000 hours of service.
I like to analyze numbers so they have meaning. So, what is the impact of 328,000 hours of service? It means that we spent 14,000 days, or 37 years, one on one, focused on the well-being of our clients and their extended families. If you look at it that way, it is so powerful indeed.
Part of my motivation for sharing this prolific contribution to our community is to encourage each one of our caregivers to share this information with their family. They go off to work every day in other people’s homes and I am not sure their spouses, children, siblings, and parents comprehend how important their footprint is in the local health care market.
That is why, after being with us for one year, we issue business cards for each caregiver. As far as I know, we are the only home care agency in the country that issues business cards. Their card looks just like mine, only it has a much more important job title than mine. Under their name, it says “Caregiving Specialist”, because that is what each one of them is. They are pros, and they are responsible for the incredible growth we have experienced and the dynamic impact our agency has on our senior community every day.
Allow me to say it one more time; THANK YOU ladies and gentlemen for your compassion and professionalism in the service of our clients. YOU ROCK!! Here are some photos of our fun day!
Dan
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