Caregiver of the Month: Wanda Walker

Caregiver of the month, Wanda Walker, has been a caregiver with A Place At Home for almost four years.

If you were to meet Wanda in person, it would be obvious why the team chose her as caregiver of the month. You can hear her boisterous laughter through walls, and her smile will light up a room. She’s been a favorite among A Place At Home clients over the years, and it’s no wonder.

“She’s always smiling and laughing. She has a great attitude anytime you see her, and she really cares for her clients. She rarely calls out, and she’s always willing to help.” – Rebecca Matthews, Care Coordinator

Wanda has been caring for others since she was nine years old. At the time, her mother was diagnosed with Lymphoma, which ultimately took her from this world. Wanda promised her mother before she passed that she would always help those that need help. It wasn’t an empty promise. Caring for others is something that Wanda holds dear.

“It’s in my heart – like when I cared for my mom, it makes me feel good.”

Wanda’s clients feel the same way about her – she has a profound impact on the lives of the people she cares for. One of her current clients, Mr. Hartwell, expressed his appreciation for Wanda’s time with him. Mr. Hartwell is legally blind and shares that Wanda does outstanding work for him. She takes care of his meals, makes sure his apartment clean, and orders his groceries.

“I can trust her with everything… I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Wanda has a special gift of getting her clients to open up and engage with life. Part of that might have to do with her cooking. Every single client Wanda has cared for has shared their appreciation for Wanda’s cooking. To that, she says, “When I see my clients, there’s a smile on their face, I can get them to open up, and they eat!”

While Wanda has been caring for people since she was a child, she’s been a professional caregiver for 25 years. With all that experience under her belt, the best piece of advice she gives to new caregivers is to treat their clients like they would treat one of their family members. That outlook has served her and her clients well over the years. That, and her love of caring for others, which she says she plans on doing forever. “I enjoyed caring for others when I was younger, I enjoy doing it now, and I’ll do it until my dying day.”

If Wanda’s passion for caring for others resonates with you, apply to work with us today. Experience what it feels like to positively impact the lives of seniors in the metro area!

A Place At Home Honors First-Ever National Caregiver of the Year

The 2020 Caregiver of the Year went the extra mile in providing exceptional care.

The 2nd Annual A Place At Home Franchise Convention was held in late September. This event marks a time for franchisees to connect, collaborate, and celebrate the past year. This year also marked the first-ever recognition of the National A Place At Home Caregiver of the Year. Franchisee’s submitted nominations from all over the country for one caregiver that went above and beyond the call of duty, demonstrating an extraordinary commitment to delivering quality care to clients and their families and lives the “We are CARE” philosophy.

“We received many nominations from all over the country and each one was inspiring. It was difficult to choose just one winner,” said Jerod Evanich, President and Co-Founder of A Place At Home.

However, there was one nomination that painted a detailed picture of how one person went above and beyond the call of duty. The nomination read:

“Dave came on with A Place At Home after decades of working in the insurance business. He wanted to do something more “rewarding” in his 60s. He got his CNA/CMA and began working to make people’s lives better. 

Dave treats all clients like family. He creates a unique bond with each client he works with. He is always on time, never calls out, and makes sure everything is done to his best ability. 

Dave has worked for the past year with a very high acuity client. He instantly bonded with the young client (49) who due to a rare set of circumstances went from a successful businessman to a barely communicative paraplegic overnight. 

He has spent countless hours working as the main caregiver for this client and his family. Not only does he transport the client to his MANY weekly therapy appointments but works one on one with him in his home. Dave is consistently cheering this client on to make his next personal best in his daily bike exercises and always makes notes when a personal best has been reached. 

Dave has worked with therapists at Madonna to learn this client’s individual therapies and continues them at home as well as trains other caregivers working there in how they can help him gain strides. 

When he heard their anniversary was approaching, he took it upon himself to plan a romantic dinner out so the client could surprise his wife. He took the client out to get a card, made reservations at a nice restaurant, planned for a special dessert, and took time out of his off time to transport them over there in the client’s wheelchair van so they could surprise the wife. 

Dave does everything he can to try to relieve some stress off the wife who is also a mother of four and a doctor. Life for her is crazy and Dave makes sure there is always one less thing for her to worry about in his care for the client. Dave’s level of commitment to not only the client but also to our company goes above and beyond anyone I have ever seen.”

Dave walked into A Place At Home – Papillion shortly after they opened their doors in 2019. Dave interviewed for a CNA position and said he was looking for something that would fill his heart. He had retired from insurance and was now searching to do something more meaningful with his time.

“I remember thinking where the heck did this guy fall out of the sky from?” said Rick Perkins, Owner of A Place At Home – Papillion.

Dave was placed with Don in August of 2019 and the two found an instant connection. They not only share common interests but are also from the same town and attended the same college. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that brought these two together. But citing six degrees of separation,  Dave said, “There are no coincidences. I’m blessed to be a part of Don’s life.”

As blessed as Dave feels, Don and the A Place At Home team consider themselves equally fortunate to have Dave fulfilling his personal mission: to touch as many lives as possible as a caregiver.

Dave is firm in his belief that you must have a servant’s heart to work in this industry; you must have empathy, and be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s this mindset that awarded Dave Caregiver of the Year. While he was happy to be awarded this honor, it’s his internal compass that drives his actions.

“At the end of the day, I lay my head on my pillow, and I know I made a difference.”

A Place At Home Sells First Corporate-Owned Location to Local Franchisee

Omaha-based A Place At Home is now 100% franchisee-owned.

The day before the 2nd Annual A Place At Home Franchise Convention, A Place At Home Franchise sold its original Omaha location to Papillion franchisees, Rick and Kris Perkins.

“I can’t think of a better match for our Omaha-location than Kris and Rick. They won our 2020 Rookie of the Year award at this year’s convention, they’ve cared about the seniors of our community for a long time, and I am completely confident in their ability to take over Omaha operations. The staff loves them, we love them, it was a perfect match,” said Dustin Distefano, CEO and Co-Founder of A Place At Home.

Rick is a former counselor and manager who spent 20 years with Child and Adult Protective Services. He also served as Program Coordinator for the Juvenile Assessment Center. Kris is a former 911 dispatcher and EMT. She also worked in sales and deployment roles for Motorola Solutions, Inc., where she deployed public safety software across the United States. This husband-and-wife team has been running the Papillion franchise location for over a year now.

“Helping seniors age in their own homes has become a passion for us, and the Omaha team has been so wonderful to work with during this transition,” Kris says.

“We understand enlisting the help of professionals to care for loved ones is a tough decision to make,” said Rick. “We want the Omaha community to know we’ll treat your family like we’d treat our own family. And we want to ease the stress of the transition to an assisted living community when the time comes.”

The Papillion franchise office is located at 10791 S. 72nd St., Suite #104, and serves Bellevue, Offutt, Ralston, Chalco, La Vista, Council Bluffs, and Center Lake. The Perkins will establish the new Omaha location at 9829 S 168th Ave, Suite A in 2021. They will also have a central satellite office at Terrace Plaza, 11414 W Center Rd. They will also serve Elkhorn, Fremont, Blair, Wahoo, and Gretna and the Iowa communities of Council Bluffs, Crescent, and Glenwood.

To A Place At Home co-founders, Jerod Evanich and Dustin Distefano, awarding franchises to the right people is an important part of fulfilling their mission:

“To be passionate professionals providing the compassionate care solutions you need, when and where you need us.”

If you or someone you love needs care in their home, contact us today!