Patricia Norris recently was awarded the Caregiver of the Month award at SYNERGY HomeCare of Greater Boston. This is a new recognition program that was started to celebrate those caregivers who go above and beyond for our clients each and every day. Patricia does this regularly by taking on more shifts and maintaining good communication with the team.
I recently had an opportunity to interview Patricia to find out a bit more about her and her career choices. She has been a caregiver for over 25 years now. She decided to become a caregiver because when she was a teenager, she unfortunately witnessed elder abuse. Patricia didn’t want that to happen to anyone else and began her career in nursing homes before entering home care. She loves her job and really enjoys offering companionship to her clients and having the opportunity to sit down and talk to them.
As much as she enjoys her role, there are some challenges. For instance, clients have told her to “get lost” or “leave me alone,” Patricia knows that when this happens, they are just in pain and she doesn’t take it personally. Currently, her typical day begins when her client wakes up around 10:00 am and she tries to get her out of bed and to exercise. This requires a lot of convincing on behalf of Patricia, but she knows that it’s good for the client and perseveres. Her shift generally ends around 8:00 pm.
Patricia said that she enjoys working at SYNERGY specifically because she really likes Peter (the owner) and the office staff are nice. She thinks it’s a nice place to work and she recently recommended the agency to a woman looking for work. Patricia said that she would advise anyone thinking about becoming a caregiver to be kind and considerate. “You have to really want it and know that the elderly can get upset and take it out on you, but to let those moments go in one ear and out the other.” They get frustrated that they can’t do the things they used to do, but you have to convince them that they still can, if those things are modified.
Patricia shared with me about a time when she was out shopping with one lady and she confided in Patricia about her life: “The woman was in her 90’s and she told me that she was a school teacher and never got married; it was really nice to hear about her past.” Patricia loves hearing about each client’s history and life. This is what is most rewarding about her role.
SYNERGY HomeCare is lucky to have Patricia on our care team. We’re so proud of the hard work that she does everyday on behalf of our clients and we are so thrilled that she has won Caregiver of the Month! Congratulations Patricia and thank you again!
