“What’s a Little Thing You Do to Brighten Your Client’s Day?”
The above question is the first entry in a new monthly raffle the VNS Health Personal Care team just launched: Each month, home health aide (HHA) team members will be asked a question about the care they provide to their patients and clients. There will be a different question every month—and from among those who answer the question, three HHAs will be picked at random to receive a prize. (To see this month’s winners, click here.)
More than 400 HHA team members responded to this first question. Of that group, 33% said they brighten their client’s day by cooking their client’s favorite meal… 18% replied that they sing, dance, or play music (one HHA plays Bob Marley for their client, another plays Tina Turner)… and 17% said they share a cheerful smile or say something positive to their patient or client. To quote HHA Valentina Rutchka: “I always give my patient a big warm smile to let her know just how happy I am to see her!” One of the shortest but happiest answers came from Marine Vaden, who simply said, “I dance.”
One thing that was on full display in all their responses? Our Core Value of Empathy!
Here are just a few of the many creative ways our wonderful HHAs make their patients and clients feel cherished and special:
Kelly Bargisen: “I always put a sticky note with a smiley face on my client’s meal tray.”
Denise Pinder: “My client has dementia, so I put on the kind of music she used to sing along to – songs by Frank Sinatra and Trio las Panchos.”
Cassandra Shouder: “One thing I do is listen to my client when she just wants to talk.”
Emily Santiago: “I had a client who was 101 years-old and was bed-bound. Every morning when I walked into her room, I would say, ‘GOOD MORNING BEAUTIFUL!!!’ with volume in my voice. She would greet me back with a giggle. Sometimes she had days when she was feeling down in the morning, and I wouldn’t get the same reaction. I would tell her, ‘Okay, we are going to do this over. I’m going to step out of your room and come back in and greet you again.’ And I did, again with volume in my voice. She would laugh and say, “You always know the right things to say to make me giggle.’ It was a beautiful thing, knowing that I could change her mood and put a smile on her face, even on those days when she was feeling down.”
Ayleen Alvarez: “One little that I’ll do for my client is buy her a set of carnations in different colors.”
Marjorie Buford: “My client enjoys it when I come into her home with her favorite cup of decaf cappuccino from her favorite coffee shop. It’s like witnessing a person who is receiving the thing that thoroughly brings them pleasure. I can see the LOVE in her eyes for me.”
Michelle Garcia: “At bath time, I prepare everything as if it was a spa. I tell my client, ‘Welcome to Michelle’s Spa! Time to relax and enjoy!’ I love to sing a well-known song to clients while I wash their hair with massages. I did this with my grandfather. It makes me happy that they feel happy.”
Jacqueline Rouse: “I tell jokes that we used to say when I was growing up as a child in my home country.”
