Edna Gonzalez

I attribute my success to client satisfaction and the quality of care we provide. When my clients reach out to say thank you for sending the right caregiver to their assignment, that's when I know I'm succeeding. I do an initial assessment to find out what kind of person needs service, what kind of service they need, and I work with my registered nurse to come up with a care plan and find the right match. When you send somebody out there who's doing what they're supposed to do, that's a blessing - it means the family or the client themselves are happy with your service. At the end of the day, it's about whether they're comfortable and well taken care of. You're also releasing stress from their family members, because caregiving can be very stressful. Being able to answer when they have questions, being there to cover when they need coverage, and since this is faith-based, being able to sit and talk with people who want someone to listen and share a word or two in terms of faith - that serves me and makes me feel so good. When I hear other people calling me saying they heard about what I do and want to set an appointment, those referrals tell me I'm doing something good. So far, so good - God is good, and we're growing.

You really have to see this client not just as a client, but more - what if it was your grandmother? What if it was your mother? What if it was your child? Is this the type of care you would want to see somebody give to your loved one? I put myself in that situation. Sometimes family members aren't there for a few hours, and some clients don't have any family at all. We are their family members. So try to make them feel safe, try to make them feel like they can rely on you. Please be dependable, reliable, trustworthy, because they don't have anybody. And even if they do, the outcome is the same - you have to do it like you were doing it to your loved one, or you would want them to do it to you. That's pretty much how life is. Do unto others what you want them to do unto you, because it's just gonna go around and come back. You just have to enjoy it and have to love it. That's how your day is gonna go faster with any type of job. If you enjoy doing what you're doing, your day is gonna go faster, and you're gonna love it. But if you don't, you're gonna be miserable, and you're not going to perform at your best. You can love what they're doing.

The biggest challenge is the shortage of employees and staff. It's always been there, and it's always going to be there. You want to invest in your employees so they can do a good job out there, because they represent us, they represent the company. The challenge is keeping and maintaining them without them going to the next company or agency. And sometimes it's just the shortages - you can't find good ones out there. Being a nurse aide or caregiver has to be something that you really love, because it's not an easy task and it's not gonna make you a millionaire. You're gonna have to love to do it, otherwise you're going to be miserable. I really invest my time in getting to know somebody when they walk into my office, and I explain to them what my mission is and what my expectations are, and I would love to see that it aligns with them. Otherwise, they're going to end up not loving what they're doing, just like any other type of job. So the staffing part of it is the main challenge. But so far, so good - it's manageable. The more you grow and get more clients, the more employees you need, so we'll see when we get there.