Jeffery Abrams and Pat Arsenault are Tougher than
Jeffrey Abrams and Pat Arsenault are Tougher than 2020!
Jeffrey and Pat work for our franchise partners Judy and Randy Loubier (NH).
Here is what Judy has to say about Jeffery.
Jeffrey came to work for us on January 29th, 2020, just before the pandemic became a crisis. On his application, when asked why he wants to work for us, he replied: “I’ve been doing this line of work for a year now and it is a very humbling experience.”
In the 8 1/2 months that Jeffrey has worked for us, he has provided care for 13 clients, most of who receive 12 hours to 24 hours per day. These clients are WWII vets, they are men and women on hospice, receive dialysis, have catheters, exhibit varying stages of dementia with all of the associated challenges, some are couples who have individual and sometimes competing needs. Jeffrey always says “yes” when we need him and he is always a favorite caregiver because he can reassure all he comes in contact with that he respects them, honors them, and is capable of meeting the greatest challenges with a calm and loving heart. He creates peace of mind. He always shows up to do his best. We never worry when Jeffrey is on the schedule.
Jeffrey is young. He is paramount to our 360 Initiative. He is hardworking and has a bright future. Jeffrey continues to work 40 or more hours per week despite now attending nursing school. When he gets his nursing degree, we will applaud him, his strength and perseverance, and, by then maybe we’ll need a second nurse!
About Pat, Judy wrote the following.
Pat came to work for us in March 2015. After a few months as a provider, she accepted a part-time job in our office. Pat adapted quickly to answering the phone with a smile, taking initial calls and booking assessments, keeping our paperwork organized, and generally helping things go smoothly. However, when her job-share partner retired, Pat stepped up and took the role of office manager-our first. At that time Pat began to display her intuitive knack for training and managing employees.
Pat is 64 and could have decided to take a back seat when COVID-19 hit but she is fearless. She has a deep faith and that keeps her steady and calm when the storm hits. Pat set up and managed every Zoom meeting when we were working from home, lovingly keeping everyone on their toes. She had started team building activities every Friday and continued to be innovative with these through the work at home weeks. She hired and trained our new recruiter. Pat helped manage COVID-19 training to caregivers with regular email and video communications and encouragement, while also maintaining records of every COVID-related phone call, quarantine, positive test, or runny nose. She turned to virtual/remote hiring to keep caregivers rolling in. She designs and manages reward programs for providers, care managers, and office staff. She also is responsible for setting up and managing our on-call schedule, dramatically reducing the number of calls Judy receives after hours. Her job description is huge and she never falters. Pat meets with us weekly to discuss any road bumps but also to highlight all of the victories. She has created an enthusiastic, efficient, and most importantly, loving, and caring internal team. She has changed our life in this business.
One more thing-Pat went away with her husband on their first vacation in more than 20 years last summer. Her full-time role here has opened up opportunities for her to enjoy some things that she had previously found out of reach. But even more, she is glowing with confidence in the knowledge that God has given her gifts of management through love and kindness, and with that, her dedication in the crazy time of a pandemic is unwavering. We are very grateful.
Thank you, Randy and Judy, for sharing these wonderful stories.
Congratulations Jeffery and Pat! Thank you for all you do for seniors and for being Tougher than 2020!