Jim Fair
Becky Pickett, owner of Home Helpers and Direc Link, Cindy Anthony, and Ann Ledbetter, Client Caregiver Manager, celebrate Anthony's selection as the company's 2012 Caregiver for the Year.
Jim Fair
Ellen Wall watches the impromptu ceremony honoring Anthony. Wall's aunt, Mary Belle Obermeir, was a client of Anthony's for two years.
Jim Fair
Cindy Anthony, and her husband, Mark, pose for a picture during the ceremony honoring the caregiver for outstanding service in 2012.
“I almost feel unworthy of this award,” Anthony said. “It’s very humbling, I’m flattered and a lot of other people deserve it.”
Not according to Ellen Wall, niece of Mary Belle Obermeir who was a former client of Anthony. “My aunt didn’t have any children and she stayed in her room most of the time at Cottages at Brushy Creek. My aunt was very particular and very introverted. Cindy was her caregiver for two years. She so easily adapted to the relationship.”
Becky Pickett, who has seen Home Helpers grow from a handful of people to 25-40 depending on the time of year, said Anthony is the epitome of caregivers. “She is caring, patient and continues to improve herself through education.”
Anthony was the third caregiver interviewed for Obermeir. “I wanted another pair of eyes with my aunt,” Wall said. “Three caregivers visited and Cindy was the one my aunt wanted. Cindy was a perfect match and the relationship we had was so special.”
Anthony has two children, 17- and 15-years old, and formerly worked at a day care center. She began as a receptionist at Home Helpers and Direct Link and became a caretaker. Anthony took weekend classes to add a CAN (Certified Nursing Assistant) certificate.
A spiritual class Anthony attended at Trinity Church reinforced her calling. “It emphasized spiritual gifting, teaching empathy and mercy,” she said.
“The job demands a lot of patience, a lot of compassion and you have to listen a lot,” Anthony said. “(Obermeir) made me feel like family.
“Quality of life is the main objective for a caregiver,” Anthony said. “Everyone deserves dignity. This lady (Obermeir) told me her (soul). She trusted me. She told me where her things came from and what to do with them. This woman traveled the world at a time when a lot didn’t.”
Caregivers don’t replace hospice. “We are secondary to hospice and follow the hospice rules,” Pickett said.
There is one litmus test Ann Ledbetter, Client Caregiver Manager, said she learned through an interview with Pickett. “I would like caregivers to treat their clients like their mother. If you can’t do that I don’t want you. That’s one of the things Becky asks during her interviews.”
“You’ve got to match the personality with the caregiver and the client,” Ledbetter said. “For example, me, I’m a talker. You don’t want to match me with another talker. I would be best with a silent client.”
Anthony’s husband, Mark, was at today’s ceremony. “She empathizes with clients,” Mark said. “She gives someone a chance to talk to and not vegetate in front of the television.”