Family & Children’s Service recently honored four outstanding FCS Certified Home Health Aides (CHHAs) during a special staff recognition ceremony. Donna Moody, Venicia Louissant, Georganna DiPierro and Lydia Rivera were each selected as “Aide of the Month” for the months of March, April, May and June respectively. FCS CEO Delly Beekman presented the aides, all of whom have more than a decade of service to the agency, with award certificates and recognition pins.
FCS Home Care Services currently employees 75 aides to assist more than 175 seniors and disabled clients, a majority of whom qualify for home care grant assistance from the Monmouth County Division on Aging, Disabilities and Veteran’s Affairs. All CHHAs work under the guidance and direction of a Registered Nurse and receive training in personal care skills, including bathing, dressing, shopping, meal preparation, Range of Motion assistance and a variety of other tasks.
While all of FCS aides are trained to carry out these special skills, Director of Nursing Kathleen Vourlos says the “Aide of the Month” demonstrates additional qualities.
“Our Aide of the month is selected because she not only has the proficiency to carry out specific tasks and follow a plan of care,” Ms. Vourlos says. “She also shows that extra special something that sets her apart from her peers. She has compassion, empathy and a kind spirit; characteristics that can not be taught in a classroom.”
Donna Moody, Aide of the Month for March, is an aide who embodies these characteristics. Her nurse supervisor Kathleen Rosa describes her as “always calm and patient,” and “a wonderful asset” to the agency. You can read more about Donna here.
Georganna DiPierro, Aide of the Month for May, came to FCS in 2001. A resident of Sea Bright who was displaced during Superstorm Sandy, Georganna says she understands what it is to be vulnerable and has great empathy for the clients she serves.
“After I am with my clients for a while, they become like family to me.” Georganna says. “They have wonderful stories to tell and I love hearing them. Most of them are just in need of some attention. I get great joy out of caring for them and bringing some happiness into their lives.
Lydia Rivera, Aide of the Month for June, has been with FCS for 26 years. Loved by her clients and many of the other residents at the senior-living facility where she works, Lydia frequently can be found providing help to clients after work hours, and even assisting people she is not paid to care for.
“If they need help, how could I say no?” Lydia asks.
Widowed at the age of 32, Lydia is a single mom who juggles a full-time commitment to caregiving while raising her extended family.
“To be an aide, you have to have tremendous love and compassion for people,” Lydia says. “It is not for everyone.”
Client obligations prevented Venicia Louissant, Aide of the Month for April, from attending the recognition ceremony. You can read more about Venicia here.
Ms. Vourlos says all of FCS’s aides do a tremendous job caring for their clients. “When I visit our aides with their clients, I witness our Mission at work,” Ms. Vourlos says. “They make a remarkable difference assisting people in their quest to remain independent at home.”