Meet our July Employee of the Month!

Each month we highlight a Seniors for Seniors’s Senior Companion who goes above and beyond their job description to make our clients feel special and well taken care of.

Our July Employee of the Month, Barbara Bryant, has been a reliable, dependable and loyal employee since October 5, 2006!

We asked Barbara about her experience working at Seniors for Seniors. Here is what she had to share:

1. How did you hear about Seniors for Seniors and why did you decide to join the company?

I heard about Seniors for Seniors through a well-known advertiser called The Penny Saver. I had been running my own business for nearly 20 years but due to health concerns for my husband it was decided that it would be best to close the business.

When my husband received the news from the doctor that he could work, my husband, myself and another lady from my church decided to apply. We all wound up getting hired and working in various capacities with Seniors for Seniors.

2. What is Your favorite companion/caregiver experience or story?

There have been many fulfilling and enjoyable experiences over the years. My first client helped me realize how important it is to listen and take an active part in recovery. She had been taken from surgery to a caregiving facility. She had been unresponsive and the family had been told that there would be no change. Three years passed by and her determination to improve allowed her to return home. The caregiver who began to look after her had developed cancer and I was asked to take her place. Over the next couple of years I was told to please keep talking and encouraging my client. Her progress was phenomenal; having four degrees and a PhD in Biochemistry didn't hurt. Eventually she was capable of doing many things for herself and could manage very well with a live-in caregiver.

She helped me see how necessary positive input is in helping seniors realize that they too can help shape their future.

3. How has Seniors for Seniors benefited your clients?

From a practical standpoint, I tell my clients that working for an organization is of benefit when the caregiver is sick or injured. The client does not have to worry about who will come and look after them. That will automatically be looked after. The client does not have to be concerned about "having the money to pay" for the service that day. They will be billed and everything will be itemized. Often that eliminates their concern about having extra cash in the house.

4. How has being a Senior Companion enriched your life?

Meeting people from various walks of life, with many different stories to tell, makes me appreciate the generation of seniors and veterans more. Now they have the time to recall their past experiences and they usually give great advice. To quote one such senior, "experience has been a great teacher."

Thank you Barbara for sharing your experiences of being a Senior Companion at Seniors for Seniors. Congratulations on being the July Employee of the Month! We thank you for all the impactful work that you have been doing for the past 12 years!

Want to know more about being a Senior Companion? You can visit our employment page here.