9 Questions with Monica
August 22, 2022
Monica is an integral part of the Premier Custom Care team. Through her mantra of “pushing the good,” she’s able to help caregivers in countless ways and help nurture the PCC culture of family and positivity. We got to learn more about how she makes our clients and caregivers lives easier through her work.
1. How many years have you worked for PCC and what do you do?
It will be 10 years in January! There are many parts of my job that are great. I do a little of everything (except payroll and billing) – training caregivers, managing our caregivers and their schedules, engaging with our clients, helping everyone stay positive and happy, and putting out fires. The current management team is the best we have ever had; a group of women that love helping the client and the caregiver.
2. What about your job do you find most rewarding?
The best part is when I get to see a caregiver bloom into a confident essential team player; or when a client or caregiver calls me and says I’m not sure this is a good fit and we talk it through and it ends up being a fantastic fit! All care companies are only as good as their current staff and I truly believe we have the best – that starts with Alysha (Jackson) in billing, down to the caregiver I just trained with today! The trainee is originally from Jamaica and had just found out this morning her mom had passed. In our training we talked a lot about our mothers and death and grief. What we do in the home is hopefully how we would treat our parents and grandparents.
3. How do you try to accommodate a caregiver’s personal schedule with their work schedule?
First, I like to explain to everyone that we never send them to anywhere we have not been or to anyone we have not met. I would not send them anywhere I wouldn’t send my daughter. I actively have conversations with our caregivers about their preferred scheduling for the week/month. And I work really hard to balance that with our clients’ scheduling needs. I am happy to schedule a caregiver one shift a week as long as they are solid with the shift. Several of our caregivers do that, and other health professionals still work a few shifts a month or sometimes as an emergency help because they love the clients and the company. But even with a well planned schedule, our biggest challenge can be when an unexpected health issue or hospital stay occurs. When this happens, we will review and update the entire schedule to accommodate and make certain our team does not lose their hours. Most other companies wouldn’t do that.
4. What do you do to keep things positive and fun at PCC?
Our goal is to make sure the caregivers feel appreciated and loved, but understanding that what we do sometimes sucks. Most people don’t go to work not knowing if who they spend the day with will be here next week. Dementia and Alzheimer’s are horrible diseases that we have to try to lighten up. For example, I had a client who had memory issues and said that we could take her to the museum every day and she’d be happy because it would be new to her every day. We spread positivity through motivation; we can give money to caregivers as well as compliments! Our management always goes above and beyond for our caregivers and clients. We also use a really cool app called Motivosity. With us all individually busy at our clients’ homes, the app gives us a place online we can all come together digitally, share things that are going on, congratulate others, have contests, share recipes, and a whole lot more!
5. What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?
Professionally, I care about wanting the best for everyone involved with PCC. Our owner does work shifts in the field and truly cares for her company. I tell caregivers that when a client passes, we were able to help them achieve their final goal of being able to stay in their home. Personally, I would like us to live in a better world. I like to say, “push the good.” I would much rather spread good news than bad. I want everyone’s cup to be half full — some days we just need smaller cups. Good days and better days, no bad days.
6. What are some things people should consider when deciding if caregiving is the right fit for them?
I think that caregivers are the best people in the world. Most people do not dream about the day that someone has to help them shower or use the restroom.
A good caregiver walks in the room with a smile and has the ability to make the day a success no matter what is going on. Do you have compassion? Can you put your world aside for your visit to truly engage with the client? You’ll have to be tough skinned and flexible.
I like to tell students that for all of our past students, that worked with us, they have gotten into their school of choice and into their jobs of choice. Alysha writes amazing reference letters!
7. What are some of the lesser known benefits of working at PCC that you’d like to share?
Our caregiver referral program is awesome. Our owners, Alysha and Dan (Jackson), work hard to make PCC the premier employer in the caring field. This is evident in healthcare insurance we offer and the matching retirement plan, both of which you’re not going to find at many other in-home care companies. We truly treat EVERYONE like family. The best caregiving comes from our caregivers!
8. What do you want future caregiver candidates to know about PCC?
We are ethical, caring and more fun than not. You can’t work for a better company! Like any family we have good days and better days, but at the end of the day we all love each other. If you need a supportive team that is PCC. We’re by far the most ethical company in the industry. You are always heard and you will be part of a great team. We research our clients as much as we background check our caregiving team. We want our caregivers in a safe environment and able to concentrate on the care needed. We pay true overtime, offer benefits, and allow our entire team to participate in a company matched retirement plan (after a year of employment).
9. What’s something fun most people don’t know about you?
I went to clown school! I also have only lived on my street having three different addresses. And if I could only pick one board game to play for the rest of my life, it would be Rummikub.