Phyllis Trenholm

Phyllis-Trenholm

Phyllis Trenholm

Meet Phyllis Trenholm, the latest certified Home Health Aide to be honored by Westchester Family Care (WFC) as our Caregiver of the Month. She is one of our “legacy caregivers,” having been personally recruited by Founder Glenn Lane just as she completed her certification training as an HHA five years ago in a WFC-sponsored class at a local training center for medical and home care professionals.

Phyllis brings competence and kindness to the job:

“When people get old, they need help. I love taking care of them and listening to them remember the old times. When I’m lucky enough to work with a client for a long time, they become like family to me.”

– Phyllis Trenholm, WFC Caregiver

She also is skilled at recognizing and escalating potential emergencies — a critical responsibility for caregivers in charge of eldercare clients. An example of her quick-thinking and can-do attitude occurred recently when she arrived to care for her 99-year-old client but found her disoriented and confused. The client was mistaking Phyllis for a little girl. Phyllis called into the WFC office which arranged for immediate medical care and an emergency was averted.

That particular client is fine now. Phyllis works with her in a 12-hour shift from 7 am to 7 pm on most days, and pretty much covers all of her personal care, dietary, and grooming needs. She is close to this client and feels “like she’s my Grandma.” Phyllis is personally planning to celebrate the client’s 100th birthday in a few months with a cake, balloons, and flowers.

Phyllis had similar sentiments for her first WFC client with whom she spent three years of in-home care. The client couldn’t walk but that never stopped her from having fun with Phyllis and being grateful for her service. This thoughtfulness came through when Phyllis lost her mother, and the wheelchair-bound client was especially kind to her during that period.

Speaking of her mother, Phyllis entered the caregiving profession in part because of her. At the time, Phyllis was living in California and her mom was back in New Rochelle needing an HHA. Under Medicaid coverage, Mom got a caregiver, but Phyllis was very disappointed in how her mother was being treated when she came East for a visit. Her requests for a wheelchair went unanswered despite Phyllis frequently calling to secure one.

“They just weren’t doing much for her.”

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From California, Phyllis managed to get Mom the wheelchair. But with that experience, she found her calling; she decided then and there that she wanted to be the one who fights for other people’s parents. Phyllis moved back to New Rochelle to watch over her mom and to enroll in HHA training. She feels a kinship with other adult children of seniors needing home care and is proud to be part of a profession where she can play a role in lessening the concerns of the client’s family members.

The other thing Phyllis discovered in the move back to Westchester is a “home” with WFC and the people running the agency. Contrary to her unfortunate experience with the caregiving her mother received, Phyllis feels confident in the focus Glenn Lane instills in everyone working for the agency: to ensure the health and safety of clients to the best of WFC’s ability.”

“Other agencies are in it for the money, but Glenn is not. He is a really good soul, and he hires great souls, like Kenny (Thompson), Melissa (Cleveland), and Melanie (De Villiers). He gave me faith in the world again and in other people too.”

Phyllis, we think you’re a good soul too and a pretty great caregiver. Congrats on becoming our latest Caregiver of the Month!