Risikat Suleman

Risikat Suleman

Meet Risikat Sulemon, a certified Home Health Aide (HHA) at Westchester Family Care Inc. WFC congratulates Risikat, who was recently honored as WFC Caregiver of the Month for her outstanding home care services. Risikat has been an in-home caregiver in the United States for 20+ years.

Risikat has been involved in home care for most of her life, going back to her upbringing in Ghana. There, she was encouraged at an early age to take care of younger siblings and older people needing help. And along with learning how to care for others, Risikat was taught to be extra respectful to older persons.

“Mom and Dad taught me to be kind to everybody. Growing up, we were told that if you take care of older people, you get a blessing. When you work in Ghana, everyone is family. We respect everybody. And we laugh a lot.”

Risikat’s caregiver training in Ghana became her “passport” to the United States when family members asked her to join them in offering her brand of loving caregiving to private clients here twenty years ago. Ten years later, she decided to join a New Jersey home care agency that provided her with HHA training and certification. In time, Risikat felt the pull of family, and she returned to New York, where her two daughters and son lived, and trained to become a certified HHA in NYS as well.

Between her years as a private caregiver, a certified caregiver in both New Jersey and New York, Risikat has built a knowledgeable career with exposure to many kinds of medical conditions and home environments among her elderly clients. She admits to having worked under challenging conditions but chooses to concentrate on the positive aspects of her working relations with clients.

“Not all cases are easy. We’re trained to have extra patience. At times, it’s not easy but I’ve been lucky. Some are so sweet. I learned how to crochet from a client.”

Throughout all of client home care experiences, one theme is constant for Risikat: family is everything.

“My longest caregiving employment was with a NJ client was for 5-6 years. I became like her daughter. Her children and sister gave me gifts on my birthday. I stay with most clients until they pass away on my watch. Even after a client passes, the children call to find out about me and my family. They still check up on me.”

flag of ghana map
taking care of elderly woman on wheelchair
Meet Our Team

Ever since returning to New York, Risikat has worked with WFC and other agencies. The way in which Risikat connected with WFC is a story worth retelling:

“The way I found WFC is a good story. The training center where I got my NYS certification gave us a list of home care agencies. But I decided to go online and googled “best home care agency.” WFC name came up first. I joined in July 2017 and I haven’t worked with any other agency in NY. I love these people.”

Speaking of family, that’s the way Risikat describes working at WFC. She believes WFC’s ability to treat clients and employees like family makes the agency stand out above the rest. That, and a fundamental understanding of how to provide the best in-home care for clients.

“I love these people. The way they (the office people) take care of us at times – just like my real family. That’s the most beautiful thing I love about them. And they really understand what’s needed in client service.”

Congratulations, Risikat, on being our July Caregiver of the Month! Risikat brings her level of caring, respect, and professionalism to every client case. We feel very fortunate to have her on the team, and we believe that the search phrase she used to find WFC on Google works both ways: she’s the best caregiver.