Honoring the 2020 Visiting Angels Caregiver of the Year Award Winner Debbie Moorefield
The smile on Debbie Moorefield’s face instantly sets those around her at ease. As soon as she settles into an office chair ready to discuss her journey as a caregiver, it becomes apparent why Moorefield has been selected from more than 600 Visiting Angels offices as the 2020 Caregiver of the Year. She radiates joy and embodies compassion; a generous mix of the Energizer Bunny, Martha Stewart and Mother Theresa as described by Visiting Angels Director Mary Kay Brodnan. 
“She just keeps going and going like the Energizer Bunny,” shares Brodnan. “[For] Martha Stewart, she will bring homemade zucchini bread to her clients, will do an intimate tea party, will always bring fresh flowers from her garden. But her biggest quality is the Mother Theresa. She sees the person behind the disability. She prides herself on giving such good intimate care. She will always reassure them that they’re going to be okay.”
The Start of the Caregiving Journey
Moorefield began working as a caregiver with Visiting Angels Mentor in 2003. She has since worked 45,502 hours with 225 clients across 5,760 shifts. The numbers with Visiting Angels are impressive, but Moorefield’s experience as a caregiver expands nearly 32 years. She originally started caregiving to families she met through church, then later began answering local ads. In 2003, after a particularly hard hospice case, Moorefield expected to take some time off, but her husband encouraged her to apply for a caregiving position with Visiting Angels.
“I had just come off of a private case that was pretty intense, a hospice case, and I wasn’t planning on getting back into the saddle at that point that quickly,” says Moorefield. “My husband shared a newspaper article about Visiting Angels launching a new franchise in Mentor and he encouraged me to call. So, I prepared my portfolio and got letters of recommendation, and I was hired immediately. I have no regrets. I just love Visiting Angels.”
And the feeling of love, according to Brodnan, is equally matched by the Visiting Angels staff toward Moorefield. As soon as Brodnan met Moorefield during her interview, she knew she found a special caregiver. “I am interviewing at a local library and Debbie came dressed to the T and she sat down and has this binder that had pictures and letters of recommendation and her experience. And it reminded me of me. I thought ‘I like this girl’. So, I called on her references and they came out shinning and Debbie started working full-time right away.”
The Qualities of a Caregiver of the Year Winner
From the moment she was hired, Moorefield endlessly worked to make a difference in the life of seniors in the Mentor community. For Moorefield, caregiving is more than a job, and it is instantly apparent to anyone meeting Moorefield what makes her worthy of winning Caregiver of the Year. Not only is she kind and easy to talk to, but as Brodnan points out through several client stories, Moorefield possess a giving and selfless spirit.
But for Moorefield, she feels her best quality as a caregiver comes in the way she interacts with clients. She emphasis the importance of remembering that clients are people, and they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
“I try to be sensitive when talking with [clients],” says Moorefield. “[I] don’t refer to a bedside commode as a potty. These are adults, and we try to maintain their level of dignity. I would never refer to a Depend as a diaper, because again, these are adult men and women. They don’t want to hear they’re being put into a diaper. You just have to weigh your words with our clients. They’re not stupid, they’re sick. They want to be treated like I would want to be treated. And that’s how I try to face my caregiving with our clients.”
Remembering to Take Care of Yourself, Even When Taking Care of Others
There is much Moorefield says she enjoys about caregiving, but she also acknowledges the hard work it takes. She mentions not every client will be the sweet 88-year-old woman who tells you she loves you. Sometimes caregivers face challenging clients who are going through hard times and may not be aware of the work their caregiving is providing.
In those moments when things feel impossible, Moorefield’s advice to other caregiver is to take time for yourselves. For Moorefield, that means connecting with her faith and spending time with her family. “I could be a little better in this department, [but it’s important to make sure, as caregivers, we are] taking care of ourselves, [and] making sure that we are healthy,” says Moorefield. “I like to walk. I am a woman of faith. I love inspirational things, vitamins, flaxseed oil, [and] family life. When I am tired enough, I do rest. I’ve just been blessed with good health, and I know that’s because God is protecting me and he wants me out there taking care of our seniors, as with all of us.”
But even in the hard times, Moorefield says she would not rather be doing anything else. And after 18 years with Visiting Angels, and nearly 32 years in total, Brodnan and the rest of the Visiting Angels staff are happy Moorefield gets time to be honored for her work and dedication.
And Moorefield is taking the time to enjoy her new title too.
“Sometimes I’ll [jokingly call the Visiting Angels office and] say, ‘This is the Caregiver of the Year calling,’ just to get a reaction from them, but I don’t want anybody to think I am doing this for my own glory because that’s the last thing in my mind,” explains Moorefield. “This can be a thankless job. But I’m not doing it for that. I’m doing it for making a difference in [seniors’] lives and in their last moments on this earth. I consider it a privilege and will continue to do it until I am no longer able to do it.”