Newton, MA Caregiver of the month

Angel of the Month for June 2017: Maliza Leonard 

With special pride, we announce Maliza Leonard as our Angel of the Month for June. Maliza has been one of our best caregivers since she joined us in January, 2014, and has served an impressive 23 individual clients in that time. With all of them, she has been a favorite. To each of them, she has brought a steady and confident temperament, a deeply caring heart, and her calm demeanor. It is a wonder to see Maliza relate with demanding individuals and gain their trust and confidence. She is adaptable, sophisticated, warm and engaging. Family members and their seniors alike are always happy to see her come. Our stories of her success in difficult situations are too numerous and involved for this short article. In our award ceremony for her, Maliza expressed how happy her work makes her, and we have to say, it shows. It is not possible for anyone to be so good at such a difficult job unless they derive happiness from it.

Before joining us, Maliza has done this kind of work for many years. In her native Haiti, however, she was a teacher. In her community, she is an active member of St. Mary’s Church. She has done fund-raising on a significant scale for CAGH, not only for disadvantaged people in Haiti, but for children in the Dominican Republic.

Maliza is the proud mother of three adult children. Her oldest son is married and has a wife and child, and is the purchasing manager at Dedham Medical Associates. Her daughter lives nearby and also has a child. Her youngest son is assistant manager for an auto dealership, and with his committed partner, the two of them have undertaken the care of two young foster children. Her mother also lives in the area, and Maliza sees her often. The entire family gets together every Sunday for lunch; we know that they must be very proud of her, as we are.

Maliza, thank you for being the person you are, and for bringing such happiness to the lives of so many seniors. We hope that you remain with us for years to come.

Angel of the Month for May 2017: Marie Nena Viaud

With great pleasure we honor Marie Nena Viaud as our Angel of the Month for May.  She joined us in September, 2015, and has been steadily employed with us ever since, because her clients love her so much.  We presented our award to her at the home of her current client of the last few month, Lorraine, who was effusive in her praise.  Here’s a testimonial from Lorraine:

“Nena is very bright, dedicated to her responsibilities and sees her clients as people which really helps in the healing process.  She is a responsible hard worker and it has been a privilege to work with her.  For her, this isn’t a job, it’s a calling.“ 

But Nena really earned her reputation with us for her work with her first client, Marcia, who struggled with cancer for the last 1½ years of her life, while Nena was at her side.  Let’s allow Marcia’s husband, Rob, to tell his story of Nena:  

 “Nena was a caregiver for my wife who had cancer and passed away in early 2017.  Nena's compassion, commitment, and care for my wife during the many hours she worked in our home made everything much more bearable and tolerable for everyone in our family.  My wife's level of stress decreased the moment Nena arrived, because she knew that all her needs would be met with Nena's calm demeanor and sense of humor.  We will forever be grateful for Nena's loving care and dedication during the time of my wife's illness.”

Nena has twelve children (yes, that’s not a misprint), between the ages of 36 and 19.   The first five were with her first husband, who passed away some years ago.  The others were with her second husband, whom she is still with. Most of those children are pursuing professional careers.  One of her daughters is also a caregiver with Visiting Angels, and is studying to be a nurse.  Nena is very active in her church, and she is the head of the women’s foundation in the Mountain of Fire Miracle Ministry. 

Nena, thank you for being one of our wonderful caregivers.  You do so much to help people every day, and you make life better for everyone you know.  We hope that you stay with us for a very long time.

Angel of the Month for April 2017: Dawna Nogeira

With pleasure, we announce Dawna Nogeira as our Angel of the Month for April. It has been almost exactly three years since she applied with us, bringing a big heart to her work providing home care to our clients.  Right from the start, she told us she believes that "being patient and kind and treating clients with love and good care is the most important thing," and it is clear to us at Visiting Angels that this is what Dawna does.  She has been a home care worker for most of the time since she was 17 years old – a true calling for her.

Dawna seems to succeed at establishing strong relationships with every senior she works with.  Some of her clients have been very demanding – not easily satisfied with just anyone – but Dawna keeps at it and wins them over.  With her primary client now, she is the preferred caregiver of a very talented team.  She has demonstrated tremendous compassion, thoughtfulness, dedication and sensitivity in working with her client. She fills in whenever she is able and always has the client's greatest good as her priority.  And as a result of Dawna’s work, that person’s sister has come to be a client with us, as well. 

Sadly, Dawna became a widow some years ago, so she is left to raise her eleven year-old daughter alone.  But she is up to the task.  She also has two older children, both now living on their own and making their way in life.  Her son is expecting twins this summer (Dawna will be a grandmother!), and her daughter is taking a break from college to work for a year.  Her mother is still alive and living in Revere, where Dawna grew up.

Dawna, thank you for all that you do to make the lives of seniors better, and for bringing your love and skills to work at Visiting Angels.