Our Case Managers meet to choose a Caregiver for Angel of the Month. A Case Manager will generally nominate someone with an explanation as to why this person is chosen. The Caregiver is notified that they have been selected and comes in to the office for a full celebration. This person is honored with treats, a certificate, gift card and the Case Manager that selected them will read a full write-up about why they were chosen. The Caregiver is interviewed and then featured in the monthly newsletter as well as on Facebook. Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has the most amazing team of people to care for our Clients. Our Caregivers work tirelessly with their Case Managers to ensure top quality care.
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Rita Amankwah
December 2019
It brings us great joy to award Rita Amankwah Angel of the Month for December 2019. Rita began working with Visiting Angels Newton/Canton in April 2014. Rita was described as knowledgeable, bright, and caring in her initial interviews.
Rita relocated to Massachusetts from Ghana in 2001 to join her husband. She has one daughter who remained in Ghana but will be coming to MA in January. Her daughter just graduated first in her class with a degree in Human Resources. Rita happily was able to attend her graduation. Rita has two sons, one has his own marketing business in New York City, and the other is training to become a commercial pilot in Florida. Rita travels to Florida whenever possible to visit her son and his family, especially her three-year-old granddaughter, with whom she FaceTimes and calls daily. She has a sister in Ghana and another sister in London. Rita enjoys traveling around the United States whenever possible and visits family in Ghana at least once a year. She has also had the opportunity to go to London to visit her eldest sister.
Rita was a military school teacher in Ghana for over fifteen years. She also cared for her grandmother during that time. While preparing to come to Massachusetts, she researched various career opportunities in the states and decided to pursue certification as a Home Health Aide and become a professional caregiver. Rita worked with multiple agencies before joining Visiting Angels Newton/ Canton and learned to assist elderly clients with ailments, including dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Rita has been a professional caregiver for over twenty years now.
Rita is the Vice President of the Women’s Fellowship at Rhema Gospel Church International, which has many parishioners from Ghana, and support programs offered to the Ghanian community. She enjoys reading, shopping, and traveling whenever she has free time.
Rita has adopted a very pragmatic philosophy about handling the, at times, difficult job of being a professional caregiver; “You have to have patience and love what you do to be a successful caregiver and provide the services your clients and their families require. You cannot allow challenging situations to affect the quality of care you are giving to someone. Put yourself in their shoes; You were once independent, doing basic tasks for yourself, and now you have to rely on someone else to do these things for you.”
Rita has worked with nine Visiting Angels Newton/Canton clients in all, and when we assign Rita to work with a new client, whether ongoing or for a fill-in, we know that we are assigning a highlyskilled and professional caregiver; a person with strong values and tremendous empathy and compassion as well as someone who will provide valuable feedback when needed.
We are truly honored to award Rita Angel of the Month for December. We could not have chosen a better person to close out 2019: Rita’s professionalism, calm demeanor, enthusiasm, and wisdom, represents the best qualities in a professional caregiver. We value you as a member of the Visiting Angels Newton/Canton team and are grateful for your commitment to your clients.
We look forward to continuing our work together for years to come.
newton-RitaAmankwah_AOM_December2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Sheila Philemond
November 2019
newton-SheilaPhilemond_AOM_November2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Zebiah Sempala
October 2019
newton-ZebiahSempala_AOM_October2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Rose S.
September 2019
newton-RoseStLouis_AOM_September2019b.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Rita Sarpong
July 2019
newton-RitaSarpong_AOM_July2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Mosunmola (Mo) Johnson, and Marie Bellefleur-Raymond
June 2019
newton-MoAndMarie_AOM_June2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Betie Modestin
May 2019
newton-BetieMondestin_AOM_May2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Denise Moreau
APRIL 2019
newton-DeniseMoreau_AOM_April2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Solomy Nakintu
MARCH 2019
newton-SolomyNakintu_AOM_March2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Russell Hyland
FEBRUARY 2019
newton-RussellHyland_AOM_Feb2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Tasha Petit
JANUARY 2019
newton-TashaPetit_AOM_Jan2019.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Annabella Prempeh-Amaniampong
DECEMBER 2018
newton-AnnabellaAP_AOM_Dec2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Liliane Uwineza
NOVEMBER 2018
newton-AOM_LilianeUwineza _Nov2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Hutchins Bernard
OCTOBER 2018
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Steven Muyingo
SEPTEMBER 2018
newton-AOM_StevenMuyingo_Sept2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Aba Owusu
AUGUST 2018
newton-AOM_AbaOwusu_Aug2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Marthe K.
JULY 2018
newton-AOM_MartheKomezimana_July2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Janet G.
JUNE 2018
newton-AOM_JanetLucey_June2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Aisha Gaddoura
MAY 2018
newton-AOM_AishaGaddoura_May2018.pdf
ANGEL OF THE MONTH | Nicky Vilcine St. Jilus
APRIL 2018
newton-AOM_NickyVilcineStJilus_April2018.pdf
Timeless Gratitude to Alice Kimani
No, this is not a new award we’re giving, but a special commendation to Alice Kimani, who gave live-in care to one of our clients. One night in November 2016, she was awakened by the smell of smoke. There was a fire in the garage, which quickly spread to the rest of the house - but not before Alice successfully evacuated the senior whom she was caring for, as well as the adult son. The house was burned to the ground, fed by a full tank of heating oil. Two cars in the driveway, one of them Alice’s, were melted. But thanks to Alice’s heroism, nobody was injured, except for the senior’s pet cat, which unfortunately perished. Alice, we think that you are wonderful!
Tama Lewis – Massachusetts Home Care Alliance 2009 Aide of the Year
The HCA has 150 member agencies employing over 19,000 home health aides, and one of our very own was chosen as the 2009 Home Care Star Award Aide of the Year. Tama embodies the essence of what every family wants in a home care aide: skill, good judgment, compassion, integrity, kindness, reliability, good humor, caring, wisdom, dedication, warmth and respect in dealing with seniors. She has been with Visiting Angels for five years, but like all our caregivers, she came to us with years of experience in giving care to seniors.
For four years she was the lead caregiver to a man named Joe, who had no family or friends to help in his declining years. Although he had Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, with Tama's care he was able to remain at home, where he wanted to be. When she came on the case, his health was declining rapidly despite ongoing medical attention. Soon Joe's deteriorating health began to improve as Tama made sure that he got a healthy diet and took his medications. His home got cleaner, and his appearance improved. Eventually Tama was joined by other caregivers, but she remained the lead person of the team that organized his life, did the shopping, got him to medical appointments, cleaned his house, prepared meals and kept him clean. With help from Tama and the rest of our team, Joe attended his Masons meetings, continued his treasured Saturday evening buffet at the Marriott, and visited places where he had spent his youth. When he developed pancreatic cancer, he died at home with Tama by his side. She was the closest thing to family that he had.
At Visiting Angels of Newton & Canton, we are proud of our reputation with our many referral sources and clients who note the excellence of our services and the quality of the people that we employ. That reputation rests on providing home care with men and women like Tama Lewis since 2004. As deserving as she is of the award, Visiting Angels has many other caregivers who are just as dedicated, give just as much of themselves, and who deserve their own awards. We salute Tama and all of the fine caregivers who work for us and allow seniors the joy of remaining at home where they want to be.
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton is an award-winning accredited home care agency that provides elder care services in Brookline, Newton, Needham, Brookline, Chestnut Hill, Canton, Westwood, Dedham, Watertown, Natick, Wellesley, Stoughton, Roslindale, Norwood and nearby areas. If you aspire to be the best caregiver you can be, contact us at 617-795-2727 or fill out the form on our home care careers page.
If you are looking for the best home care services in the Newton/Canton area, contact us at 617-795-2727 or click the button below to tell us about your case. We're ready to help you!
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