The key to a great team is valuing and nurturing the unique talents of every individual. And that means getting beyond the facts and hearing the stories behind our HCAN Heroes and you, the people we serve.
For example, a client has a recent injury. Of course, we provide the basic care every day. But we also take the time to learn where that injury is having the most impact on their life – be that communicating with others, not being able to kneel at church, or any other issues that don’t show up on paper questionnaires and clipboards. And we do that by listening with compassion and getting to know what is really important to each of our clients.
As for our caregivers, caring for others in the professional world, we know success looks different for each of them. That’s why we’re making sure we’re meeting every individual caregiver’s needs, so they can come to work happy, healthy, and with their clients as their top priority. If they want to grow within the medical field, we encourage that growth and are happy to be a stepping stone in their path.
Meet the team that lives and breathes this, every single day.
Native Lincolnite Sarah Pappas is a true believer in kindness and making a difference. After a successful 27-year career as a corporate meeting planner, she felt called to serve others. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the elderly particularly hard, she embarked on a journey to help seniors live out their best lives at home.
With gratitude, Sarah’s life experience has prepared her to expertly care for seniors and families in Lancaster and Saunders counties while providing caregivers with an opportunity for a fulfilling career.
I feel strongly that the best place for seniors is to be in their home environment where they’re most comfortable and where they’re most familiar because they’re going to thrive at home.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Patty was raised in a tight-knit, multi-generational family and soaked up love and wisdom from the oldest in her circle. Thanks to this, she developed a deep appreciation, respect and admiration for seniors.
Throughout her life she has enjoyed helping people of all ages in all stages of life, but her passion has remained caring for those who have lived the longest. Patty’s family instilled in her a sense of responsibility to care for her elders. To her, that means helping people stay in their home as long as possible. She is excited to hire and train caregivers that will serve the family in their home and enrich their lives.
Casey Sova has spent her career working with seniors in various settings, including long-term care, assisted living facilities, hospice, home health, and nonmedical home care. She’s been successful in this industry because of her kind heart, sense of humor, brilliance, and can-do attitude.
The reason Casey is perfect for her role at HomeCare Advocacy Network is that her top priority aligns with our team’s number one core value, to “pursue the genuine success of others.” This includes the care advocates, team members, and clients and their family members whom Casey advocates for daily.
I live by the three things my grandma always told me, the Grandma Carol Rules: Just because you think something should be a certain way does not mean it is the right way. Just because you do something a certain way does not mean it’s the right way. You do not need to say everything you think.
Nothing fills me with joy as much as being the person seniors can rely on to provide them with outstanding care.
Tammy, a nurse turned non-medical senior care specialist, has been helping seniors meet their care needs for seven years. Growing up in a predominantly senior neighborhood, Tammy developed a passion for assisting seniors at a young age. In her time as a nurse, she found a particular passion for working with individuals in hospice care and for those living with dementia. As HCAN Lincoln’s new Care Advocate Specialist, Tammy is handling the scheduling of Caregivers for our Lincoln clients.
To be the foremost provider of meaningful and results-oriented home care connections for seniors and their loved ones.
Arming today’s spectrum of caregiving associates with hope, high-impact resources, and the promise of a better tomorrow.
I love working with people. In the past, I worked a lot with kids. I evolved into working with adults, and I’m now an experienced caregiver. I’m excited to be out in the field working with HCAN. Working as a caregiver with adults is just what I love to do. I can’t see myself doing anything else.
I became interested in caregiving because it’s something I’ve seen my friends and family members do as a profession. I ultimately decided to become a caregiver because I was looking for a fulfilling career. The HCAN training experience added a lot of value and knowledge that I use with my clients. I’m excited to be working with HCAN.
I am from Russia where I studied foreign languages. I moved to China, then Mexico to teach English to children. Now I am in Lincoln, Nebraska after my husband was offered a position here. I still teach English remotely and wanted to work with adults in my free time. I’ve found that I get a lot out of working with adults, it energizes me. With my clients, I take a personalized approach. Here at HCAN Lincoln, we believe in relationship over task, and that aligns completely with how I think about it. Every client is different. I have an introverted client, and they just want help around the house. I have another who values personal time and talking over me, say, doing dishes. We go on walks, talk about our families, and I love coloring so sometimes my clients will color with me, too! I think that growing older can be a big adjustment and my goal is to always help my clients stay positive. I love to smile, laugh and joke around. It’s really helpful to me and especially my clients.
We all came from somewhere. Somewhere that landed us here. There’s a reason our HCAN team works with aging adults – because we all had an HCAN Hero. HCAN Heroes is our story series, celebrating and honoring loved ones who came before us.
HCAN team member Nigel O’Mahony was kind enough to share the story of his grandpa Johnny, the best painter in Cork, Ireland, through the ’60s.