This month’s Platinum Caregiver award goes to Nadine Locke of the Boise branch. She joined Family Resource Home Care just this past April but has already made a huge impact on the team and the clients she serves. “Although Nadine has only been with us for 3 months she has been a go-to caregiver who we can rely upon when we need her. Nadine has worked overtime and night shifts without hesitation when needed and truly exemplifies the qualities we look for in a caregiver,” says her team in the Boise office.
Nadine is very new to caregiving, but it’s clear that she’s a natural. Her journey in caring for others began in 2019 with her husband’s grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s. Her father-in-law had cancer and couldn’t care for his mother, so Nadine went to Coeur D’Alene to help out, taking care of her grandmother-in-law and ensuring she had everything she needed.
Once Nadine returned home to Caldwell, Idaho, she realized she really enjoyed caring for others and wanted to continue. “I just like helping,” she says. “I’m a caring and helping person.” Nadine began her search for a facility where she could care for older adults. She instead found Family Resource, which is different than what she was looking for, but which she enjoyed enough to stay.
Her favorite aspect of caregiving is the stories that her clients tell. “I love hearing their stories,” Nadine emphasized. She currently has four regular clients, all of whom have very different backgrounds and varying levels of cognitive ability, but equally engaging stories. One of her clients is from Germany and tells interesting tales of the Old Country, and the war, while another talks often about her kids, as well as her erstwhile travels.
Caring for others permeates Nadine’s life even to the household level. Nadine has two children, a boy and a girl, ages 5 and 2 ½ respectively. She says that caring for the children requires a very similar skillset as caring for seniors, except that the ladies she cares for don’t make a big mess. Nadine is grateful to her husband for his help with caring for the children when Nadine sometimes needs a much-needed break from caregiving.
In addition to her two small children, Nadine’s home is enlivened with seven chickens and two dogs. Her three white chickens have been dubbed The Golden Girls, a red chicken which her daughter calls Becky, and three black chickens called Olive, Pickle, and Zucchini. Nadine loves gardening, taking care of her chickens, and hopes to one day add a goat to her menagerie.
Though Nadine is very new to caregiving, the Boise team is overjoyed to have her on the team. “Nadine is a hardworking, honest, and reliable person who I am excited to have on our team,” says Boise branch manager Tony Bingham. “I know when Nadine is with a client, she will be there consistently providing great care with a smile. It is a blessing to have her on our team.”
Interested in being a part of our team? Check out our open positions here.
