Lashawnda Ragsdale joined Family Resource Home Care one year ago as the new 24-Hour Care Supervisor. But she isn’t new to home care having worked in the field for 15 years starting as a caregiver. She was employed for a number of years by Addus Home Care and most recently served as a supervisor with Visiting Angels.
As Family Resource’s 24-hour supervisor, Lashawnda supervises those caregivers who work live-in shifts. “Currently there are about 40 caregivers who provide live-in care for our clients,” she says. “When we get a new client who wants full-time help my first responsibility is to make a good match between the client and caregiver. It’s very important to try to match a caregiver to the clients’ needs. If, for example, the client says, ‘I don’t need to be entertained,’ then I’m going to look for a caregiver who is more on the quiet side. The caregiver also needs to be comfortable with the match as they are going to be living in another person’s home for 3; 4; or even 5 days straight.”
Years ago Lashawnda went to college planning to study business. But when she accepted a part-time position as a float/caregiver with Addus she found that she loved working in home care. “I love what I do and I like working with others who also care about what they do,” she said. “I get to work with many different people and what I like best is that they are all genuine. They feel good about providing care to people who need it. Our caregivers are able to go into a home and bring some normalcy and calm into what can feel like a chaotic situation. When you can do this for a client and their families it feels really good; you get that “wow” feeling. And when I get feedback from clients or family members thanking us, it lets us know that we have truly had an impact on others.”
Lashawnda was impressed with Family Resource from the moment she heard the name. “I was working at Visiting Angels and thinking about maybe leaving when a friend who worked at FRHC mentioned a supervisor position that had just opened up. I went in for an interview with Sheila, which went very well, but that was not the end of the process. A few days later three Family Resource supervisors came down to Renton to meet with me and tell me about the job. That the company had three staff take time out of their busy day to meet me made a huge impact. And the positive things they said about Family Resource swayed me and I took the job.
“I have many friends working in other home care agencies and I don’t think they are as happy as the FRHC staff,” Lashawnda continued. “Staff and caregivers tend to stay for many years with Family Resource. I think that’s because of the level of concern we show our caregivers. We treat them like family and take them seriously. Their opinion matters to us. They matter to us.”
In addition to her very busy full-time job, Lashawnda is also busy at home being a mom to her three daughters. She loves doing any activity together with her family and as a Seattle native, she’s also an enthusiastic coffee drinker and a true Hawks fan. We’re so happy that Lashawnda found us. We’re lucky to have her.
