BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Patient, compassionate and resilient are three words that exemplify one Baltimore woman who has dedicated her life to caring for others. For the past six years, Kathy Carter, a caregiver with BrightStar Care of Baltimore, has taken on more than just her licensed role of CNA and Med Tech, but rather the role of best friend to those she works with. Her devotion was recognized this week when BrightStar Care, the nation’s leading provider of in-home care, named her as its 2016 National Caregiver of the Year.
The Caregiver of the Year Award honors the hard work, person-centered care and dedication of a star caregiver within the BrightStar Care system, a franchise that provides both medical and non-medical in-home care and medical staffing and whose franchisees employ nearly 14,000 nurses and caregivers. Each year, hundreds of families across the country nominate their BrightStar Care caregiver by providing a testimonial about the outstanding and devoted services delivered to their loved one, and this year Kathy’s two heartfelt nominations contributed to her being named the winner.
“Kathy’s nomination letters describe her as a compassionate, person-centered, attentive, fun, and professional caregiver — all the attributes that make her an outstanding BrightStar Care caregiver,” said Sharon Roth Maguire, MS, RN, GNP-BC, BrightStar Care Chief Clinical Quality Officer. “I am so proud of the way Kathy mentors fellow caregivers and shares her wisdom with families so that her clients receive the very best care. It is clear why her clients love her so much, and we are honored to select her as our 2016 National Caregiver of the Year.”
One nomination came from a paraplegic client who compliments Carter on her attention to detail and doing things the way he likes as well as her optimistic attitude. “Kathy picks up on my mood and does her best to get me out of my ‘funk’. She is a good listener and talks with me about my problems, not so much offering advice but encouraging me to think through alternatives and to be glad for what I do have in my life. She is the kind of caregiver that you would love to have, the kind you would picture for yourself. Having her brings a smile to my face every day.”
The second nomination letter was from the daughter of one of Kathy’s clients, who describes how she helped alleviate some of her own personal stress by becoming a caregiver for her mother. She adds that Kathy served as a role model for other caregivers who support her mother.
“Kathy goes above and beyond the call of duty. She can get my mother to eat when she doesn’t want to and she is the only one that can get her to swallow her large pills,” wrote the daughter. “Kathy genuinely cares for my mother, for her this is more than just a job it’s a calling.”
Kathy was first selected as the Northeast Regional finalist and was invited to join the three other regional finalists in Chicago at the BrightStar Care annual franchisee conference September 22, where BrightStar Care CEO and co-founder Shelly Sun announced Kathy as the company’s 2016 National Caregiver of the Year.
Early last month, Kathy was presented a regional award at a surprise event hosted by the owner of the Baltimore BrightStar Care, Lynn Berberich. During the reveal event, Kathy was given a trophy and a sash to celebrate her award and was surrounded by family, friends and coworkers.
“When I walked through this door it was amazing,” said Carter. “Words just can’t describe how I felt, I was just overwhelmed. People like to be touched, they like someone to listen to them, and at BrightStar Care, that’s what I do for all my clients.”
To meet Kathy and to watch a video of her reveal event, which includes heartfelt comments from two of her clients, visit www.brightstarcare.com/blog/2016-caregiver-of-the-year-kathy-carter/. For more information about BrightStar Care of Baltimore, call 443.275.2796 or visit www.brightstarcare.com/baltimore-citycounty/.
About BrightStar Care
Based in Chicago, BrightStar Care is a national private duty home care and medical staffing franchise with more than 300 locations which provide medical and non-medical services to clients within their homes, as well as supplemental care staff to corporate clients. BrightStar Care franchise locations across the country employ over 2,500 registered nurses who play a unique role in overseeing the care for each individual client, a service that no other private duty home care provider offers. In addition, BrightStar Care is the only national home care franchise to receive The Joint Commission’s Enterprise Champion for Quality award every year since the award’s inception. In 2015, the company ranked No. 177 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list, No. 27 on Crain’s Chicago “Fast Fifty,” ranking and was included for the tenth consecutive year on Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc. 5000 list. For more information on BrightStar Care please visit www.brightstarcare.com; to find out more about BrightStar Franchising, visit www.franchise.brightstarcare.com.
