November 2024 Angel of the Month | Victoria Soto
Victoria Soto, stand up and take a bow. It is with resounding applause, appreciation, and thankfulness that we name you our Angel of the Month for November 2024! In just a little more than a year, your boundless energy and enthusiasm have warmed the hearts of 18 different clients. Perhaps it’s your smile, or perhaps it’s your ability to simply laugh a bit when things get tough. Whatever it is, we know our clients can always count on you to bring happiness and joy into their homes, long after the last of the colorful autumn leaves have fallen from the trees.
When asked what her magic trick is, Victoria couldn’t help but smile. “I’m always just attentive and kind to my clients,” she said. “I’m never mad, and I’m always in a good mood, no matter what. I always try to laugh, and they love that about me.”
Victoria’s first memories taking care of a senior are from when she was just a little girl growing up in the Dominican Republic. Despite being so young, she remembers helping her grandmother with everything from cooking and cleaning to grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy. Things were very different than they are now, she explained. One thing that didn’t change, though, was Victoria’s passion for taking care of seniors. Even after studying criminal justice in college and working as a paralegal in the Boston Immigration Office, she still found herself drawn to nursing.
“While I was working in the immigration office, I was also working at MGH as a patient observer and for Visiting Nurses of Boston as a nursing assistant,” Victoria explained. While it was an extremely busy time of her life, she would not have changed a thing. “Some people have family members to take care of them, but others don’t, and that’s sad—so it made me care about them even more, and I’ve been doing it for 21 years now,” she said with pride.
In the years that followed, Victoria worked with multiple homecare agencies, developing into the care professional she is today. Thankfully in the summer of 2023, she applied to work with us here at Visiting Angels Newton / Canton. Office and Staffing Coordinator, Ryan Allen, recalled a heartwarming story she shared in her interview.
“Victoria told me there was this nice older woman who lived down the road from her years ago, and after a while, she noticed there was no family around to help her with anything. So, Victoria just started cooking and cleaning for her,” Ryan shared. “After a few weeks of helping her out, that same woman urged Victoria to get her CNA.” And that’s exactly what Victoria did, receiving her CNA license in August 2003 from the American Red Cross.
Since joining the team, Victoria has made an indelible impression on our case management team. Perhaps that’s why every client she visits doesn’t ever want her to leave! “Our clients and their families instantly feel at ease when they meet her and know that they or their loved ones are in good hands when she’s around,” Director of Client Services Julie McBain said.
Case Manager Michel Albrecht has received similar feedback from clients and families, citing specifically Victoria’s positive and uplifting nature. “Even with last minute coverage, if Victoria can do it, she’ll do it with a smile and make it sound like the easiest thing in the world. It’s no different than the way she communicates with our clients,” Michael said. Victoria simply enjoys helping others no matter what, whether it’s our case managers or her clients.
It's easy to pick shifts up on a whim, Victoria says, because she feels so supported by the office. “You’re all so nice and kind when I call for anything, even if it’s just a simple question,” she explained. As for the clients, she said she appreciates all their stories about their families and what they did for work. In her opinion, smiling and laughing is easy when they share so much of their lives with you.
Senior Case Manager Elizabeth Quagraine, too, appreciates Victoria’s relentlessly positive outlook. “She doesn’t get rattled or upset when things get difficult because she’s got the kind of confidence we like to see in our care professionals,” Elizabeth said. She knows we always have her back if something comes up where she needs help. But even then, she’s still smiling and finding ways to make the situation a little easier.”
In those moments, Victoria very much takes the “you have to do what you have to do” approach, admitting that she hates to have to call the office when she’s truly at an impasse with the client. “I always want to try and figure it out on my own first, but communication is always first with me, and the case managers need to know when things happen,” Victoria explained. “When it comes to my clients, though, sometimes they don’t want to take a shower or eat, and you can’t force them. So, I just give them their space, and after a few minutes when they calm down, I’ll try again.”
Case Manager Patrick Murray, like his colleagues, praised Victoria for her affable nature and reliability saying, “She’s a true pleasure to work with and we’re lucky to have Victoria as part of the team. Most importantly, though, my clients always tell me how much they enjoy having her visit, and I can tell you with confidence that we feel the same way and are thrilled to congratulate her on being named Angel of the Month!”
Victoria, thank you for all that you do and for being such an outstanding care professional to our clients. Although it doesn’t seem all that long ago you started with us, you’ve quickly become a model angel. Your undeniable joy and enthusiasm for taking care of seniors will no doubt continue to bring you success for years to come. Please don’t let those angel wings take you too far this winter. The birds may be flying to warmer places, but angels like you belong right here as part of Visiting Angels Newton/Canton’s care team!
Victoria Soto-AOM November-2024.pdf
About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA has been providing high calibre senior home care for over eighteen years. Countless families have benefited from our respite care, dementia care, round-the-clock care, companionship for seniors, Alzheimer’s home care, transitional aid, and home care services in Natick, Wellesley, Brookline, Watertown, Norwood, Westwood, Dedham, Needham, Roslindale, Stoughton, Upper Back Bay, Newton, Canton, Jamaica Plain, and neighboring communities. As a result of our exemplary service, Visiting Angels Newton/Canton has won the Best of Home Care Leader in Excellence Award; the Best of Home Care Provider of Choice Award; and the Best of Home Care Employer of Choice Award from the national client satisfaction survey firm, Home Care Pulse, for six years. We have been honored to receive the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work award for seven years and one of the ten best places to work in Massachusetts in 2021 based on diversity and inclusion. Our dedicated and well-trained caregivers love their HHA and CNA caregiver jobs.