Ruth Ellis | ANGEL OF THE MONTH | January 2024
Congratulations to Ruth Ellis, Caregiver Extraordinaire! We here at Visiting Angels Newton/Canton are thrilled to name Ruth our Angel of the Month for January 2024. Now a two-time winner of this honor (the first was February 2016), Ruth’s outstanding level of service and professionalism as a caregiver continually receives praise from both our clients and office staff.
Ruth brought with her almost 15 years of experience as a caregiver when she joined Visiting Angels in March of 2012. She started as a Home Health Aide in 1994 and earned her CNA shortly thereafter.
“A close friend told me about being a caregiver shortly after I came to this country,” Ruth said. “So, I went to school and just started working.”
She worked for ten years with both a home care agency and assisted living facility, growing her skills as a caregiver. While she loved both her jobs a great deal, in 2007 she felt it was time to step away for a bit so that she could spend more time with her kids. Thankfully, when it came time to return to caregiving, she chose to work for Visiting Angels. Comments from her interviewer that day noted her wonderful smile and how it didn’t appear as though Ruth was “easily thrown off.” Funny enough, this is something Ruth prides herself on with every client she meets. And she’s met a lot of clients—84, to be exact!
“I’ve learned how to be patient, which is not always easy.,” Ruth explained. “You can’t do this job if you can’t be patient and talk to the client, especially if they have Alzheimer’s or dementia.”
Ruth understands what makes each client unique. Whenever she meets someone new, she listens closely to make sure she understands how best to communicate and, of course, provide comfort. She’s not too proud to admit, however, that there comes a point when even she needs help.
“It’s not always easy,” she said. “There are some people who refuse to be helped, and that’s understandable when you’re used to doing everything for yourself. But I always know when to call my case manager to see if they can give me any solutions.”
When Ruth does reach out, case managers like our own Elizabeth Quagraine are happy to help her.
“Ruth is the kind of person who consistently goes above and beyond for me and her clients,” Elizabeth said. “She is very calm, drama-free, reliable, dedicated, and a true professional who loves her job and does it from her heart.”
“You have to be happy, and put on a smile when you come in,” Ruth said. “Talk about the day and how it’s going. It’s all about communication. Let them ask you questions, so they get to know you. Before you know it, they’ll treat you like family.”
As a caregiver, Ruth appreciates how much her work has taught her about life. When she’s with her clients, she always remembers that they were once young, too. While she may not be in their position of needing help today, she knows that may not always be the case. Having that perspective, she said, has been critical to her success as a caregiver.
“I have worked with Ruth since she started with Visiting Angels and have always been impressed with her commitment to working with our clients and their families,” Director of Client Services Julie McBain said. “She’s always been a solid member of the team, which is a benefit to our clients, the caregiving staff, and Visiting Angels as a whole.”
Case Manager Traci McCarthy heaped similar praise on Ruth as well, noting her reliability, responsiveness, and willingness to work with any number of clients, even those she may not know quite as well. “She’s such a pleasure to work with, and clients enjoy having her as a caregiver,” Traci said. “I can’t tell you what a valuable member of the team she is and how truly lucky we are to have her working for us.”
Ruth, likewise, feels fortunate to be working for Visiting Angels, noting how supportive the case managers have been over the years. “They appreciate me and look out for me when they need help on a case,” she said.
Caregivers like Ruth don’t come along very often which is why we’re so thrilled to be honoring her once again as our Angel of the Month. She’s the kind of person anyone would want to have taking care of an elderly friend or family member. With every client she meets and cares for, her dedication to her profession deepens. For that, and so much more, Ruth has become an invaluable member of our caregiver team here at Visiting Angels Newton/Canton.
Ruth Ellis AOM January 2024.pdf
About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton
Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA has been providing quality senior adult home care for over eighteen years. Countless families have benefited from our respite care, dementia care, Alzheimer’s home care, companion care for senior adults, 24-hr care, transitional aid, and home care services in Dedham, Needham, Wellesley, Natick, Brookline, Watertown, Norwood, Roslindale, Westwood, 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 CNA and HHA jobs.