National Caregiver of the Month: Emma Warriner, MorningStar Ridgegate

August 9, 2022

To all our cherished caregivers, before anything else is said, we must first say THANK YOU.

Thank you for all that you do, all that you carry on your shoulders, and all the love you give as you provide care for another person. Here at Serenity, we see the amazing work you’ve done and want to recognize you. Each month, we honor a caregiver for their tireless work in helping our loved ones each and every day.

Our Caregiver of the Month campaign serves as an opportunity to showcase the tireless work of our caregiving community. If you have a caregiver in your life you’d like to recognize, click here to nominate them as the next Serenity Caregiver of the Month. All nominations will also be entered to win a $50 gift card!

Congratulations to one of our recent winners, Emma Warriner of MorningStar Ridgegate!

Keep reading to learn what some of Emma’s colleagues had to say about her going above and beyond:

Emma takes time getting to know her residents intimately and finds ways to make them feel special. She views and treats everyone as an individual person deserving of love and kindness. Everything she does, she does out of selflessness to others. There is never a time that she seeks recognition, which makes her even more deserving of it.

A recent example: a husband and wife moved into the community, and the husband had to move to memory care and his wife into independent living. Since they could not be together, this was very hard for him. With effort, the staff discovered he had a wonderfully dry sense of humor and it was a gift to laugh with him. Over time, he became nonverbal, but Emma and others knew that it was special when you could get him to smirk. Emma especially noticed his smirk, and in honoring him, drew his likeness with his famous smirk. She gifted this drawing to his family as he was nearing the end of his life journey.

On the last night of his time on earth, Emma had worked a 2-10 pm shift and knew that he was likely to pass soon. She also had a close relationship with his daughter, who found it very hard to be sitting at his bedside day and night repeatedly. Emma told her not to worry, she was going to stay by his bed through the night so his daughter could go home and rest. It was while Emma was at his side, that God ascended his soul to heaven. It's special caregivers like Emma that teach us what love looks like in caregiving.

To all our appreciated caregivers out there, here is some advice:

Losing a resident or patient is the hardest part of caregiving, but never let this keep you from getting to know the person and loving them while they are on earth with us. Your heart and soul will be fulfilled through these relationships in your lifetime, be grateful for all the special moments you will experience and remember.

Nominate the next Caregiver of the Month and show our caregivers your love and appreciation! Don’t forget, with each nomination, you’ll also be entered to win a $50 gift card.