For Beverly Rairdan, the choice to become a caregiver ten years ago arose when the time came to choose a career path. Little did she know how much her clients, employers, and colleagues would need her as well. Teressa in the Spokane office said, “I have had nothing but compliments and requests from clients for Bev to be their regular caregiver. Bev has the experience and skillset to walk into any situation and provide exceptional care for our clients, which is why people always request for her to return. I would trust Bev to care for my loved ones without hesitation—I wish we could clone her!”
Bev’s role as a caregiver began with private care after the family of her first client approached her with interest in her services. Living in a small town of 1,500 people in Eastern Washington helped propel her career with families passing on her services through word of mouth. When her last client moved to assisted living, she relocated to Spokane. Soon after, her daughter started working for Family Resource Home Care, called Family Home Care at the time. Beverly followed along and joined the FRHC team.
“I love meeting people, and working with them,” Beverly said. “I love hearing their stories. I love making people feel comfortable. I am old and they’re old, so I know what makes them comfortable.” Beverly’s friendly personality and dry sense of humor help people feel heard and at ease. Spokane’s Regional Manager Kyle says that “Beverly is one of the most wonderful caregivers I’ve ever met. She is kind, compassionate, and an all-around team player. I’ve had her care for my own grandma—Bev is so wonderful!”
Beverly works as a float for Family Resource, so she spends time with numerous different clients, often filling in for last-minute cancelations. Janessa, one of the Spokane branch’s Home Care Caregiver Managers, says, “Bev is one of our floats, so she literally sees ALL of our clients, and they ALL love her. She is extremely hard-working, never complains, and is always willing to do extra when the staffing team needs her.”
Bev has one long-term client that she’s been seeing for 3 years. It’s a couple who she considers to be “just the nicest people”. The husband actually tells her that he likes her a lot, which he doesn’t say to everybody. Beverly is very amicable and knows how to gently open people up. “Even if they’re not chatty, they’ll end up chatting with me,” she asserts.
When Beverly isn’t hard at work, she enjoys anything that involves being outside. Beverly loves gardening and grows strawberries, raspberries, and herbs in her garden. She also has a fun, adventurous side, too, like the time she attended a demolition derby and had a blast banging up old cars.
Beverly specifically wanted to shout out to her former CNA teacher, who she says fully prepared for her CNA test and entering the workforce as a caregiver. “I felt so confident when I left. I owe my level of care to her.” Dixie Brown went above and beyond to help her students understand the people they were caring for. One such lesson was instructing her class to pour a small glass of water in their underwear and sit through the class to empathize with clients who are not properly toileted.
I think we can all thank Beverly’s CNA teacher for educating such a knowledgeable and compassionate caregiver. Still, there are certain things you cannot teach, and we have witnessed for years how Bev’s naturally compassionate and hardworking spirit makes her adept at this role. Roni in the Spokane office agrees, “Bev is wonderful! She always goes above and beyond. She works her days off or outside of her availability when she can to help the staffing team. She never complains and always gives the clients 110%.” We are all extremely grateful to have her on our team.
