The Mary Steibel CAREGiver of the Year award is one of the highest honors in the Home Instead Senior Care network. Every year, a CAREGiver who personifies the values of Home Instead is recognized with this achievement.

The annual CAREGiver of the Year nomination is a sacred tradition in the franchise office. CAREGivers are each unique and like the colorful threads that are woven into a beautiful tapestry, each one is absolutely integral to the other! Men and women who chose this vocation, this life course that would lead them on a journey that would forever impact their lives and the lives of the seniors they touch!

Kathy Slater, who resides in Hackettstown, is the CAREGiver of the Year 2015. Slater arrived at the Home Instead office in July of 2010 inquiring about employment. She had a full time job, but she enjoyed seniors and was seeking some part time work. She has shared 5,234 hours of her mornings, afternoons, evenings, overnights, and weekends with her Home Instead Senior Care Clients. She is embraced by the families she serves witness to her care of their loved ones.

One special family came to know Slater as she was their weekend CAREGiver. She would arrive at their home with a bag full of shelled peanuts, bird seed, and treats for the wildlife. She would arrange the goodies around the base of the Blue Atlas Cedar trees that her clients could observe from their living room window. This provided them with hours of entertainment and conversation as they were amused by the antics of the squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and various other critters who came to dine.

Kathy also leads by example. This spring, Slater attended weeknight and Saturday classes at a community college to become a licensed Certified Home Health Aide. She initiated this on her own and made the investment in herself and her clients so that she could continue providing them care as their personal care needs progress.

She made a choice to share her life, values, show compassion, and listen intently and to “see it through.” Slater will do anything to see her family of clients smile and she loves them, no matter what.

She is one in a million and though her caregiving is a second profession, it’s her true vocation!