October Caregiver Ambassador of the Month: Vicki Phillips

We are excited to announce that Vicki Phillips of Angels Senior Home Solutions [pictured center] has been named our Caregiver Ambassador of the Month for October. She has been working with the Angels Lafayette office for 17 years, since they first opened, and is an exceptional caregiver. 

Vicki goes above and beyond

Our October honoree Vicki was nominated by Angels HR Coordinator Debbie Nelson and Client Coordinator Barbara Lockard. They said, “Vicki goes above and beyond for all her clients! She has covered for other caregivers at the last minute and never asks for the extra pay to go out to outlying areas.”

Vicki has always been very dependable and reliable, fulfilling the Senior Home Companions’ dedication to serving with integrity, effectiveness and compassion. And to Vicki, working as a caregiver is more than just a job. Debbie and Barbara said, “If you ask her, it is more than just a job to her. Vicki treats the clients as more family than just a paycheck! Vicki will stop in and drop off treats for clients even though she is not scheduled to be with them. Her goal is to just make her clients’ lives exceptional!”

Vicki’s long tenure with Angels

Angels Senior Home Solutions was founded 17 years ago, and Vicki has been serving as an Angels caregiver since the beginning. “I’ve been here since the ground up,” said Vicki. “When they first started, I started with them and I’ve been with them ever since. I had thought about working with aged clients or nursing home facilities, and someone I worked with mentioned Angels.”

And although 17 years is a long tenure in any career, Vicki’s passion for working with older adults goes all the way back to her childhood. “I can remember when I was eleven years old. I used to visit an elderly lady on a farm nearby,” she said. “They had no children and I was like a granddaughter. She would ask me to rub oil on her legs because she had terribly painful legs. Even at that age I was reaching out and doing that sort of work, not realizing that someday that might be my calling.”

Advice for fellow caregivers

Vicki truly does see caregiving as a calling and so some of her biggest advice to new caregivers is just to “be yourself.” When you are serving others, you have to bring your personality and love for people to work each day. “You have to really like yourself a lot before you commit to somebody else.” 

She also recognizes how important it is for caregivers to work together. “Caregivers should really look at it as teamwork,” said Vicki. “We’re all in this together as a team. When you go into someone’s home and you know that another caregiver is going to be coming in after you or before you, you want to make it easier for each one of you. To give positive reinforcement to each other.”

Serving our community

Through our updated Caregiver Ambassador program for 2021, each caregiver recipient has the opportunity to select a nonprofit partner to have a donation made in their name. Despite being based in Lafayette, Vicki chose Neighborlink Indianapolis, which repairs homes for those who are no longer physically and financially able. “I was mainly thinking about how we need to reach out to our neighbors, our neighboring counties and cities,” said Vicki. “And even though Indianapolis is a drive, they’re still part of our community. All of our communities are linked. To reach out and touch somebody in another community… I just get goosebumps.”

If you are interested in submitting a Caregiver Ambassador of the Month nomination for Angels in Lafayette, or Senior Home Companions in Indy or Florida, you can scroll down on our Resources page or download the PDF form directly. Please email completed forms to Nicole Bieker at [email protected], or contact Human Resources for assistance at (317) 918-7168.