A FirstLight “employee of the month” finds joy in caring for others
Caregiver of the Month
Every day at 5:30 a.m. without fail, Doilet Laylor arrives in Glen Rock, NJ, to take care of Lynn, who has Parkinson’s disease. And even when Laylor took a long-awaited vacation to her home country of Jamaica, she could not stop thinking about the woman she’s cared for for more than two years. “I kept trying to call FirstLight, but the call would not go through from Jamaica,” recalls Laylor. “Finally, I asked my husband to call them from the States to make sure someone was assigned to take care of her. I wanted to make sure that she was okay.”
About three years ago, Laylor retired after 27 years as a certified nursing assistant at a nearby nursing home. But she only rested for a few months before the itch to get back to what she loves most had her responding to an ad for a caregiver at FirstLight Home Care. “I said, I don’t want to be sitting here. I love the work that I do taking care of people,” she remembers.
Although Laylor, who lives in Paterson, NJ, sometimes takes care of other clients, her primary job is caring for Lynn, who was her first assignment with First Light. It was a good fit from the start because Laylor had many years of experience caring for nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. “A Parkinson’s patient is a little more difficult to take care of because some of them can not swallow well, so you have to be very careful when feeding so they don’t choke,” she explains. “And some can’t stand, so you have to be more careful with them to keep them from falling. And it can be difficult to understand them, because sometimes they can’t speak clearly, so you have to be patient and listen to their needs and their concerns. But I enjoy taking care of them.”
And the family is grateful for her hard work. When Lynn’s husband Dave is asked what he likes most about Laylor, he smiles and says, “everything,” with a chuckle. “She’s a professional caregiver. She really knows her stuff,” he says. “She has great attention to detail. She’s kind and gentle and puts my wife at ease. And she’s always here on time.”
Laylor also enjoys the family. “I have a very good relationship with them,” Laylor says. “Her husband is so thankful for what I do. And their son and daughter are also very grateful every day for what I do.”
Laylor has raised five children and encouraged them all to go into the medical field like she did. “I wanted them to understand that it’s not all beautiful out there,” she explains. “There are all kinds of things in life that they’re going to see, all types of sickness. I tried to make sure they knew it wasn’t all about us. It’s what you can do for other people that makes us great.”
Laylor was surprised but excited when FirstLight called to tell her she was selected as November’s employee of the month. She has enjoyed her “second career” working for the company for the last several years. “They are so professional,” Laylor says of FirstLight. “They make you feel welcome. You can call them for anything. They listen and respond. They are great to work with.”
And clients like Lynn can tell that Laylor has a passion for what she does. “All my life, I’ve loved taking care of people,” says Laylor. “The more you can do for them, the better it makes you feel. As long as you can make them comfortable and respond to their needs, it’s a good day.”
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