When I contacted Breege Kinneavy to chat to her about her ‘Carer of the Year’ runner up prize, I was amused that she encapsulated so much of the personality type I wrote about last week. I wrote about those people who get bored once they retire. They feel the need to keep working and want the interaction of meeting people on a regular basis. So they truly love their work.
Breege lives in Galway and started working for Comfort Keepers two years ago. She had retired from the Irish Wheelchair Association and within a month of retirement, was itching to get back working. So, she contacted Comfort Keepers, successfully interviewed, and put the wheels in motion. “I felt cut off from the outside world when I retired”, she claimed. “I was bored, I wanted to feel useful again”.
Her work
Breege provides home care for five clients midweek, as well as for two of those five clients on a Saturday. She spends an hour with each client – providing personal care, helping prepare meals, bringing them items from the local shop, chatting to them, listening to their stories. Breege feels very strongly that elderly people gave their lives for this country. They kept it going through the bad times, through wars and recessions. So, she feels she is giving each of them back something in return, something small but important nevertheless. It was clear that she enjoys spending time with each and every one of them.
Her pride
Breege is very proud to be a Comfort Keepers carer. She regards all our carers at being very good at their job, providing excellent services and support to their clients. In turn, these carers receive great support from the teams in the offices. She was delighted to bring the Carer of the Year runner up award home to the Galway office.
Breege believes she is good at her job because she loves it, she loves seeing her clients happy and knowing she makes a positive difference to their day, she’s had years of experience and knows she is good with people. As she said, good carers have to be dedicated, they have to be good with people, they have to care and they have to want to make a difference to the lives of others.
After talking to Breege, I felt energised, positive and amused – so I can just imagine how seeing her everyday for an hour would have a hugely positive impact on her clients.
Connect with us
To begin starting care for your loved one, you can click here.
To join our incredible award-winning team, you can apply now by clicking here or emailing your CV to recruitment@comfortkeepers.ie
