Amada Birmingham caregivers are the heart and soul of our company! They breathe life into our company culture and allow us
to provide exceptional care to our senior clients which allows them to remain comfortable aging safely in their own homes. Our caregivers carry out the Amada mission of enriching lives and each of them carry a special ability to do so. They build special
relationships of trust with senior clients, not only providing everyday assistance but bringing joy and happiness to their lives
as well as peace of mind to their families. Our caregivers truly are SuperStars and we dedicate this page to honoring a Caregiver SuperStar of the Quarter to sing their praises!

Q2 2023 Honoree: Keetra Anderson

Keetra Anderson is here to save the day. She is our “angel warrior” in the field. She is always available for her clients. She fights hard for their needs with grace and perseverance. Keetra has only been with Amada for six months; she has made a huge impact in this short time. Keetra started with us with her feet running, when they touched the ground. Keetra exudes confidence and commands authority, and she is loving. When she started with us, she had goals she was trying to obtain. She told us she wanted to leave a lasting impression that stuck with the client and their family members. She wanted to be the friend that they were missing, the shoulder they could lean on when the burden was too heavy. She left a lasting impression on every fill-in shift. After each new shift I received a client call to say, “Please add her to my schedule.” We have never had someone requested by so many.

Keetra now has two consistent clients. Her clients have fallen in love with her. Mrs. G said, “She doesn’t know how she ever made it without Keetra. She took the time to get to know me. She knows what I like to eat, and surprises me and cooks those things.”

The time she remembered most is the time she returned with her daughter from multiple hospital visits in one day that didn’t go too well. “Keetra called to check on me and knew I was having a hard time with the news I received,” Mrs. G said. “I leave a key for Keetra and to my surprise when I got home, Keetra was there with her smiling face. The way she set up the house you would have thought it was my birthday. She had cleaned the entire house because she knew my daughter was exhausted and had a lot on her plate. She got my favorite cheesecake and had my favorite meal set on the table. I was in tears, but I told her they were happy tears.

“Not only did she take the time to make my day, but she also lifted a burden from my daughter’s day. There is not a price tag for the joy she brings.”

When Mrs. G started with us, she only had 12 hours a week. She has now increased hours because she has Keetra. Keetra has literally affected the bottom line by just being herself. She has been a dynamic force since she started. There is no challenge too great and no task too small for her. I called Keetra because I couldn’t wait to hear her caregiving story. Keetra started at a very young age and has been caregiving for 15 years. Her story starts with her elderly grandad. She was right by his side, making sure he was comfortable and getting the care he needed. Getting to spend that time with him before he passed in such a special way was the catalyst for her career. Keetra says always wanted to be in the field because it runs in her family.

When she finally got her shot as a professional, Keetra fell in love with caregiving even more. She treats every client she encounters the same way as she did her grandfather, with love and immense compassion. Keetra also helped the office when we were in a bind. She has helped us with some of the obstinate clients and she has handled all with grace. Keetra never complains. We can call her on her day off and she doesn’t mind. The only restriction she has is Sunday and we respect her wishes.

Her client, Mrs. S, had been having some bad days a while ago. Mrs. S called the office and stated she “needed to see Keetra.” She had two other caregivers that she used but she specifically asked for Keetra. She said, “Keetra is like my granddaughter, and she brightens my day when I see her.

When asked what she got the most satisfaction from helping clients, Keetra answered: relieving their stress. “I see how difficult it is for their family,” Keetra said. “I see how hard they work to make sure their family is taken care of. They go to work and still have so much on their plate when they get home. I just want to make life easier for them and give them one less thing to worry about.”

At Amada Birmingham, we see why both of Keetra’s clients consider her family and rely on her. She is an angel to the caregiving world, a warrior for her clients and hero to Amada.

Q1 2023 Honoree: Tanika Blue

Tanika Blue is exactly who you would want to be your caregiver and exactly the type of caregiver every Amada would be wildly blessed to have on their team. She has been with Amada Birmingham since May 2019, consistently showing up for her lucky clients between 40 – 50 hours per week through Covid as well as other challenging conditions. Tanika is always prompt, proactively communicates with the office, family members, and her clients themselves about pertinent issues, which as you see there have been many.

Because her clients LOVE her and she bonds so closely with each one and their families, she has only worked with three clients in the last four years. With each one, she went above and beyond every single day to truly fulfill her personal and Amada’s mission of helping them live with dignity. When it came time for her first Amada client, Mrs. M, to enter the hospital, Tanika continued to show up as an Amada caregiver and often on her own time to comfort her and ultimately provide dignity and love during Mrs. M’s last day.

Tanika’s detailed notes illustrated how she proactively anticipated Mrs. M’s physical and emotional needs. She describes fixing meals Mrs. M would eat, coming up with creative ways to ensure she got fluids, and encouraging her to pursue engaging, enjoyable activities as she was able. Tanika continued her loving care at the hospital, causing the hospital attendants and family members to reach out to Amada to express their amazement and appreciation at not only her competence but her extraordinary compassion. As Tanika puts it, “Every client I have had, I still stop by and check on them. I like to bring life back into their lives because there are so many things they are no longer able to do.”

Tanika also brought her incredible gifts to Mr. E and his family. On one rainy Wednesday in March, Tanika arrived at 83-year-old Mr. E’s home a little concerned. She had reviewed the care notes from the previous evening and noted that the evening caregiver reported Mr. E had not been feeling well. Although Mr. E was bedbound, he was very spunky and always joking and offering to help his Amada caregiving team transfer him. Tanika was already in full investigator mode.

Exuding her natural calm and compassion, she began asking Mr. E what was going on. As she gently unearthed that his symptoms – out of breath, heart racing, dizzy, concerning fluids – Tanika relied on her training and expertise to know something was seriously wrong. He told her his stomach was hurting. She investigated even further to see what type of pain it was. She comforted him by turning him to his side. She also noticed he didn’t eat hardly any food. He is normally a good eater and cleans the plate. She could noticeably see the pain on his face because it was getting worse.

“We had a real talk, Mr. E and I,” Tanika said. “I told him we needed to call an ambulance, his family and Amada. He did not want me to. But I reminded him how much everyone loved him and that I knew what was best and how much he trusted me.” Mr. E was very resistant at first but with Tanika’s reassurance and compassion in overload, he gave in.

On Thursday, Mr. E’s daughter called our Amada office to say that the hospital stated without a doubt that Tanika saved Mr. E’s life with that phone call. As he recovered, Tanika visited him several times, bringing little goodies and never even telling our office staff. As she later shared when we honored her as our Spring SuperStar Caregiver, “I really appreciate this, but I don’t like being the center of attention. I like doing my kindness in secret!”

We always love hearing in their own words what our caregivers have to say about caregiving. When asked why she likes caregiving, Tanika shared, “I love caregiving, I think it is my calling. I love meeting new people and learning new things. I love building bonds.”