Caregiver of the Year 2017 Nominees - Right at Home Boston and North

Magdalena Hernandez

Magdalena Hernandez’s passion and love for helping others began as a young girl. She spent several years caring for loved ones with long-term illnesses since young. “When I took care of my grandfather, I was only 12," says Hernandez. The personal experience inspired her to become a professional caregiver for the elderly population. “This job is my way of giving back, to help others who need it most,” Hernandez says.

Hernandez joined Right at Home Boston and North six years ago, providing specialty services including personal care and dementia care. Magdalena is a Certified Home Health Aide (CHHA). She received skills-based training from Right at Home on geriatric psychiatry and difficult behavior management associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Hernandez’s warm personality and smile are infectious; she lights up the room when she walks in to the office, and our clients continually praise her for her enthusiasm. But she is more than just personable. She is attentive and observant—she makes a strong effort to learn her clients’ preferences, strengths and challenges, wants and requirements—so she can help her clients live as independently as possible, preserving both their dignity and integrity.

When she feels stressed, she finds relief in spending time with her family and friends. She finds great joy in being a grandmother, when she is with her family she finds the work-life balance she needs.

Christy Lee

Christy Lee has a decade of experience in home care prior to joining Right at Home Boston and North seven years ago, she works at an independent living facility in Groveland, MA, offering specialty services to clients with an array of diagnoses, personalities, strengths and personal challenges. Lee is a Certified Home Health Aide with training from Right at Home in hospice supportive care, dementia care, geriatric psychiatry and difficult behavior management.

Lee carries an “I care” attitude about her clients, and tackles difficult situations with strong emotional strength. She always meets her clients at their levels, adjusting her tone and body language when necessary, and assuring her clients that she will always be there for them. “The clients are like my family. I have developed a very special bond with them and I love to make them happy, nothing makes me happier than seeing them smile,” says Lee.

When Lee is not working with clients, she enjoys listening to country music—Luke Bryan is her favorite country star; she has seen him in concert several times. Lee also enjoys spending quality time with her family—her three children and husband of 18 years—and playing with her cats to relieve caregiver stress.