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White Glove Caregiver Irina Beita Spotlighted by HHA Exchange
October 18:
A blue Wednesday found the White Glove Marketing director sipping a coffee while strolling through emails from the past week. She was elated to find an email sparking her attention because it meant an opportunity for a White Glove caregiver to be recognized globally for their unsung dedication. HHA exchange homecare software platform would spotlight ten caregivers in November for home care and hospice month.
They solicited homecare agencies using the platform to submit exceptional caregiver candidates with an explanation of why those caregivers stand out. Winning nominations would receive a $500 gift card to sweeten the deal.
Too many White Glove caregivers deserve this nomination, and the White Glove marketing director made it clear to the HHA exchange that we will be submitting several candidates as this was a difficult decision to make internally.
To get targeted recommendations, we emailed staff asking them to nominate caregivers with a short explanation of why they deserve the honor. Soon, suggested candidates were pouring in, and we faithfully agreed to each one. The stories of caregivers going above and beyond were inspiring! If it were up to us, we’d have HHA exchange select them all. We left the tough decision of choosing between the different hues of diamonds and submitted all candidates with a description of their utmost dedication, empathy, respect, and caring. Why they are unique.
The email we received from HHA Exchange:
Let’s Recognize and Celebrate Our Caregivers During National Homecare and Hospice Month!
Hi White Glove,
At HHAeXchange, we’re committed to recognizing and celebrating the outstanding caregivers who provide care to your clients. In honor of National Homecare and Hospice Month, we’re excited to launch a special initiative to spotlight these hardworking individuals who make a difference in the lives of their clients every day.
We invite you to nominate a caregiver from your agency who has demonstrated exceptional dedication, compassion, and professionalism in their role. We will select five caregivers to be spotlighted on our company’s social media accounts throughout November. Each of the selected caregivers will receive a $500 Visa gift card as a token of our appreciation for their hard work and dedication. Additionally, if the caregiver you nominate is chosen, you will get a $250 gift card you can use towards an office party to celebrate this month!
When submitting a nomination, kindly provide a description of the caregiver and explain why they deserve to be recognized. Together, let’s celebrate the unsung heroes of homecare during this special month.
Warm regards,
Stephen Vaccaro
President, HHAeXchange
One of the many candidates our internal staff recommended was Irina Beita, RN. Her coordinator, Shira Stavsky, attached the following paragraph to her submission.
Hi,
Thanks for letting us know about this opportunity!
Irina Beita, RN, was born in Russia and was orphaned by both parents at the young age of 22.
She was alone, traveling from place to place with her trademark honesty and motivation and picking up the languages and cultures of each country she lived in.
By the time she moved to the United States, she was fluent in 4 languages, including literacy in Chinese calligraphy.
It was hard to adjust to life in America, but eventually, Irina settled into life in the US. Her biggest worry was how to support her children. She needed a steady and fulfilling job. Upon a relative’s advice, she sought education in the medical field.
Irina began nursing school and eventually took a job with White Glove.
Irina has been working with White Glove for over three years and has brought along her commitment, skill, and vast life experience, quickly becoming recognized by all as an outstanding caregiver.
Her patients and their parents are delighted with her compassion, professionalism, and loyalty. As a patient’s mom put it, “We love Irina. This has been the first time in years that I have been able to sleep through the night with complete confidence that my son is getting the best care possible.”
I highly recommend Irina to be featured as a spotlighted caregiver!
Best,
Shira
November 8, 2023:
We were elated to be notified by HHA Exchange that a White Glove caregiver was one of the outstanding candidates who made it onto the HHA exchange list of 10 Homecare heroes nominated by hundreds of different agencies globally. Irina Beita, RN, would be spotlighted, and we at White Glove were so proud!
View Irini’s spotlight <<<HERE>>>
Irina’s coordinator, Shira, was the first to congratulate Irina on this honor. She responded.
Congratulations to Irina Beita, RN BSN, upon her nomination as Spotlighted Caregiver by HHA Exchange!
Our team has always recognized Irina as an outstanding homecare nurse, and she was already selected for the White Glove Nurse of Excellence Award in the past, but I am so glad HHA Exchange is rewarding her for who she is. As a White Glove homecare coordinator, I am privileged to be inspired by Irina’s unmatched devotion, compassion, and care for her patients.
I applaud you, Irina, for your past achievements and wish you much success in your nursing career!
What makes Irina stand out as a caregiver?
Grab some popcorn, sit comfy on your sofa, and feed your curiosity with the story of a nurse who sacrificed more than just sweating through an NCLEX exam to be where she is. It’s been a journey. She weathered it heroically. Here she comes, emerging more potent than ever.
Want to know more? Just read on.
Hi Irina, we’re thrilled to meet you, our spotlight hero! Please tell us about yourself.
I was born in the far east of Russia while it was still the USSR. My parents passed when I was only 22, so nothing was binding me to my country of birth. When I was a grown adult and graduated with my master’s degree in arts and languages, I was offered three scholarships from Japan. The college would cover all my living costs, research, education, and everything else. I was excited about leaving my country for a better future.
Words were my thing. From 2003-2008, I was a professor teaching the Japanese language for five years. The Great Recession of 2008 spread a wave of financial turmoil across the globe. I lost my job, forcing me to reconsider my options. Taking a job from 9 am to 6 pm in Japan was as thinkable as joining their military training. In this culture, you can’t chuckle your tongue, swallow too hard, or stretch in a sloppy posture at work.
Further, I realized that Japan is a tricky country where I will never fully migrate. Even if I could obtain citizenship after two years of working and five years of paying taxes, my future children would have no natural right to citizenship. They would not be able to stay in this country permanently. America was inviting me.
What were some challenges you faced when integrating into American society?
Challenge is a humble word to describe the change of life that awaited me in America. Here I was, a successful professor studying and teaching languages. It was my second DNA. It was me. Now, I was in a place where my degree wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. The accolades were history. It was a financial crisis, and no prospective job for a professor in foreign languages. It was devastating. Were it not for my loyal twin sister cheering me on, I do not know where I would be today. “No giving up to despair!” It was the new mantra. They were settled Americans in Colorado for several years before I came here and insisted that I could not be American without a helpful degree.
Within a year of when I came here, I gave birth to my second son, and I knew that coordinating motherhood and education was nothing to sneeze about. When looking into the class options, nursing was the only one offering evening classes. The medical field was utterly foreign to me. My father was a captain, my mom an engineer, my sister a journalist, and I was an expert in languages. Healthcare was so not me. Until it was.
I enrolled in the Associated Nursing Program with Bergen College mainly because the timing of the classes was feasible for me. Looking back, if only I had known the success of my career prior, then pushing through the initial period would have been easier.
How did you keep so strong despite the difficulty withstood?
After completing the first semester, I saw many people falling out of the program, but I kept pushing. I could not afford to fail after passing the first semester. Once you are invested in something, it gives you the strength to keep going.
What would you consider your primary goal as a nurse?
It is our duty to advocate for our patients. Sometimes, to other caregivers, teachers, or more often yet – to the patient’s family. When I started working with my patient, he was all around the place and gave his parents a run for their money, too. While hands-on with the child, I noticed he needed help with his behavioral issues. When I broached the subject with the parents and explained the service he would need, they hesitated whether to follow through. You cannot imagine the difference I saw in my patient following that. It truly felt great to be a catalyst for the impeccable change.
Do you have a message you would like to impart to more nurses?
Caregiving is all about genuinely nurturing our patients to make a daily impact. Acknowledgments to my amazing White Glove coordinator, Shira, and the entire White Glove team for guiding me seamlessly so I can focus on what I do best – caregiving!
To all Aspiring Nurses:
The nursing field has infinite opportunities for everyone. From my experience, I encourage you to be fearless, learn, and explore new horizons!
Become part of our exceptional team of White Glove caregivers!
