Join me in congratulating Ndifreke, employee of the month! We appreciate you for all that you do for our senior community and staff.
Ndifreke Ukpong, also called Ndi or Indi, has a vast experience of more than a decade as a Certified Nurse Assistant. She has served as a CNA in the Chicagoland area. Ndi is employee of the month, and we are thrilled to have her.
Her passion for caregiving started in her hay days. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Ndi moved to the United States when she was 12 years old. Her grandfather, who was also passionate about helping people in need, established a nonprofit organization called “Will Feed”. Will Feed helped needy citizens on the south side of Chicago, where Ndi and her grandfather lived. Since then, this has been the propulsion of her passion for working with seniors and individuals who need assistance with daily activities. She attributes her early exposure to caregiving and caregivers, more so her grandfather, to her excellent work ethic. As she puts it, her grandfather had to be literally kicked out of the office because he loved his work very much.
Ndifreke loves people and building relationships with them. She has worked in a broad scope of caregiving such as assisted living, nursing homes, hospitals, private home care, and home health care. In the long run, she has come to love home care agency of them all. Her reason is that facilities are fast paces and they, therefore, limit the ability and time for building client relationships. She believes that caregiving is more than mere caregiving- it involves being a confidant and comfort for clients. Her impact and passion are evident in that clients even ask for her after she has left work.
According to Ndi, home care trumps over facility care because of several reasons. It is easier to make a difference in a home care environment. It is also easier to utilize skills and create a more significant impact in a home care environment and lastly to make a policy change according to your assessment in the field, specific to each client’s needs. Ndi is an excellent communicator who is full of positivity. She is also a team player, a problem solver, and an actively available caregiver. She is also a voice for her clients- a great advocate for her clients towards their families and the medical community.
Ndifreke has invaluable experience with multiple care plans. She also helps clients understand what they need. Ndi is exceptional in tailoring care plans for clients and assisting the clients revise them should their situation or needs change. She is also competent in home assessment. Her years of experience make it easy to advise clients on the type of equipment they may need for comfortable home health care. One of her greatest hobbies is charity. She is the financial secretary of a nonprofit organization. It is a worldwide charity that brings politicians and communities together to help people in underprivileged areas. The organization focuses on people living in rural Nigeria. Recently, they just completed building a school. When she’s not doing charity work, she loves shopping, cooking, barbecuing, organizing things and spaces.