Susan Scott, LPN, has been named National Caregiver of the Year by Maxim Healthcare Services, a provider of home healthcare, behavioral care, healthcare staffing, personal caregiving, and population health and wellness solutions. Scott, a nurse in Maxim’s Woodbridge, Virginia, office, was honored by her colleagues and the Maxim leadership team during a special caregiver appreciation ceremony in Orlando, Florida on January 31.
“Sue is the type of caregiver we would all want for our loved ones,” said Bill Butz, Maxim’s chief executive officer. “While she is clinically competent, it is her empathy, positivity and nurturing spirit that set her apart. We are so honored to have Sue as a part of our Maxim family.”
Scott was recognized for her dedicated care of Richard “Rick” Cole, a veteran with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) who passed away in December 2018. ALS is a progressive neurological disease that has no cure and Scott knows firsthand the disease offers no reprieve. Her husband, Andy, was diagnosed with ALS in 2013 and passed away just nine months later. Upon his passing, Scott left her home just outside of Boston for a fresh start in Virginia. After securing a job at Maxim, she was matched with Rick, who relied on a variety of medical equipment to maintain his quality of life. Despite her friends’ and family’s concerns about being face-to-face with ALS again, Scott believes she was meant to be matched with her patient.
Upon winning the award, Scott said, “This is so surreal. I love working for Maxim. I love my patients. I thank Rick every day and I thank my Andy for teaching me patience and how to die with dignity and grace.”
Maxim’s Caregiver of the Year Award program was established in 2011 and is designed to enhance the caregiver experience at Maxim and acknowledge and celebrate Maxim’s nurses and aides for the quality patient-centered care and service they provide to many of the nation’s most medically fragile and chronically ill patients.
