Gerayne Yelkin, LPN, has been named the John “Doc” Langley National Caregiver of the Year by Maxim Healthcare Services, a national provider of home healthcare, personal and behavioral care.
The Lincoln, Nebraska resident was honored for her compassion and ability to deliver exceptional patient care as evidenced by almost three decades of devotion to the patient she has cared for since the patient was a year old. She was presented with Maxim’s John “Doc” Langley National Caregiver of the Year Award during a virtual ceremony on December 1.
Yelkin has more than five decades of nursing experience and has spent 28 of those years caring for her patient, Josie Moore. She was assigned to work with Moore when she was just 15 months old. Moore was a victim of a spinal injury during birth, which resulted in Moore being ventilator-dependent and quadriplegic. While Yelkin cares for Moore as a full-time day nurse, she is more like family.
The impact Yelkin has made on Moore’s life is immeasurable. According to Moore and her family, Yelkin arrives every day with a listening ear, a caring heart and determination to ensure Moore experiences life just like everyone else. Yelkin has always been by Moore’s side – riding the bus together to preschool, accompanying her to middle school dances and even zip-lining the Colorado Mountains at camp – resulting in a special bond that still exists today. Recently, Yelkin was there to help Moore celebrate another milestone as she and her fiancé started a new life together in their own home.
Although her days are spent as a full-time nurse to Moore, Yelkin always seems to find time to assist her colleagues at the Omaha office. A fellow Maxim licensed practical nurse who has worked alongside Yelkin for 20 years describes her as “the best example of a servant leader,” and goes on to say “there are so many other nurses she has influenced over the years, orienting them and guiding them, myself included, that her legacy will carry on for years to come.
After being named National Caregiver of the Year, Yelkin expressed gratitude by responding “thank you to the staff in the Omaha office and thank you to nurses that I work with and especially thank you to Josie, my client.”
About Maxim’s Caregiver of the Year Program
A panel of judges selected Yelkin and three other regional winners from hundreds of nominations across the country. Now in its ninth year, the Caregiver of the Year Award program celebrates nurses and home healthcare aides for the key roles they play in delivering quality, patient-centered care to some of the nation’s most medically fragile and chronically ill patients. This year, the prized award was renamed the John “Doc” Langley Caregiver of the Year Award in honor of the significant contributions that former Chief Medical Officer, John “Doc” Langley, has made over his 10-year career with Maxim.
*Patient information and likeness featured with the consent of the patient/family*
