Illinois Resident Receives FirstLight’s Caregiver of the Year Award

The national home care company recognizes Cathy Cahill for her selflessness in caring for clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MCHENRY, Ill. — FirstLight Home Care, an award-winning provider of non-medical home care, has named Cathy Cahill of McHenry, Ill. as its National Caregiver of the Year.

Cahill was recognized during a ceremony at FirstLight’s national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah last month. She was nominated for the award by Sande Sherman, the owner of FirstLight Home Care of McHenry County.

“Cathy is the embodiment of what people look for when they want to hire a caregiver,” Sherman said. “She is selfless, flexible and invested. When the husband of one of our clients was hospitalized due to COVID-19 complications, Cathy put her life on hold to stay with his wife, who has dementia and was also COVID positive. Cathy even slept in the same room with the wife to ensure her safety and comfort.”

“Cathy is also our go-to when we need someone to fill in. She really gets to know her clients’ special preferences and brings them their favorite ice cream, soup or candy bar,” Sherman said. “She is a treasured member of our FirstLight family and absolutely deserves this recognition because she is living our culture every day.”

Nominations for the award were received from FirstLight offices across the United States. Caregiver of the Year nominees were evaluated based on dependability, advocacy, empathy, quality of service and compassion toward clients.

FirstLight caregivers help seniors and other adults in need of assistance with personal care and household duties such as cooking, cleaning and running errands. The FirstLight franchise network includes nearly 200 independently owned and operated home care locations across the U.S. and Canada.

For more information on the McHenry County location, visit McHenry.FirstLightHomeCare.com.