With a family history of taking care of others, it made sense for Tesha Haywood to become a CNA.

Tesha’s mother worked in healthcare before she retired, and her grandmother also played a huge role in taking care of the family. Tesha and her sisters also assisted in taking care of their dad, who had lupus, as they grew up.

“Just growing up seeing everybody take care of everybody, it just came naturally," said Tesha.

Tesha stays motivated at work by the satisfaction of seeing her patients smile. Her motivation and good-will has earned her the title of Recruitment Alley’s Healthcare Rockstar of the Month for February 2021.

”Just taking care of them, the elderly. Just to see the smile on their face, especially in this time because they can’t see their own family so, we’re their family,” said Tesha. “Just to see their smile and know that they’re happy, that keeps me going.

Tesha would eventually like to go back to school to get her LVN license and hopes to stay in the skilled nursing facility setting. She prefers skilled nursing to the hospital setting because of the one-on-one interactions that skilled nursing facilities provide.

“In skilled nursing you get to know the residents, talk to them, spend time with them,” said Tesha.

One of Tesha’s favorite memories at work was when she was working one-on-one with a resident named Barbara, who refused to eat the food at the facility. She wouldn’t eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner—and then one day, she requested chicken.

“I went to KFC to get her some mashed potatoes, some of their baked chicken, and two biscuits,” said Tesha. “And we sat there while she ate, I ended up combing out her hair for her, and she was smiling and laughing and talking.”

“The whole time I’ve been here I’ve never seen her like that,” said Tesha. “And for me to see her like that it was just… you don’t even know, you just made my whole year. She was so nice!”

Among the other pleasant encounters that Tesha gets to experience while working as a CNA, her favorite part of working with Recruitment Alley is the communication.

“Recruitment Alley makes everybody feel like we’re a part of the family. We’re not just employees, we’re their family,” said Tesha. “I can call any of you guys up at 2 o’ clock in the morning and you guys are gonna answer. I just love the communication and the fact that you guys look out for us.”

Her advice for new CNAs is to just give it a chance.

“That’s all I can say, you have to give it a chance,” said Tesha. “Because at the end, if you give it a chance, you’re gonna love it! You’re not gonna regret it, you’re gonna love it.”