Tommy Joe, HHA
Home health aides share love of sports and patient care
April 2024
In any given conversation, both Tommy Joe and Gina Yamsuan are likely to bring up sports. They’re avid fans of all the local teams – Warriors, Giants, Niners – and more. The couple met and started dating when they were both working as home health aides (HHAs) at another hospice agency and found that their passion for sports was matched by their enthusiasm for their work.
Gina, who joined Mission Hospice more than 10 years ago, has been in health care most of her career; she loves having her own schedule and the flexibility that hospice offers. Tommy came to this work after a career in real estate. He switched careers after his mom became ill in 2000 and received hospice care. He became Mission Hospice’s first male HHA about six months after Gina joined the team.
The two of them, like all of our HHAs, travel throughout the Peninsula and South Bay to provide personal care to patients – bathing, hair care, dressing, transferring (helping patients move), and more. Tommy says he always thinks about what kind of care he would want if he were in the patient’s situation. “I like to picture myself in their shoes.”
“We always look forward to coming to work,” says Gina. “We actually help people. We make them happy, and they look forward to seeing us. They are so appreciative.”
Tommy and Gina both say they can’t imagine not working together. “It’s great doing the same job,” says Tommy.
“We can share our days, good or bad.”
“Tommy and Gina are very devoted to their patients and attuned to their needs,” says Hospice Clinical Manager Sue Kensill. “They truly get to know the families they visit, and they go the extra mile to provide patients comfort and dignity.”
Home health aides typically see patients two to three times per week. In addition to providing personal care for people, they teach their primary caregivers how to safely manage transfers, bathing, catheter maintenance, and more. “Doing this work,” says Gina, “we get really close with the family members too. They are so grateful for what we’re doing.”
Since last September, Tommy and Gina have been visiting 91-year-old Martin in Menlo Park. Although Martin and his wife Priscilla were initially reluctant to have anyone in their home, they quickly hit it off with their Mission Hospice team – especially Tommy and Gina. Martin, as it turns out, is a former Golden Glove boxer with connections throughout professional sports and sports memorabilia throughout the house. “He knows everybody – all the players and coaches,” says Tommy. “Our conversations about the week’s games are a highlight for both of us. I have met a lot of clients, but Martin is very special.”
Martin’s wife Priscilla is grateful for the support the team offers. “Mission Hospice has been a godsend – it’s taken a weight off of me. Our nurse, Tommy and Gina, and our volunteers all visit every week. It helps me, and it gives Martin the stimulation of having someone else visit. I now see that hospice is about living life better – with help!”
Both Tommy and Gina love the connections they are able to make with people like Martin and Priscilla. “I can tell by the photos in the house what their interests are,” says Tommy. He remembers one patient who was slow to warm up to him, but when they started discussing the patient’s classic Thunderbird, they bonded over their love of cars. “We love to listen to the patients’ and families’ stories,” says Tommy. “It’s not work for us – we love it.”
Together, Tommy and Gina make quite a team. Their positivity radiates as they finish each other’s sentences. And they are always looking for special ways to bring joy to patients. One man was “grumpy” until Tommy started bringing him his favorite frozen drink, which he couldn’t get in his care facility.
“People say we’re the highlight of their day,” says Tommy. “They don’t realize it makes our day too. It’s a little perk we get – to see their joy.”