Dublin, 22 October, 2021 The late Geraldine Casserly who tragically died from covid earlier this year has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the inaugural HCCI Home Care Awards, supported by First Ireland Insurance Brokers. Geraldine’s husband Seamus and adult children Conor and Samantha attended the ceremony and accepted the award on her behalf.
Originally from Kilmurray, Co. Roscommon Geraldine lived in Frenchpark with her family and was one of the founders of Westcare Homecare. Geraldine founded the company in 2013 with Sharon Carter. A nurse by profession, Geraldine had helped to develop the company to what it is today, a home care provider operating across five counties – Roscommon, Sligo, Galway, Cavan and Monaghan. Geraldine, who was in her early fifties, is remembered as a caring and sensitive person who added so much to the lives of other people.
Joseph Musgrave, CEO, HCCI which is the representative body for home care providers and advocates for home care services to be made available to all on a statutory basis, said, “HCCI would like to award this first Lifetime Achievement award to our late colleague Geraldine Casserly. Geraldine made a commitment to care through becoming a nurse and then through her commitment to homecare as well as to her local community through her business Westcare homecare. There is no one more worthy of this inaugural Lifetime Achievement award.”
Geraldine’s husband Seamus accepted the award along with his son Conor and daughter Samantha saying that Geraldine was, “a beacon of care, a shining light. She had the natural ability to treat all clients with compassion, respect and dignity and offered comfort and solace to all her clients and their families during their darkest times. Geraldine was dedicated to giving the highest standard of care and was truly at her happiest when helping others. I’d like to thank Joseph and HCCI members for this recognition of Geraldine’s legacy. HCCI is fantastic organisation and provides us all with invaluable leadership in our mission to provide the highest standard of homecare to all our citizens.”
Keith Gill, Director of Health Care Insurance, First Ireland said, “We are honoured to support this inaugural HCCI Lifetime Achievement award. From everything I have heard about Geraldine, it’s clear that she was a very special person who gave so much to her clients, colleagues and the wider home care sector and is truly deserving of this award. Sincere condolences to Seamus, Conor and Samantha on their huge loss and also to Geraldine’s wider family, colleagues and friends.”
Other award winners announced during the event were sisters Lauren and Chloe Kelly, Connected Health, Derry, Carers of the Year (award sponsor HaloCare); Geraldine Tabb, Right at Home, Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow, Nurse of the Year (award sponsor RCSI Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery); Christina Mooney of InisCare, Dublin, Care Manager of the Year and Emma Dennis of Bluebird Care, Dublin South-East and Wicklow, Care Coordinator of the Year (sponsor OneTouch).
Joseph said, “2021 is a fitting year for HCCI to launch the inaugural Home Care Awards, a time when homecare providers and carers should be recognised and commended for their inspiring response to Covid-19. Homecare has been a vital resource for our most vulnerable in society, particularly since the onset of the pandemic. Our members and their teams have demonstrated outstanding commitment, care excellence and exceptional service to their clients. The HCCI Home Care awards celebrate and highlight this wonderful and vital work that enables the most vulnerable to stay in the safety and comfort of home. This safety and resilience is demonstrated by the fact that covid infections never rose above 1% among our members’ 20,000 clients.”
“I would like to sincerely thank our event sponsor First Ireland whose support made this ceremony possible, as well as HaloCare, OneTouch and RCSI Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery for their sponsorship of individual awards. We are also very grateful to our independent judges – Sandra Tuohy, Katie Sloan, Brendan Courtney and Professor Thomas Kearns for their time and expertise. And thank you to all our members who nominated team members for these inaugural awards.”
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For further information:
Louise Cassidy 086 383 5727 louise@ckcomms.ie
Claire Keane 087 121 4140 claire@ckcomms.ie
About HCCI:
HCCI is the representative body for the home care sector. It currently represents 23 member companies (with 100 offices nationwide) who among them employ 10,000 carers and provide a managed home care service to 20,000 older and vulnerable people in Ireland. HCCI advocates for the highest standard of regulated home care services to be made available to all on a statutory basis, enabling as many people as possible to remain living independently within their homes and communities. Visit: https://hcci.ie/ Follow on Twitter @HCC_Irl and @joseph_musgrave and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HomeCareIreland/
About First Ireland:
First Ireland Insurance Brokers have been in business since 1982 and are proud to be 100% Irish owned and operated. From our headquarters on Parkgate Street in Dublin, we have over 130 staff working to meet our clients’ needs every day. Our clients come from all sectors of the Irish Business Community. We have particular expertise in the Care Sector, providing insurance solutions to Home Care companies for more than 20 years. First Ireland Risk Management Ltd, trading as First Ireland, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
