As we do every year, we are happy to be announcing the winner of the Apex Social Care Professional of the Year Award. 

 The Care Professional of the Year Award 2022 goes to Special Needs Care Provider Hanna Kuhlman, who was nominated by her host family in Los Angeles, California.

The global "Care Professional of the Year Award" goes to Hanna Kuhlmann (23) from Münster, Germany, who completed her training in June 2020 as a state-certified Special Needs Care Provider. In 2022 she was honored by her employer in the USA, the Coleman Family of Los Angeles California for her outstanding work, dedication and love, as well as her courage to go abroad during a pandemic to help a child with special needs and was nominated for the Global Care Professional of the Year Award. 

The Coleman Family nominated Hanna with these loving words: 

Small amounts add up to something bigger.

And, that’s exactly what we have seen since our care professional Hanna joined our family. Our family may not be the easiest: our younger son has multiple disabilities, including a rare genetic syndrome, epilepsy, a feeding tube, and cortical vision impairment, in addition to being excessively handsome. But, Hanna didn’t come here for easy. She came here to be a part of something bigger. 

So, what exactly has Hanna become a part of? Therapy sessions, inclusive activities, and goal setting. Roller coasters, buffalo, ziplines, and sunsets over the ocean. Service dog training, matching family pajamas, and getting creative during quarantines. In each of these things, she has brought an amazing attitude, her extensive special needs experience, her boundless creativity, and her sense of humor.

Having Hanna by our side to say “He can do that” has shown us over and over that everything really will be okay. She teaches all of us. She makes all of our lives feel like something bigger: an adventure to be navigated, explored, and taken on headfirst. She has helped us to make our son’s world more accessible to him, through creativity, communication, and love. She truly embodies the Apex mission: to empower families and children with special needs to reach their full potential.

Thank you to Hanna and the Coleman Family!

 

We'd also like to thank our two runner ups for the Care Professional of the Year Award, as well as their families for nominating their PROaupair Care Professionals: 
Melina Koch (Physical Therapist in New Jersey, USA)
Marvin Theel (Special Needs Care Provider in in Boston, USA)