When it comes to helping, this entire family steps up

Robin Klaehn-Quilliam subscribes to Albert Einstein’s philosophy of “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

The Pima Council on Aging will recognize the matriarch and her family for attaining that goal with the 2016 Generations of Commitment Award at the Generations Gala on Friday, April 15, at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa.

“I am overwhelmed by the honor, because I have always just done my job, which has become my life and heart,” said Robin, 82, who traces her service to seniors back to childhood visits with her grandmother.

“She was a cardiac invalid, and I spent afternoons sitting with her and reading to her. That was when I really learned to love older people … they have lived the history of our country, and that is a wonderful thing,” Robin said.

Robin pursued her passion for caring for seniors as a nurse in Ontario, Canada, and continued that work as regional administrator of Medical Personnel Pool after moving to Tucson in 1975. In 1977, she wrote the first certificate of need in Arizona for a Proprietary Home Health Agency, which led to development of systems for licensing home health care statewide.

She also expanded Medical Personnel Pool services to address a lack of adequate home care in rural Southern Arizona.

“In the 1980s, there was a man who lived alone way out past Cochise. He was taken home from the hospital and helped into his recliner on a Friday. We got the order for his care on Monday morning, and when we sent someone out, he was still in the chair: He had no hygiene and no food all weekend,” Robin said.

Her advocacy extended nationwide: Robin testified twice before Congress for the Select Committee on Aging and served on the Arizona Congressional Education Team. She also served on the Arizona Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging and chaired the council’s Alzheimer’s Committee, helping implement legislation for the Alzheimer’s Task Force.

After retiring from Medical Personnel Pool in the late 1990s, Robin enrolled in the Claremont School of Theology and began her second career as a licensed Methodist pastor. She joined the pastoral staff at Tucson Medical Center and served as on-call chaplain for the hospital and hospice for 10 years.

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Robin’s son and daughters have followed in the service-oriented footsteps of her and her husband, Cole Quilliam, who owns and operates Quilliam Management Services LLC. Dr. Robert Klaehn served as the medical director for Arizona’s Division of Developmental Disabilities; Melanie Bucon is a physical therapist in Scottsdale; the Rev. Dulcie Proud is a hospital chaplain in Minnesota; and the Rev. Mary Klaehn is chaplain and manager of TMC Pastoral Services.

Quilliam’s four children are also involved in charitable activities in Alberta, Canada.

To honor the intergenerational “caring” modeled by the Klaehn-Quilliam family, PCOA will focus on Caregiving, Respite and the Community Services System at the gala.

The Caregiving program provides training and support groups for those caring for seniors; the Respite program offers low-cost or free relief from caregiving; and the Community Services System provides a range of assistance including Neighborhood Care Alliances in 23 neighborhoods citywide, along with in-home support such as housekeeping, home-delivered meals, personal care, shopping, visiting nurses and minor home repair.

“At PCOA, we really are making a difference in the lives of older adults across the community. These programs have made a big impact in keeping older adults safe and comfortable and living independently,” said PCOA Director of Development Kimberley Hoidal.

Robin, a former member of the PCOA Board of Directors who has worked with the nonprofit organization over the past four decades, emphasized that she hopes to generate awareness about its services.

“PCOA is a reservoir for resources for older Americans, whether they need legal aid, comfort aid through their neighborhoods or through ombudsmen for nursing homes; or assistance with basic needs, such as meals or minor home repair,” Robin said.

“I think if people knew about these programs, then those of us with more than our fair share of worldly goods could be moved to donate to them.”