Filipino caregivers are helping the oldest person in the world live longer.

At 115, African American Gertrude Baines is officially the world's oldest person since the January 2, 2009, death of Portuguese woman Maria de Jesus, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Baines said her secret to success is a lifetime of clean living and a caring group of people at the Western Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles, California. She has been at the hospital for the last decade.

Hospital administrator Emma Camanag said Filipinos are good at caring for elderly patients especially Baines.

"[We're] naturally patient and more medically inclined. We know how to treat our elders,” said Camanag.

The nursing home staff said they treat each resident with the same level of care and attention that they give to Baines.

“She's a very strong woman. At her age, she could still tell you what happened to her in the past," Camanag said.

Baines is their in-house celebrity. The US President and Mrs. Obama sent birthday greetings when she turned 115..

Baines, who is the daughter of former slaves, voted for Barack Obama and made history as the oldest American voter last November.

“She's very happy voting for as she said a 'colored man'. She said she wouldn't mind to live a hundred years more and to vote again,” Susie Exconde, the hospital’s director of nursing, said.

Baines recently said that her dream now is to once again vote for Obama in 2012. Pinoy care providers are doing their best to help her realize her dream. Reports from Yong Chavez, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau