A young victim of the earthquake in Haiti

Haiti’s earthquake hit close to home at long-term care organizations, where many Haitian staff are employed, primarily as direct-care workers.

There are no statistics on how many direct-care workers in the U.S. are of Haitian descent, but Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and anecdotal reports indicate that there are thousands, especially in Massachusetts, which ranks third in states with the largest Haitian-born population.

In interviews, three long-term care administrators discussed how the earthquake affected direct-care workers at their organizations, as well as the extraordinary response from their facilities’ board members, employees, residents, and families. They each explained how their community quickly mobilized to support the Haitian staff, most of whom are direct-care workers who live on low-wages, send part of their paychecks back to relatives in Haiti, and struggle to get by themselves.

Haitian Workers Remain Dedicated

From holding prayer services and counseling sessions to raising funds, these long-term care organizations immediately stepped up to help their Haitian workers, who never stopped caring for residents while coping with their own loss.

Kathy Foley, the director of the Boston-based Springhouse, a nonprofit retirement community with independent assisted living and memory loss communities, said, “I am so touched by our care managers’ loyalty to residents while they deal with such personal pain.”

“No one missed a day, and not just because of the pay,” Foley added. “These people really care, are really dedicated, and have a strong sense of responsibility about taking care of the personal care needs of our residents.”

Shortly after word traveled about the earthquake, a maintenance man at Springhouse, who also serves as an elder at his church, organized “a very moving prayer meeting which almost everyone — except the bedbound — attended,” said Foley.

Supporting Staff, Helping Victims

A third of the 100-person Springhouse staff is Haitian. In their honor, board members, staff, residents, and families have already raised $8,000 to donate to Partners in Health. Residents have been assembling “health kits” with personal necessities like toothbrushes and soap to send to Haiti. Staff and residents have also been gathering extra bedding to send there.

Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), an integrated, eight-site system of senior health care, senior housing, research, and teaching, employs about 450 Haitian staff, primarily direct-care workers. Since the earthquake hit, HSL has:

• held multiple memorial services;
• provided assistance with computer searches for information about relatives;
• offered counseling services;
• collected about $25,000 in funds to support staff and Haitian relief organizations; and
• canceled the annual January holiday party to redirect the funds to Haitian relief.

A Silver Lining

Paul Hollings, executive director of HSL’s Orchard Cove, said that he was “struck by how everyone supported each other” when attending a memorial service for the earthquake victims. “As the enormity of the tragedy sunk in, our direct-care Haitian workers were embraced by their non-Haitian colleagues,” he said.

“If there is any silver lining — and I know it’s hard to find one — it is the strengthening of our communities, as everyone has come together in mourning and to support each other,” said Hollings.

Tim Reilly, senior vice president at Benchmark Assisted Living, which has 44 locations throughout New England, said that his organization has mounted a similar response that also includes using and simplifying the application process for their emergency fund, developing a resource guide, and distributing phone cards.

“Making contact and staying in communication is hard enough,” said Reilly. “The phone card is one small way to help so that they don’t have to spend money using up all of their minutes.”

– by Deane Beebe