Alisa Curtis, Traverse City, MI. A member of the Odawa nation, Alisa started in DCW work 8 years ago when her parents needed more help and her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Like most DCWs, Alisa states the wages are too low. Other household income makes it financially possible to work as a DCW. “Sometimes I feel like I’m doing really well financially, and other times not so much because your client passes…You’ve had steady hours for a long period of time, and then all of a sudden, those hours are gone.”
Alisa loves hospice work but often finds the grieving and family dynamics hard. One client said, “I only want you here. I can only trust you.” But the family said “No. We’re taking over from here. It doesn’t matter what he wants. You know, we’re in charge.” “You feel like you should be able to leave your job and leave all those emotions behind, but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes you take that with you.”
Holding back tears, Alisa said “It makes me feel sad because when people are at that point in their life, you know they’re at the end, they might ask you for forgiveness or tell you some secret maybe they don’t tell anyone. I guess that’s the part that’s hard when the family doesn’t see what you’re seeing.”
She also loves how each day and each client is different. “It’s never boring! I don’t know if I could necessarily just sit and do the same thing every day”. Alisa recognizes her skills with staying calm and dealing with difficult situations such as inappropriate sexual advances. She states her years of experience and training have helped her be a better, more patient DCW and recommends that young DCWs shadow somebody with more experience because “some people if they’re put into a situation they’re not familiar with, it may scare them off.” She also recommends standards and oversight of home care agencies to avoid those that are just in it for the money. “It’s more than just a business…making profit. It’s somebody’s life.”