Heather Zielinski, Belmont, MI, a certified medical assistant who self identifies as Cherokee, loves to read and learn about history and other cultures, and feels working with people who are dying is a privilege. She has been “screamed at, spit at, sworn at, swung at, stuck with a needle, worked with a convicted pedophile, and witnessed drug deals.” She considers Direct Care work comparable to an essential service, preventative care that keeps situations from “going south”. “It’s just as important as the fire department. It’s just as important as nursing.” It’s also hard work, physically, emotionally, spiritually. “Sometimes when you work a 10-hour week, it’s 20 to 30 hours for a normal person because you get invested in these people. It’s draining and it’s joyful all at the same time.”
Heather would like the public and policy makers to know that recruiting and retaining DCWs requires higher wages, supervisory support, and help with grieving when clients die. She also talks passionately about the need for culture change. “There’s a huge gap between the young people now, and the seniors, and if you don’t stop and listen, you’re not gonna hear their stories. We’re gonna lose the past. It’s just gonna go bye-bye, and nobody’s gonna know about it. There’s so much to learn from them.”