Jennifer Lugo, Kent City, MI, is a Certified Nursing Assistant who is both a paid DCW and a family caregiver. She started caregiving as a teenager, with her maternal grandmother, who had cancer. She also watched her aunt take care of her grandfather with dementia in his home around that time. In 2007, she began caring for her mother who also has dementia and lived with her until 2015. At one point, Jennifer was “going to school, taking care of three kids, working third shift at a nursing home, and taking care of my mother. It broke my body down so I eventually had to stop doing all that.” Her mother now lives in a nursing home. Jennifer just completed her Associate’s degree, is writing a book, and advocates on behalf of DCWs as skilled professionals.
Jennifer says person-centered care “always revolves around the client and their wishes, not mine.” She believes the role of the DCW is pivotal and mandatory training is critical, for CPR, body mechanics, use of lifts, etc. “A few seconds can be the difference between life and death with a person.” She worries about the impact of DCW turnover on her clients. “I can’t imagine what that would be like. In the morning you got one [DCW], and at night you got another one, and the next day you got another one.” Jennifer talks with passion about the need for training standards, insurance coverage for home care work, and higher wages. She loves the work but at $10 an hour, she can’t afford to do it without her husband’s income.