Governor spends time in the shoes of homecare worker

Photo by matt nagle

HARD WORKER. Gov. Christine Gregoire was the first governor in the country to take part in “Walk A Day In My Shoes,” shadowing home care worker Rosa Vadillo to learn all about caring for the homebound, including everything from preparing meals to emptying bedside toilets.

While many working people spent Monday morning going back to the old 9-to-5 grind, Governor Christine Gregoire did something completely different with her day: she shadowed Tacoma homecare worker Rosa Vadillo to discover first-hand what it is like to provide in-home care for someone who is unable to fully take care of themselves.

“Walk A Day In My Shoes,” held in Tacoma this year on June 30, is a national program that has attracted the participation of numerous political leaders like Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, but Gregoire is the first sitting governor or gubernatorial candidate ever in the country to have volunteered to take on the challenge. A program of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the day was established to ensure that candidates for political office experience what it is like for working people to raise a family in America.

“It’s important for those of us who want to serve in public office to know what it’s like for the client and those who care for them,” Gregoire said before starting her shift with Vadillo. “I’m a better learner when I have my own experience rather than just reading about something.”

Homecare workers like Vadillo are among those who have the most difficulty making ends meet. Traditionally paid low wages and given little training, these workers are known for putting in long hours at a physically and emotionally demanding job. Vadillo, a member of SEIU Healthcare 775NW, said she works six days a week putting in more than 60 hours to care for two clients.

In our state there are efforts going on now to improve these workers’ lives through Initiative 1029, which would ensure certification, improved training and background checks for long-term care workers. Gregoire has endorsed the initiative.

“We need [to provide] a whole lot more training,” she said. “We do more training today for anybody who wants to be a masseuse or groomer of a dog than for people who take care of our fellow human beings.”

After spending a couple hours with Vadillo, Gregoire experienced first-hand what it takes to do the kind of work necessary to make life more bearable for the aged and those with debilitating illnesses.

With photographers and reporters waiting for her, the governor showed up for work with Vadillo at 8:30 a.m. at the home of Rita Madding just off Sixth Avenue. Madding is a cancer survivor, and one day last spring she was terrified to find that she could not stand up. Her legs had stopped working, and despite a battery of tests doctors have been unable to pinpoint the cause. The pain keeps her confined in her small upstairs bedroom, although she has some mobility but tires easily.

Gregoire arrived ready to go to work, doing what Vadillo did, which included preparing Madding’s breakfast, emptying and cleaning her toilet bucket (and unclogging the commode), changing her bed linens and trash can liners and spending lots of time disinfecting. Vadillo did everything she could to make Madding as comfortable as possible, which Gregoire noticed.

“It isn’t just doing the cleaning and cooking, it’s doing it in a way that makes her client happy. Rosa’s trying to make every little amenity a positive thing for Rita and you can see the spirit with which Rosa provides for her.”

“She’s amazing,” Madding said of her caregiver. “You have to be a certain kind of person to do what Rosa does.  

“The people who are in Rosa’s situation are not being paid fairly, they have no benefits, and their hours are ridiculous. What I’d like to see come of this is for them to get more training so they get a living wage and don’t have to work 60 hours a week just to put a roof over their head.”

Gregoire agreed. “The Baby Boom generation will need care, and most people today prefer to stay in their homes, so in order to attract and maintain people like Rosa, we need to make sure they’re paid a livable wage, that they have health care benefits and that they have the training they deserve so that we attract people to the profession who will stay in the profession.”

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