Psych center staff meet winter challenges head on Psychiatric Center Local. Mandatory overtime is the norm during tough winters, which Rogers-Norfleet said contributes to worker stress and fatigue. One service for workers added in recent years has helped reduce worker stress, though. A worker from the center’s on-site garage uses a state-owned van to pick up and return workers who live within a certain radius. “He is wonderful,” Rogers-Norfleet said. “It’s a nice service. He picks me up at home and drops me off at the front door of the facility, so I’m ready to go for work.” — Jessica Ladlee Underappreciated workers CSEA activist Sonya Rogers-Norfleet, left, a mental health therapy aide at Rockland Psychiatric Center Local, stands with co-worker Charlene Tonge by a van that helps get them to work in foul winter weather. ‘The residents make me smile’ Ulster workers eyes and ears for seniors’ safety KINGSTON — As a case manager for the Ulster County Office for the Aging, CSEA activist Glenn Warnock has great concern for the elderly clients he and co-workers visit throughout the often remote areas of the southern Catskills. Warnock and his co-workers have been on high alert this winter as unusually cold temperatures and heavy snowfall hit. County workers from Warnock’s office and the Department of Social Services are the ones working to ensure elderly Ulster residents needing help have heat and adequate nutrition. Workers in the Office for the Aging refer their clients to DSS for Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) grants. They also coordinate with the vendor that prepares and delivers meals to homebound residents. “The snow has created havoc, messing up deliveries,” said Warnock, who serves as Ulster County Unit executive vice president. “If we see a storm coming, we preemptively give two meals a day instead of one.” Ulster County’s mountainous terrain makes traveling from client to client a challenge, even in good weather. With clients often living alone without family nearby, county workers are the eyes and ears protecting some of the county’s most vulnerable citizens. This winter was a challenge, Warnock said, but for which CSEA members and their co-workers were well-prepared. “This winter was a little worse than past ones, but this is a yearly challenge we meet,” he said. — Jessica Ladlee ORANGEBURG — While many government buildings can close when officials declare a state of emergency, many people forget that there is no such option at 24-hour state facilities such as Rockland Psychiatric Center. With individuals struggling with mental illness requiring around-the-clock care, CSEA-represented direct care staff often brave roadways with snow and ice to travel to work. Other workers stay past their scheduled shifts to cover for workers unable to make it in, with workers living as far away as the Bronx and Manhattan often hindered by road conditions. Winter weather means many sacrifices for direct care workers. “If we know people are going to be held over, there are cots set up in a secluded area where the staff can sleep and have downtime,” said longtime CSEA activist Sonya Rogers- Norfleet, a mental health therapy aide who serves as fourth vice president of the Rockland LYONS — For some CSEA members, not making it in to work just isn’t an option. On stormy winter days when many people might have preferred to stay home with a cup of hot chocolate, Amy Jones and Christine Shorter, certified nursing assistants at the Wayne County Nursing and Rehab Center, not only got to work, but often stayed there, working double shifts, for the residents who depend on their help. “Every two weeks, I was staying over five or six days because they needed the help,” said Shorter. “The residents are my first priority. They are what make me smile. And if there isn’t enough staff, then the residents can’t get the proper care. It was bad out, but you have to come in and you have to drive slow and leave early.” “I don’t like to call in because of the weather,” said Jones. “I go in to make sure of Winter 2015 my residents are taken care of properly and my co-workers are not working short. You don’t want residents sitting there wondering if they are going to have someone to take care of them. You want to be there every time, on time, so they don’t have to worry.” Winter or not, Jones normally arrives at work an hour early each morning to help her 24 rehab patients get their day started smoothly. “It’s not been easy, but I’ve made my way Photo by Ove Overmyer Wayne County Nursing and Rehab Center Certified Nursing Assistants Amy Jones, left, and Christine Shorter. in, no problem,” she said. I might have to drag my husband out of the house to drive me sometimes if I can’t make it. He’s got a four-wheel drive.” Shorter helps her 48 residents with many of their daily needs, including bathing. “I’m the tub girl,” she said. “I do the baths because they love the way I sing to them when I give them their baths.” — Ed Molitor 8 The Work Force April 2015
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