In 2008, Florence M. Day – she goes by “Flo” for short – retired from her managerial job in the telecommunications industry to fulfill a promise. She wanted to take care of her mother, Orelia M. White, who suffered a stroke and needed triple-bypass heart surgery.

“I promised not to put her in a facility, when I was a little girl,” Day says. “It was important to keep my commitment.” So today, at age 65, she’s on a second career as a Home Care Aide (HCA) for her mother, age 86.

As part of that process, Day never stops learning, and her eagerness for knowledge is something that comes naturally. At age 50, she earned her bachelor’s degree, quickly followed by two master’s degrees, in organizational leadership and project management.

So to improve her caregiving skills, Day jumped at the chance to enroll in the Advanced Home Care Aide Registered Apprenticeship program.

The Apprenticeship is a free, 82-hour program, a benefit provided by SEIU Healthcare NW Training Partnership. It includes up to 12 hours of Continuing Education and 12 hours of Peer Mentoring. The program was bargained for HCAs by SEIU 775, and qualifies participants for a $0.25 per hour raise.

Even though Day was “grandfathered” in and didn’t have to take Basic Training courses, she still chose to sign up for the Apprenticeship program to provide the best possible care for her mother.

Top of the Class: What Classes are Like

For 10 weekends on Saturdays and Sundays, around 20 students gathered to hear lectures, watch videos, and do small group work on weekly topics. Day spent about 10 hours a week on extra study, reading, and understanding. “I had to put in a little more time,” she explains, as she didn’t work in healthcare until her new HCA job.

In class, Day learned more about what she calls the “mechanics” of the job – the proper way to do everything, from hand washing to operating a wheelchair. Although Day’s mother is still mobile (and using a walker), Day feels like the class gave her a boost of confidence when her mother might need a wheelchair.

Day learned new information she could apply to caring for her mother, from proper hand washing to dispensing medication. She even practiced some skills on her mother, such as taking her out of bed with proper, safe body mechanics.

The class offered a few light moments, as well. “Trying to change the bed with somebody in it, that was a challenge,” she says. “Some of my patients were maybe worse when we got done than they were before,” she says, laughing. “It was rough to get the concept, but I was determined to figure it out.”

In-class group work encouraged HCAs to meet one another, and share experiences and advice, Day says. Classmates could call one another to ask about important things learned in class, or any nagging questions. “I built relationships with people, and we’re still friends, maybe call each other every six months or so, or meet up again at different functions,” Day says.

Mentor and Mentee

Since Day completed the Apprenticeship program, she’s also passed along the goodwill by becoming a mentor herself. So far, she’s helped eight people graduate from the program.

Day and her mentee might discuss how to deal with Consumers’ family members using the kitchen or the bathroom. Who stacked those dishes in the sink? The HCA doesn’t know for sure, but her care plan still says she must clean them up. Day and her mentee might discuss how to approach the situation, acknowledging frustration while following the Consumer’s plan.

Day’s mother, a former hospital dietician supervisor, still keeps herself busy crocheting hats and winter scarves. Day’s sisters work in nursing and health care, as well. “It’s in our DNA, maybe,” Day says. Whether or not it’s in her DNA, Day is certainly a great example of learning, growing, and achieving as a result of the Apprenticeship program.

“By using proper mechanics with my mother I’ve helped her to reduce her anxiety and fear when I moved her or she was falling,” Day says. “It also increased her confidence in my ability to help her in changing positions, sitting, standing, and walking the correct way.”