Careers in Aging Month #2: My Journey in Elder Care

Francesca Zawaydeh has worked in elder care for seven years and is currently employed by a company that provides home care services in the Greater Sacramento area. She is pursuing a Master’s in Gerontology at San Francisco State University.

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Working in elder care started out as a career change and ended up changing my life.  My grandmother raised me from the time she was 75 until she passed at 89 years old. I saw her garden, cook, clean and tackle the daunting hills of San Francisco as a strong, independent woman.  The idea of an older adult needing care and not being able to rely on family did not fully occur to me until I saw it first hand. 

Starting a career in hospice is like being thrown straight into the fire. It is a feast or feminine sales job that I was terrified of and excited for.  Because hospice is a Medicare-based service, I saw a full spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds.  One of my first clients had no furniture except a huge grand piano, the only thing she didn’t sell to pay for her care.  She expected hospice to be her saving grace, and was anticipating the services to provide for the gaps in care.  Her neighbors came by occasionally to check on her and cook her meals, but she kept falling in her home.  She had nothing to grab onto except the piano, which she could no longer play because of the arthritis in her hands.  She didn’t qualify for many free services and I wondered out loud, “How did this happen, Miss Cathryn?”  She sadly told me she never married and had no children, everything she had she bought on a teacher’s salary.  She signed her hospice consent forms on her grand piano and spent her final moments in a hospital bed covered by Medicare.

After this experience, I gathered as much information as possible, whenever I could.  Admittedly, I have a hard time keeping my thoughts to myself, and found myself chiming in with suggestions. “Sign up for this grant!  You’re a veteran, let’s try this!  I heard you can get this free from here!”  Soon enough, social workers and case managers would call and ask my advice.  My passion for older adults seeking care grew larger and larger. 

I left the hospice for a career in home care, where I was able to collect more information and more client stories. This transition left me with more questions.  The truth of the matter is that care is expensive and most people are unprepared for it.  The majority of Americans cannot afford 24 hour care, or privately paid skilled nursing and what is covered is typically minimal.  I’ve centered my career on helping people and being a voice and an advocate for people who no longer have a voice, literally and figuratively).  As the Boomer generation ages into Medicare and their needs grow, it will up to people my age (a proud millennial) and younger to remain eager and informed, to prove that these programs are truly needed! 

Pursing my masters is important for me to attempt to make a difference, and give me a louder voice for the Greatest Generation, the Silent Generation, and all of us who follow.