To the editor:
I have worked as a certified nursing assistant at the Elizabeth Seton Residence skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Wellesley for more than 30 years.
I love helping my elderly residents, making sure they get the love and care they deserve. Nursing home staff are hardworking and the job isn’t easy. We feed them, bathe them, dress them, toilet them, among other things. It takes a lot of patience and compassion but it’s important they feel like they have their dignity.
Being a CNA is important to me. I lost my mother to Alzheimer’s disease. By providing care to our residents, I feel like I’m helping individuals just like her ---people who can’t care for themselves.
It’s not a job that pays well and it is difficult to make ends meet. Many certified nursing assistants have to work two jobs.
I think the state needs to do more to help nursing homes and the people who take care of the frail elderly. I’m asking legislators to support a bill that would help nursing home workers and the residents we care for by investing in staff wages, attracting new workers and providing career ladders to further our training.
BEULAH CLAYTON
Whitman