Love your clients, Sunnyside HHA instructor exhorts trainees

“I think health care is more about love than about most other things. If there isn't at the core of these two human beings who have agreed to be in a relationship where one is trying to help relieve the suffering of another, which is love, you can't get to the right answer here.”

—Donald Berwick

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

ASIDE from helping hone their skills to become Home Health Aide (HHA) professionals, the HHA bilingual supervising nurse instructor of the Queens-based Sunnyside Community Services, Inc. has exhorted trainees to “love your clients, first and foremost.”

“That’s why if you remember during the first day (of the class) when I asked you to introduce yourselves, some of you said that you’re here because you need a job,” sighed Jorge E. Gomez, MSN-Ed, BSN, BBA, RN, CCM. “I appreciate your frankness, but that’s not enough.” 

Gomez, a Colombian-American, emphasized: “You must have at least the dedication and compassion in you heart to take care of the elderly; (to be effective HHAs) you must love your clients.”

Gomez goaded the 17 trainees in his class that romped off on March 9 and concluded on April 2 to establish a rapport with their clients and make a good impression of themselves on first day in the job.

He reechoed the sentiments of Siobhan Simpson, HHA training program director, for the 17 trainees to be always mentally and physically fit in order to become effective healthcare workers.

“When you are in your clients’ homes, always be professional and focus on the Plan of Care; be honest and serve your clients with all sincerity and dignity as health workers,” Gomez added. “If you think no one is watching, somebody up there is always watching us.”

HHAs are reportedly in demand in the United States. A shortage of home care workers—home health aides (HHAs) and personal care aides (PCAs)—produces major consequences.

Americans are getting older—the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation is now 77—and that brings an increased need for long-term health care in the U.S.

Gomez, who dabbles full time as registered nurse (RN) in New York hospitals and is reinforced in the HHA project by veteran skills mentor Gloria Caballero and Carlos Meza-Alvarez, has also encouraged HHA trainees to explore the nursing profession.

“As RN, you will go a long way,” he hissed. “You may start from HHA, CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), Associate Nurse, and get a bachelor’s degree for RN (Registered Nurse).”

Gomez said those intending to purse RN as a profession may incur a staggering amount of student loan, “but after that, when you have become nurses, you can pay off the loan.”

The United States is projected to experience a shortage of RNs that is expected to intensify as Baby Boomers age and the need for health care grows, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).

Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing schools across the country are reportedly struggling to expand capacity to meet the rising demand for care.

AACN is working with schools, policy makers, nursing organizations, and the media to bring attention to this healthcare concern.

AACN is reportedly leveraging its resources to shape legislation, identify strategies, and form collaborations to address the shortage.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines—Ed)

   

 

 

 

‘My name is Road-reegow Row-whaa Dow-terti’

“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.”

—Orson Welles

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE hoarse voice and a somber face and expression from a former strongman in that most viewed video appearance recently at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands was cryptic.

“My name is Road-reegow Row-whaa Dow-terti.”

We’ve seen it only in the recorded films when captured members of rival Mexican and Colombian drug cartels were given the chance to say their last words before being brutally executed.

We’ve heard it only—the guttural voice—from many famous but helpless dictators in history before their barbaric deaths.

The so-called “last words” have always been enduring and epochal.

Thank God former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wasn’t in the death chamber, or in the hands of ruthless captors wanting to maim and decimate him when he uttered those dingy words.

It was far cry though from his trademark, the loud and bone-jarring “papatayin ko kayo; p__tang ina ninyo” (I will kill you; you sonnobavitch) woofing where he became obdurately (in)famous.

 

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No one knew, however, if Mr. Duterte intentionally inveigled it to generate instant sympathy, or he was really scared like a rabbit now that he was isolated and only at the beck and mercy of the ICC that he had threatened and maligned when he was in power.

That monologue will forever be etched in the minds of those who saw it—Filipinos and non-Filipinos all over the world.

“My name is Road-reegow Row-whaa Dow-terti” no doubt was a euphemized appeal to emotion; it has now become a political catchword and could be used by the former president’s die-hards to rally support and gain sympathies, especially that Filipinos have been known to be suckers to underdogs—or those appear to be victims of bullying and persecution.

Media networks that regularly used the “Road-reegow…” clip to chronicle Mr. Duterte’s arrest and detention in the ICC and the updates for his forthcoming full-blown hearing are innocuously helping imbibe in the psyche of the people the perception of oppression and torment supposedly being inflicted on the hitherto hard-hitting ex-Philippine leader accused of the crimes against humanity.

 

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Here are some of the most memorable but enigmatic last words and bizarre endings of famous characters who, in one way or the other, had helped shape world history:

—Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini was ousted from politics in July 1943 when the country's prospects of victory in World War II soured. According to Live Science, the ouster was the beginning of the end for Mussolini; he was immediately arrested and imprisoned at the Hotel Campo Imperatore in central Italy until September, when German paratroopers rescued him. He was taken to Germany, and then Lombardy in northern Italy, but he seemed to know the end was near. In 1945, he told an interviewer, "Seven years ago I was an interesting person. Now I am a corpse."

In 1945, Benito Mussolini told an interviewer, "Seven years ago I was an interesting person. Now I am a corpse."

Just a few months later, he'd really be a corpse. In April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were trying to escape Italy for Spain when they were stopped by communist partisans, taken hostage and shot. Their bodies were taken to Milan's Piazzale Loreto, site of the execution of 15 anti-fascists the year before, and hung upside-down. Passersby spit on the bodies and pelted them with rocks, according to BBC news reports at the time. Photos of the corpses were widely circulated and even sold to American servicemen as grisly souvenirs.

—Adolf Hitler is a notorious exception to the trend of dictators surviving into old age. In the waning days of World War II, with the Russian Army closing in on Berlin, Hitler holed up in a bunker under the Reich Chancellery building.

According to the Top 10 Weird Ways We Deal With the Dead, as bad news poured into the bunker, Hitler made his preparations to die on his own terms. He heard of Mussolini's death and the desecration of the corpse and ordered that his own body be burned. He married his mistress, Eva Braun, and ordered cyanide capsules tested on a dog belonging to the children of German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. On April 30, Hitler and Braun went into a lower room in the bunker. Braun apparently took cyanide, while Hitler shot himself in the temple. Hitler's lieutenants followed his wishes and burned the corpses, though the burning was not thorough. The Russian army discovered the remains, identified the bodies, and then destroyed what was left to prevent Hitler's grave from becoming a shrine.

 

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—Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong also made it to age 82. Like Franco, he suffered from poor health for a long time before his death; the last time he was seen in public was in May 1976. It's not clear exactly what ailed Mao, but he may have had Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degeneration of the nerve cells that control movement.

Stephanie Pappas, Live Science contributing writer, said Mao had a heart attack on Sept. 2, 1976, that proved to be his downfall. Over the next several days, he suffered various crises, including a brush with death from a worsening lung infection. On Sept. 7, Mao fell into a coma from which he never awoke. Doctors took him off life support a day later, and he died a few minutes after midnight on Sept. 9.

—Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected to the presidency in Haiti in 1957 and immediately began consolidating power, exiling his opponents' supporters, supervising torture of political dissidents and ordering executions of those who crossed him. A practitioner of the voodoo religion, Duvalier occasionally communed with the severed heads of his victims.

Duvalier was plagued by health problems, however, including a heart attack in 1959. His chronic diabetes and heart troubles eventually killed him in 1971.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

‘Union is our power’

 —Sunnyside HHA grads join 1199SEIU’s 480,000 members.

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE largest healthcare union in the United States has added newly trained Home Health Aide (HHA) workers from New York City on its roster of “growing” members.

In an orientation meeting at the Sunnyside Community Services in Queens April 3, 1199SEIU (United Healthcare Workers East) organizer Monica Landinez emphasized that 1199SEIU has a membership of 480,000 as of that day, making it the biggest and largest healthcare union all over the country.

“Union is our power—a political power,” Landinez enthused.

Landinez, who has been with Sunnyside Community Services for 37 years, was part of a mammoth delegation that marched to the Washington D.C. in 2017 to protect the Medicaid, a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources.

She said the union’s chief mission is to advocate for quality care and good jobs for all.

The union supports and protects frontline caregivers in hospitals, nursing homes, homecares, clinics, pharmacies and all other areas of the healthcare industry.

They include nurses, nurse aides, techs, laboratory workers, clerks, housekeepers, dietary workers, transporters, pharmacists, social workers and many other types of medical professionals.

Founded in 1932, the union’s mission has been “to stand up for quality healthcare, good jobs and social justice for all.”

1199SEIU is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has over 2 million members and is the largest labor union in North America.

Meanwhile, as a result of the big D.C. march Landinez and fellow marchers participated in 2017, three functions central to the roles of Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a joint federal-state program providing health coverage to low-income, uninsured children, and MACPAC, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, a non-partisan legislative branch agency that analyzes and makes recommendations on Medicaid and CHIP policies, have been addressed.

These were: providing health insurance for children; making payments to safety-net hospitals; and monitoring access to care under managed care and fee for service (FFS).

The new 1199SEIU members from the Sunnyside Home Care Project enlisted on April 3 came from a new batch of HHA graduates trained under nurse practitioner Jorge Gomez and his assistants Gloria Caballero and Carlos Meza-Alvarez and supervised by training program director Siobhan Simpson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 scholars make it in FAAE’s 2024-25 program

“Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar.”

—Nnamdi Azikiwe

TWELVE scholars from the Philippines have been chosen by the Filipino-American Association of Engineers Incorporated (FAAE Inc.), an association of Filipino-American Engineers residing in the Tri-state (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) area.

Engr. Gerry Gamaro revealed that the 12 scholars for the first semester of this school year have been confirmed in a report released by FAAE Scholarship Chairman, Engr. Gene B. Salle on February 22, 2025.

They are:

1. Christine Lorilee Miranda from Tanza, Cavite with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Gene Salle, who is now 4th year B.S. Civil Engineering at Rizal Technological University. She started in August 2022 and is expected to graduate on May 2025. Two (2) semesters in 4 years;

2. Orlando Medrano Jr. from San Pascual, Batangas with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Roel Medrano, who is now in 4th year B.S. Mechanical Engineering at Batangas State University. He started in August 2021 and is Expected to graduate on May 2025. Two (2) semesters in 4 years;

3. Johnver S. Urcia from Binan, Laguna with FAAE Coordinator Pete Bonus, who is now 4th year B.S. Electronics and Communication Engineering at Technological University of the Philippines. He started September 2021 and is expected to graduate on April 2026. Two (2) semesters in 4 years;

4. Wenjan Reysel B. Bauzon from Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Armando Caguete, who is now in 3rd year B.S. Civil Engineering at the University of Cebu. She started in September 2022 and is expected to graduate in April 2026. Two (2) semesters in 4 years;

5. Cyrill Dale Beredo from Batangas City, Batangas with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Arlyn Agasino, who is in 3rd year B.S. Communications Technology Management at Ateneo de Manila University. He started in September 2022 and is expected to graduate in April 2026. Two (2) semesters in 4 years;

6. Kate T. Brunidor from Tagbilaran, Bohol with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Bernalyn Barcelona and BAWHI June Faith Balquin. She is now in 2nd year B.S. Mechanical Engineering at Bohol Island State University (BISU). Started September 2023 and is expected to graduate on March 2027. Two (2) semesters in 4 years;

7. Thereza Mae M. Laylo from Pedro Garcia, Batangas with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Ismael Agasino, who is now in 2nd year B.S. Petroleum Engineering at Batangas State University (BSU). Started September 2023. She is expected to graduate in March 2027. Two (2) semesters in 4 years.

8. Jhemuel R. Togle from Tanza, Cavite with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Gene Salle. He is now in 1st year B.S. Civil Engineering at Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He started in August 2024 and is expected to graduate in March 2028. Two semesters in 4 years

with one inter-semester;

9. Julienne M. Devanadera from San Pablo City, Laguna with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Gerry Gamaro. She is now in 1st year B.S. Civil Engineering at Laguna College. She started in August 2024 and is expected to graduate on March 2028. Two (2) semesters in 4 years with one inter-semester;

10. Ella Mae L. Guevara from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Nick Arugay, who is now in 1st year B.S, Electrical Engineering at Cagayan State University. Started August 2024. Expected to graduate on March 2028. Two (2) semesters in 4 years with one inter-semester;

11. John Emmanuel Ditay from Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Jojo Corpuz, who is now in 1st year B.S. Civil Engineering at Jose Memorial State University. Started August 2024. Expected to graduate in March 2028. Two (2) semesters in 4 years with one inter-semester; and

12. Maricar D. Enriquez from San Pablo City, Laguna with FAAE Coordinator Engr. Gerry Gamaro. She is now in 1st year B.S. Computer Engineering at Laguna State Polytechnic University. She started in August 2024 and is expected to graduate in March 2028. Two (2) semesters in 4 years with one inter-semester.

The school year 2024-25 was decided by the Board of Directors with the consent of the current President Aga Agasino and President-elect Gerry Gamaro to increase the number of scholars from existing ten (10) scholars to twelve (12) scholars.

They encouraged their  general membership to scout for potential scholars for the coming SY 2025-26 and be ascertain to select the qualified candidates to be financially and academically deserving.

They had produced 14 scholars who graduated since 2009 during the inception of the scholarship program and are now gainfully employed except for  the newly graduates.

Following is the list of 14 scholars who have graduated from the Scholarship Program:

1. Ramil Moses from Batangas- graduated on 2014

2. Vanessa Malonzo from Capiz graduated on 2016

3. Von Array Nifas from Pangasinan graduated on 2017

4. Gracel Chloe Padrones from Bacolod graduated on 2018

5. Neil Christian Dela Cruz from Rizal graduated on 2018

6. Christian Ros from Catanduanes graduated on 2019

7. Ivy Gamiton from Cagayan de Oro graduated on 2019

8. Rochelle Datuin from Cavite graduated on 2020

9. Aldrick Lance G. Hernandez from Batangas graduated on 2022

10. Jaime Joaquin S. Moulic from Dagupan City, Pangasinan graduated on 2023

11. Jessa Mae Jolampong from CSJDM, Bulacan graduated on 2023

12. Isabel A, Marcelino from Tanay, Rizal graduated on 2024

13. Jhean Arianne M. De Chavez from Oriental Mindoro graduated on 2024

14. Sydny V. Cortez from San Pedro, Laguna graduated on 2024

As you will notice, we expect two (2) scholars to graduate by this coming June 2025. So the Chairman of the Scholarship will publish in our FAAE website for the search of two (2) scholars for the school year 2025-2026. This search is open to all active and paid

members. Deadline of submission of the completed application forms and accompanying documents was February 28, 2025. The FAAE member who endorsed an applicant with his/her letter of recommendation became the Scholarship Coordinator of

that applicant. The chairman forwarded all received documents of the applicants to the Scholarship Committee, which would decide and choose the qualified recipient within the first two weeks of March 2025.

With the approved concept from the Board of Directors that we will increase the number

of scholars depending on those FAAE members who will form in form in group of 5s, 4s, 2s or 1s and will be willing to sponsor scholars. In this way, we will be able to help more Filipino youth who are financially underprivileged but have the great academic records.

The Scholarship Committee will determine the additional numbers of scholars depending on the number of sponsors.

They have requested our scholars to be in close communication with us thru emails. They also requested their  FAAE Scholarship Coordinators to regularly email their respective scholars to find out their status.

FAAE is a professional, non-profit organization whose members comprise of engineering professionals of different trades.

Gamaro said, “PEFAP is designed to support particular engineering projects in the Philippines; such as Communities, Churches, Day care centers, and other publicly owned facilities by sponsoring minor engineering improvement projects.”