Patti Green: We Have to Learn to Speak Up

“Most of the people that get into this work are women, and they have kids,” says Patti Green of her fellow direct-care workers. “A lot of them are single. They need to earn a decent hourly rate of pay, and they need to have health insurance.”

“That would attract more people, and then if they had the good screening and training we could weed out those that don’t really have a heart for it.”

“They listened to me - I was kind of surprised”
A natural leader, Green has become an expert on the state of direct-care work in America by running what amount to online break rooms for direct-care workers. Nursing Assistant Resources on the Web, the blog she started 10 years ago and now runs with the help of two other direct-care workers, is a trove of free articles, thoughtful blog posts, FAQs, and useful links. And at NursingAssistant@yahoogroups.com, the online community Green launched around the same time and still moderates, 750-plus members engage in a lively exchange of ideas, asking questions, venting frustrations, and offering each other affirmation and support.