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Carol Woods Residents Reach Out to Spanish Speaking Employees

During their annual day of training, Carol Woods’ employees do more than review policies, procedures, philosophy and expectations; they also have the opportunity to connect with and get to know employees from other departments within the community.  This year, Carol Woods offered its Spanish-speaking employees the opportunity to connect through a training session presented entirely in their native language.

Through a program known as the Blitz, the Carol Woods’ Human Resources Department created a curriculum that includes mandated training and information designed to enhance and enrich every employee’s experience at Carol Woods.

In the past, individual translators were used during the Blitz for non-English speaking employees. However, this sometimes posed a distraction for other employees and frequently resulted in unclear messages that did not align with the overall goal of Blitz to incorporate employees into all aspects of the community.

Jenny Eller, Staff Education Coordinator, along with Director of Human Resources, Melanie Joyner, sought a new system to make the Blitz more meaningful to our Latino employees.

“It is not just the language barrier,” said Eller. “We want to make sure these employees feel they’re part of this community just as much as any other employee. In the past translators came with them and sat with them, and it just didn’t make for the best learning environment.”

One of the main sources for translation of English to Spanish has always been residents of the community who are fluent in both languages. Three of these residents, Dalys Vogel,  Eliska Chanlett, and Violet Simon volunteered to help make the first Spanish Blitz possible. The willingness of these residents to help employees epitomizes this year’s Blitz theme of "A Caring Community."

Vogel began the recent Spanish Blitz with Bienvenidos (Welcome), and then translated information concerning staffs’ personal mission, Carol Woods’ philosophy regarding well-being, and dealing with dementia. Simon was next on the agenda, covering resident’s rights as well as emergency response and fire safety. Chanlett’s portion of the Blitz was translating for a Carol Woods’ nurse as she presented information on infection control, and the physical therapist’s instructions on stretching and using proper lifting techniques to avoid back injuries.

“I value our staff and value them doubly when they’re Latino”, shared Chanlett. “I sympathize with their need to understand and communicate and feel it’s incumbent upon residents to help.”

 “Our residents are very committed to the employees because they want to develop long lasting relationships with them. They have been very good about saying ‘we want to step in and help however we can,’” said Eller.

One member of Carol Woods’ staff who has seen the evolution of Blitz is Director of Housekeeping, Denah Alston-Taylor. During her 21 years at Carol Woods, Alston-Taylor has attended every Blitz since its formation. She’s also been responsible for making certain all of her staff attends, which frequently involves changing schedules to allow staff time to attend the 6-hour training.

Alston-Taylor said she has had employees from Korea, Trinidad, Mexico and El Salvador, and has first-hand experience in how the former translation systems sometimes impaired the communication of important messages. She currently supervises three Spanish-speaking employees and says she sees many reasons why the Spanish Blitz will help create a more welcoming environment for these employees in the future.

“It will help the employees all around, especially when it comes to policies and procedures,” Alston-Taylor said. “Some of the policies are really hard to interpret for a lot of people.”

An employee of the housekeeping department who understands the importance of clear communication within languages is Brenda De Lacruz, who moved to the U.S. from Guatemala. Brenda has worked for Carol Woods for three years and has attended Blitz each year. Conversing with residents has been one of the primary ways that she has learned English.

De Lacruz explains, “When I talk to my resident and I am talking, and I say something wrong they explain and help me a lot. I like working at Carol Woods because for me it is an opportunity for learning more English.” And, as her knowledge of English has improved, she finds herself translating for other employees with less comprehension.

Eight employees from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua attended the Blitz, and all expressed a keen appreciation of Carol Woods' efforts in making this session possible.

Simon explains that she knows from personal experience how each employee can have an affect on the overall community. “Carol Woods really needed to do this special Blitz because the Latino employees have various levels of English and it is very important that they understand all of the aspects of their job in dealing with older people,” Simon said.

Through this experience, Simon has seen how communication between Spanish-speaking employees and the residents has benefited both groups by nurturing a sense of respect between residents and staff.

Simon explained her connection with the Spanish-speaking employees, “The ones I have met have been very, as we say, simpaticos, and I think it is a very a good idea that we do this Blitz.”