For more than a year now, Tracey Babcock, BCArc’s Employee of the Year, has traveled to a nursing home in the North End of Boston to visit a former individual from her program.
“She has no family,” Tracey says, “No one is advocating for her at the nursing home. She is non-verbal and she deserves better treatment than she is getting. If I could go more often I would.”
No longer in BCArc care due to her medical condition, and stuck at the Boston nursing home, Tracey feels compelled to visit the individual weekly. “We have to keep an eye on her – monitor her care. I’m no longer there as a professional. Now I’m there to fight for her quality care.”
This compassion spills into her management style. “We all take care of one another, accommodate each other’s schedules, make sure what we do works for everyone. We cover for each other when we have to.” A mother of three, she makes the time to accommodate the staff. “The staff work hard and earn their time off. We all respect one another.”
This summer a full-time staff person spent several weeks visiting family in China. “I told her she had to go,” Tracey said. “We made it through without her but it’s great to have her back here.”
Tracey’s program in Housatonic is uniquely challenging — the individuals require intensive personal and medical care — but many of the staff have stayed on for 10-plus years.
“We stay here because it’s a very supportive program,” said Wendy, who commutes from Hudson, N.Y. “We treat each other like a family. I work in several other programs when I’m needed, but this feels like home, thanks to Tracey.”
“When family is in trouble, you drop everything and help,” said Tracey. “You don’t contemplate the situation, you jump in and help. This is family for all of us, this is what we all do for each other,” said Tracey. “I will continue to travel to Boston until I get her in a program that treats her properly.”See
