OHCA The Oregon Caregiver Fall Winter 2020

The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2020 www.ohca.com 12 FEATURE » OREGON WILDFIRES, CONT. live down the street were sleeping and unlikely aware of the imminent danger at their doorstep. Dove instinctively drove back to her clients’ home, woke them up, and got them out of harm’s way. “The compassion and care and the relationship that they build with their clients is deeper than you would expect and it really warms my heart to realize that these are true caregivers,” said Toby Forsberg, the director for Helping Hands, Dove’s employer. “These people are doing it because they care for others and it’s good to see that human compo- nent to a job.” Helping Hands employees about 500 care staff across Oregon, Washington, and California, who provide specialized in-home care for more than 750 clients. Forsberg says about 15 percent of staff and about a half dozen clients lost their homes to wildfires this year. Despite the devastation, caregivers, like Kandace Doll, put the safety and needs of their clients first. In Eugene, Doll, another caregiver with Helping Hands, was instrumental in helping evacuate her client, who was stranded behind the fire lines of the Holiday Farm fire. Her client had been missing for three days and amid trying to evacuate her parents, Doll waited in line for hours at Thurston High School to see if she could locate her client. Fors- berg says Doll’s patience, diligence, and commitment helped family members and authorities locate her client, who had been dealing with memory loss. Both Doll and her client’s homes were destroyed, but Forsberg says she contin- ues to care for her client to this day. While Dove and her family successfully evacuated from the Beachie Creek Fire, they lost their home, two cars, and most of their personal belongings. Her clients also lost their home, but their lives were inevitably saved thanks to Dove’s quick thinking and compassionate heart. Dove continues to care for her clients, all while finishing up her nursing program and rebuilding her life. A fundraiser on GoFundMe has been set up in her name. Forsberg is at a loss for words when describing the heroism his staff displayed during those harrowing few days under a Andrea Hart's home, farm, and cars were all burned by the wildfire. Packing only the essentials, Natalie Dove had to leave her car behind. The Dove family lost their home and personal belongings to the Echo Mountain Fire in Otis, OR.