OHCA The Oregon Caregiver Fall Winter 2020

www.ohca.com FALL/WINTER 2020 The Oregon Caregiver 11 FEATURE Not knowing if she still had a home, Hart returned to work early the next morning at Marian Estates in Sublimity, where she works as a resident care manager. At the time, Marian Estates was under a level 2 evacuation, which meant, stand by. She and her staff kept busy, prepping resi- dents and packing go-bags with clothes and medications. They rolled out their emergency plans and started making phone calls to ensure their residents had a place to stay should they have to evacuate. “Residents are always on the forefront of your mind. You can’t think of anything else,” said Hart. “You’re trying to be that rock because it’s hectic and your staff needs that. We’re all in it together and we’re all in it for the same reason, so you just keep going.” It was not until later that day when Hart found out she had lost everything. The fire wiped out her farm and food source, killed her chickens, and scorched irreplaceable family heirlooms. In a moment of heartbreak, she knew her loved ones were safe, so she decided to continue working. Anxious about her residents’ health and safety, she decided to spend the night at Marian Estates. Her primary goal was keeping her residents calm to avoid causing any trauma. “We had a good five-minute ugly cry in the middle of my office where nobody can see…My family didn’t really need me, but my residents needed me.” she said. “Going home wasn’t going to change anything; my house still burnt, so to me, it was an easy choice. You stay at work and take care of what you have at hand; take care of what could be imminent.” Hart was not alone in her commitment. She and several staff members lost their homes to the fire, but continued to devote all their energy and time to those in their care. Marquis Companies and Consonus, the parent company of Marian Estates, set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help lessen the burden. During the entire stressful ordeal, the company continued to provide support and comfort to their employees, making sure they were also taking care of themselves. “That’s how they treat their employees; you’re not a number,” Hart said. “You want people to know that they’re not alone and Marquis just epitomizes that.” On the coast outside of Lincoln City, that same week Natalie Dove was settling in for the night when her husband went outside to grab a forgotten item out of the car. He looked up and the blaze from the Echo Mountain Fire was quickly crawling down the hillside behind their house. The couple packed the essentials, grabbed their three dogs, and hopped in their car, abandoning everything else to make their way out of town. It was then that Dove realized her elderly clients, who “Residents are always on the forefront of your mind. You can’t think of anything else.” – Andrea Hart A closer look at the destruction of the Dove Family's Otis home from the fire. CONTINUES »