One late January afternoon, Greg, a dishwasher in the culinary department of a Lifespace community, started having chest pains. Two of his colleagues sprang into action, as they knew this could be serious. They contacted their leaders and quickly requested help for Greg.
First a nurse from the health center came to take Greg’s vitals, which indicated he might be having a heart attack. The nurse said he needed to go to the hospital, even though he just wanted to go home. Finally convinced, two of Greg’s teammates took him to the emergency room where he was admitted. Greg would need triple-bypass surgery.
On their own accord, Greg’s teammates purchased clothes and essentials he would need. After his successful surgery, they visited him and learned he had a son, Mark, whom they contacted and shared what was going on. Mark came immediately. They learned from Mark that Greg had served in both the Air Force and the Army but had not signed up with the Veterans Administration for the health care and pension benefits, to which he was entitled.
A teammate’s daughter happened to serve as an executive at the VA and connected Greg with an advocate in his area. Greg’s co-workers, together with his son, gathered all the required paperwork and information, sent it to his advocate, and got him set up with benefits.
After he was discharged from the hospital, Greg’s team member friends visited him every day and made sure he had food and took care of household chores. When they found out his birthday was coming up during his recovery, they arranged a special celebration for him at home and invited the whole team.
By March, Greg’s bills were piling up and he was concerned about his rent and car payments not being made because he wasn’t working. Greg’s teammates approached the HR director, who helped with an application for Lifespace Foundation funds through the Team Member Emergency assistance program. These funds covered his most pressing bills during his recovery.
After Greg was cleared to return to work, he expressed his heartfelt appreciation of the amazing support he received from his teammates. “That was a shock to me. I’m not used to people being so nice to me and I didn’t know what to say,” Greg said. A team member friend and advocate added, “He once told me he didn’t have any friends, but now he knows he has many friends. He came back to the friends who had been so concerned about him for so many months.”
