Maryland Caregivers Expose Asbestos Crisis In Baltimore-Area Nursing Home

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

If you found asbestos in a home, wouldn’t you tell the people who live there right away? Not if you’re management at Summit Park nursing home in Catonsville, Maryland. Officials at the Baltimore-area facility had known since at least January there was asbestos in the home, but they kept the news from Summit Park’s residents and 1199 caregivers until late March. “It’s scary,” said Sally Hill, a geriatric nursing assistant (GNA) and 38- year veteran of Summit Park. “It makes you wonder what else they’ve been hiding.” On May 5th, Summit Park’s 1199ers made sure the whole community knew about the asbestos crisis, staging a spirited picket in front of the home. They brought attention to the asbestos controversy and to management’s year-long refusal to settle a fair contract. “[Management’s] delayed reaction to the asbestos problem — and their year-long delay in settling a fair contract — is sending exactly the wrong message to residents who count on us for care,” said Donta Marshall, a Summit Park GNA and 1199 delegate. Reporters from the Catonsville Times and the Catonsville Patch came to the picket, and drivers along the heavily traveled road in front of Summit Park took flyers and honked their horns in support. “I have been working at Summit Park Nursing Home for over five years, and have to work two jobs to pay my bills,” said Shelby Goins, a GNA. “My teenage sons want to go to college and I am not making enough money here to help them further their education.” – report/photo from 1199SEIU’s website