Direct Care Workers Organize Statewide Conference in Wisconsin

Tracy Dudzinski

It is amazing how committed and resourceful direct care workers are when they put their mind to something.

As many of you know, I sit on the board of directors of The Wisconsin Direct Caregiver Alliance (WIDCA), which just held its first conference for direct care workers. The conference was a great success – our evaluation forms are full of comments like “I loved it all. I can’t wait until the next one” and “What a wonderful event. It is nice to be recognized for what I do.” And we direct care workers did it all.

It took several years and three committees for us to pull this conference together. The first two committees were made up of mostly professional people. They fizzled out, but we direct care workers on the board were committed to making the conference happen.

At the Voices Institute National Leadership Program last May, WIDCA Chair Jackie Merkel and I (I’m WIDCA’s vice chair) recruited two fellow direct care workers — Mary Ann Aker and Wendy Janus – to co-chair the planning committee. We chose Mary Ann because we work with her and know she is a get-it-done kind of person. We asked Wendy because she has a contagious energy. She was also highly recommended by Barb Wisnefski, the chair of the Wisconsin Long Term Care Workforce Alliance.

We were all determined to put on the conference, but we really had no idea how to proceed. We kept spinning our wheels and stalling out — until the DCA offered to have Bridget Siljander, one of their Direct Care Worker Specialists, help us organize the planning.

Bridget’s help was the kick start we needed to get going. She helped us make a plan and stay on track. I never realized before all the work that goes onto planning an event of this size. Let me tell you, I know now!

One of the hardest parts was getting people to sign up. We went to a statewide alliance of providers that WIDCA has a relationship with and asked for their help in getting the word out about the upcoming conference. We looked up health care facilities on the Internet and mailed them brochures along with a letter from a direct care worker on the planning committee, asking them to share the information with their workers and to consider making it possible for their workers to attend the conference. We also sent e-mails with the brochure attached to everyone on our contact lists and asked them to share this with anyone they thought would be interested.

We made sure people knew it was being planned by direct care workers for direct care workers. I think it helped get workers to attend.

The next part was really hard: We had to wait for the registrations to start coming in. At first they were slow and I was worried, but as the deadline approached for registration, the number we received everyday grew. We ended up with 88 registrations.

Opening the day we were nervous, but as the day went on we became more comfortable. We had self-care sessions on yoga and “Drumming the rhythms of life – finding the pulse of joy.” We had sessions on “living your values,” becoming a more effective advocate, and “loving difficult people.” We also had a session on the benefits of worker-owned cooperatives, and at the end of the day, we played a couple of games and gave away lots of money. I actually had fun.

Direct care workers staffed the registration table, introduced speakers for the breakout sessions, and manned the WIDCA table. Those of us who had gone to the Voices Institute were able to help facilitate the advocacy breakout session. I was master of ceremonies, which would not have happened if I had not attended the Voices Institute.

Facilitating a group was very liberating for me, the next step in my leadership journey. The conference helped many of us direct care workers take that next step.

Some professional people attended the conference and said they were impressed by the organization and the way things were put together. But what made me the happiest was those evaluations. As one of them said: “Finally, something for caregivers. It should be two days.”

The caregivers are already looking forward to next year. I don’t know if the planning committee is yet, but we’re already thinking of ways to make next year’s conference even better.

Tracy Dudzinski
Board member
Direct Care Alliance