Erica moved to Oregon in 2015 to be closer to her family. She has been working with seniors since she became a caregiver in 2009. It wasn’t long after entering this field that she realized she has a gift and passion for working with residents in a community setting. She started training for her career in healthcare when she was 21 after being in a car accident which resulted in caregivers taking care of her for almost 6 months.
She says, “It made me realize how hard it is to allow someone to help with the most simple parts of daily living, it also made it much easier to understand some of the emotional struggles residents go through when they begin to lose their independence. The caregivers who took such amazing care of me during that time inspired me to get into this field. It was the best choice I ever made. When work doesn’t feel like work, you know you are where you belong.”
When Erica isn’t at the community, she is usually found somewhere near the water. Her family is very passionate about river sports. Whenever possible her and her daughter are either white water rafting or paddle boarding and exploring the Oregon wilderness.