Juanita (Nita) Gerst’s day starts early. It’s still dark when she gets in her company car, a red, white and blue PT Cruiser, to go and visit her 100 and some clients in three states—Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. She will be away from her family for three days, but by the end of the trip, she will have overseen the care of a nearly forgotten generation, former workers of the nation’s nuclear-weapons plants—cold war patriots.
She checks her review mirror and whispers goodbye to her country bungalow outside of Sperry, Iowa. She is ideally located, close to the former nuclear-weapons plant in Middletown, and close to the Iowa, Illinois and Missouri boarders. Her territory extends to Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Ames.
Nita is a high-energy, compassionate RN. She formerly cared for clients herself, preferring the night shift, but now oversees more than a hundred RNs, LPNs, and CNAs. Nita doesn’t like the term “supervisor” or “manager” but prefers to think of herself as “working along with” the actual care providers.
She works for a company called Professional Case Management, that has a contract with the Department of Labor to provide care for former nuclear-weapons workers. Enacted in 2001 by the Clinton Administration, the Energy Employee’s Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), provides compensation and health benefits to former nuclear and uranium workers who developed an illness as a result of being exposed to radiation and other toxic substances. Senator Tom Harkin was a major supporter of this act.
Whether the cold war patriots need assistance with daily activities, or extensive 24/7 care, Nita and her team provide in-home care at no cost to those who qualify. The team takes great pride and considers it a privilege to care for those who worked so hard to build our country’s defenses. Not only does the team provide in-home health care, but also act as advocates for their clients, providing services above and beyond health care. The clients served our country without question, in a top-secret environment, it is now time that they be served.
The team is also there for the families during the final days of a loved one. And, sometimes the client has no family, and so the team becomes the family. Even if a client isn’t nice, which can happen, the care givers are still there for them.
Clients suffer from beryllium exposure, COPD, pneumoconiosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and numerous cancers. During the height of the Cold War, there were 380 bomb factories in the United States, and safety wasn’t near as rigorous as it is today. For example, workers would often shower at the end of a shift, but then put the same clothes back on to wear home. The residual effects of such exposure are still being discovered.
It is dark when Nita arrives home again from three days on the road. She is tired and her back hurts from driving. But she feels good, satisfied. The team she works with are providing great care for their clients, and the clients and families, for the most part, appreciate it. The lights are on in the house. Her husband has a stew on the stove. She can smell it from the driveway.
The dedication of theses cold-war patriots is only matched by the dedication of people like Nita Gerst, who care for them. Visit the website www.coldwarpatriots.org.
Have a good story? Call of text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at (319) 217-0526, email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com,.