SEIU preying on Fresno County's most vulnerable
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 9:07AM “They ignored my doctor’s orders”
Virginia is a homecare patient who is confined to her bed due to a variety of illnesses, including the need for constant bottled oxygen due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In just the last few days, SEIU has harassed and threatened Virginia and her family so many times that her health has been negatively impacted. Here is her story, in her own words:
“My family has begged SEIU to leave me alone, but they have refused. We’ve explained to them that I’m confined to my bed because the doctor thinks it’s too dangerous for me to walk. Almost every day they’ve come to my door and demand that I come and speak to them. My family even said to them, don’t you understand that every time you knock on our door you wake her up, and she needs her rest in order to heal.
“Instead of respecting my doctor’s orders, they started yelling at my niece. I could hear them from my room. Two women from SEIU said that if I didn’t come out and talk with them by the end of the month, I would no longer be eligible for services.
“If I weren’t eligible for homecare, I would probably end up in a nursing home. It makes me upset and scared that they would threaten me with that. No one wants to live like that. I’d rather be dead than end up in a nursing home. Honestly I think it has affected my health. Every time I think I hear a knock I’m afraid it’s them again. It’s awful.
“NUHW is fighting for my right to live in dignity in my home with my family. They’re fighting to make sure that those who need it continue to receive the services we need. SEIU is using it as a threat. SEIU needs to stop these aggressive tactics. There’s a lot of very ill people in Fresno, and if SEIU is this aggressive with other people too, I’m afraid of what could happen.”