Filipino Nurses Follow Well-Worn Path to Jobs in Skokie
An exclusive look at a community and its huge effect in the health care field.
When Cecilia Buenaflor came to Chicago after she left the Philippines in 1992, she was on her own. The newcomer, who had worked at a New York hospital, did not know anyone. As a single parent, she was struggling to balance motherhood and the demand to earn a living, and being 8,000 miles away from home didn't help. "Economically, I cannot survive in the Philippines just being a nurse," Buenaflor said. "I have a family that I have to support." Working as a nurse at a senior living facility in the Philippines, Buenaflor was paid $10 an hour. With two young daughters at home and an extended family back in her homeland to support, it was a "tough" time for her, she said. "But as long as you work hard, you will be rewarded," Buenaflor said of …
Rose Gaid, RN
9:04 pm on Saturday, August 21, 2010
Indeed the experiences of Nurse Bermudez and Buenaflor are very encouraging, just a wild idea and suggestion to them: what possibilities can they extend to our fellow nurses here in the Philippines who are still very desperate for jobs? We are in an era of hope, and maybe they can help in one way or another. Thank you very much. more ›