BOISE, Idaho — Many local refugees are finding work in the health care fields — even during the worst recession since the 1930s. In some cases, refugees' cultural heritage is an advantage.
In a high-rise off State Street, Kumari Luitel and Margaret Whitman listen to American Christmas classics mixed with the Bollywood Luitel loves.
"I accept Kumari, and she accepts me," Whitman said.
Whitman has become a vegetarian, inspired by Luitel's Hindu faith.
Luitel works for ABC Home Health in Meridian and spends three hours every evening with Whitman. A former teacher in Nepal, Luitel said she likes having a job in which she helps people, and she plans to continue her education in the nursing field.
The challenge of finding a job in the downed economy becomes even more acute for refugees — many of whom come to the U.S. with profound language and cultural differences.
In 2010, more than 30 percent of Idaho's employable refugees left the state to look for jobs, voluntarily stopped their job search or are still looking for work.
But there are bright spots — and home health care is one of them.
Luitel arrived in Boise in 2009 from Nepal, where she had lived in a refugee camp since she was a small child. She trained to become a Certified Nursing Assistant in the U.S., but her initial training came much earlier, and more informally, she said, when she cared for her own mother in the refugee camp.
Whitman, a retired nurse, is a diabetic who takes supplemental oxygen. She relies on a walker and wheelchair to get around — and on Luitel. Luitel cooks meals for Whitman and helps her into bed. Most of all, the two have become so close Whitman considers Luitel's baby her fifth grandchild.
"I trust Kumari with my life," she said.
Many refugees come from cultures where it's common for younger family members to care for their elders. That tradition works to refugees' advantage in the United States, making jobs in health care a natural fit for some.
It's a practical fit, too. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the health care industry will generate three million new wage and salary jobs between 2006 and 2016.
"All those baby boom babies are getting to be my age," said Whitman. "They are all going to need care."
The Idaho Office for Refugees recently hosted a summit in Boise to introduce local health care companies to an untapped pool of caregivers in the refugee community.
The field has a built-in career ladder with lots of ways to advance, said Tara Wolfson, an employment coordinator with the agency who is working with several former refugees.
Wages in entry-level health care professions typically range from $7.50 to $9.50 an hour — modest, but a start in a profession with a lot of demand.
What's good for new Idahoans can also be good for Idaho businesses, Wolfson said. Businesses that hire refugees are eligible for tax credits and support from resettlement agencies, including language interpreters, vocational English instruction and job coaching.
Petar Amador, owner of ABC Home Health, spoke at the recent summit and said between 30 and 40 percent of his employees are refugees.
Amador started hiring refugees a couple of years ago after he got a call from a resettlement agency about a refugee who needed care. Amador met with the agency and ended up hiring another refugee to be a caregiver for the first. That arrangement worked so well, and the caregiver turned out to be so competent, that Amador decided it was worth his efforts to develop his own training program for refugees. The program includes interpreters, videos, exercises and testing. Since that first introduction through the resettlement agency, he's hired between 50 and 60 refugees as caregivers.
Amador admits he was a bit wary at first because there are so many lawsuits in the health care business.
"It's been an investment for us to have trainers, interpreters, but at the end of the day it's worth it, because we've been able to hire really good, honest, talented workers," Amador said. "Refugees are grateful for opportunity to prove themselves. That comes out in fewer people calling in sick, fewer complaints from clients."