Coronavirus: Woman takes third job at nursing home to spend time with her mother

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

To bypass restrictions barring visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, an Indiana woman took on a third job -- at the nursing home where her mother resides.

Janie Kasse already works full time as an office manager at a financial firm and part-time as an event coordinator, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.

Windsor Ridge had already banned visitors, but more recently tightened restrictions forcing residents to stay in their rooms.

Kasse’s mother Carol Chesser, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident in 1976. She has spent the last 13 years at the nursing home. The isolation was starting to wear on Chesser, who enjoyed playing card games with Kasse.

An official at the facility suggested Kasse apply for one of the open jobs, that way she could stay after and spend time with her mother.

So Kasse did.

Because she works as a hospitality aide serving meals, she did not need a healthcare background.

Now she spends three nights a week dropping off drinks and collecting trash from resident’s rooms. When she ends her shift, she plays card games and talks with Chesser.

"There was no way I could let her sit in there for weeks and not see me," Kasse told the Courier Journal. "I know I'm lucky to do it. But there wasn't an alternative. There just wasn't."

There are 6,351 confirmed cases and 246 deaths from the coronavirus in Indiana, according to the New York Times.

About the Author