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At Home With Mr. Mangus: A Day in the Life of a Home Health Aide

From: Rebecca Sheir
Length: 04:07

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In this job, money isn't the greatest reward. Read the full description.

Homehealthaide_small In Alaska, the fastest growing profession is the home health aide. And Gladys Espinoza is a 38-year-old home health aide from the Dominican Republic who's finally living her dream of assisting the elderly. In this sound-rich piece, Gladys takes us through her typical day at Mr. Mangus' house in Anchorage, as she helps the 82-year-old diabetic recover from double-knee-replacement surgery. In addition to telling us about her job, Gladys tells us why she loves it so much: i.e. how rewarding it is working with older people, people who often feel neglected or lonely. Gladys seeks to change all that with, in her words, "a little bit of love."

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Piece Description

In Alaska, the fastest growing profession is the home health aide. And Gladys Espinoza is a 38-year-old home health aide from the Dominican Republic who's finally living her dream of assisting the elderly. In this sound-rich piece, Gladys takes us through her typical day at Mr. Mangus' house in Anchorage, as she helps the 82-year-old diabetic recover from double-knee-replacement surgery. In addition to telling us about her job, Gladys tells us why she loves it so much: i.e. how rewarding it is working with older people, people who often feel neglected or lonely. Gladys seeks to change all that with, in her words, "a little bit of love."

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Review of At Home With Mr. Mangus: A Day in the Life of a Home Health Aide

Rebecca Sheir has a real knack for finding interesting characters and weaving a tapestry of voices and sound elements that works perfectly for me. She is expert at extracting the very best from her subjects, taking human interest to a new level. The editing, mixing and pacing of the piece are just right, truly an example of good radio that engages the listener.

Broadcast History

Originally aired on "AK," the weekly public affairs program on the Alaska Public Radio Network, on March 24, 2007.

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Related Website

http://akradio.org