Beverly Leach moves from peer to supervisor
Beverly Leach is a 61-year old woman from Waterbury, CT who has lived with HIV for over 20 years. She has served as the sole peer educator in the Infectious Disease Clinic at Waterbury Hospital since 2005. With the expansion of the peer program, Beverly has assumed the role of supportive peer supervisor for the four new peers who were hired in May.
Compared to a lot of people, I’m a millionaire. I’m rich because I’m free; I’m not weighed down by this disease.
I really want people to know that there is life after HIV, and it can be good.
For the past 4 years, Beverly has worked 35 hours a week, serving between 25 and 30 patients per week. She welcomes new patients and helps them navigate the extensive network of services offered within Waterbury Hospital. She meets with patients one on one to provide ongoing support and education. She makes sure the stock of educational materials on topics ranging from Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis to drug resistance is available to patients. She facilitates a support group which meets once a week—more often in the summer when the group holds family picnics and outings because, as Beverly says,” it helps people to open up and helps us see the beauty that can make us feel good and lift us up.” Beverly also participates in monthly multidisciplinary team meetings where the group discusses individual cases and sometimes brainstorms ideas to improve health care for patients.
Growing number of patients means a need for more peers
One of those ideas is to expand the peer program at the clinic, an idea which Beverly endorses wholeheartedly. “With our clinic growing, the needs are becoming larger,” says Beverly. “We do testing every day, so we constantly have new patients who are finding out that they’re positive and coming into care. It’s so helpful for new people to have a peer to orient them about the clinic, because it’s really rough your first visit here. Being the only peer here, it’s kind of hard for me to be able to do all the welcoming, the orientation, the showing around.”
“Some things take time,” she continues. “One time, when I was facilitating the support group, someone was talking about something very, very important for them. The phone rang: they needed me in clinic. I felt so torn– you don’t want to walk out on somebody, especially when they’re in crisis. But a doctor’s visit is only so long, so that means you have to see what the doctor needs you to do at that moment. At times like that, having another peer would make things so much easier. “
Peer supervision: the challenges of burnout and integration into the team
In her new role, Beverly will provide supportive supervision to the peers, as well as schedule and coordinate peer assignments. She will also facilitate a support group for the peers to meet once a week and talk about issues.
Two areas that Beverly plans to focus on are peer burnout and integration into the multidisciplinary team. “Sometimes we want so hard for someone to do well, and then when they don’t, we kind of judge ourselves,” explains Beverly. “ But it’s not our fault; the patient’s not ready right at that time. I think that might be an issue. “
Beverly also plans to help new peers feel more comfortable as part of the team by sharing her own experiences when she first came on board. “It’s not that easy when you come in as a peer. When I first came here, for a while I felt outside of everything ,” she recalls. “So I began to talk to people and tell them a little about myself. I was open about my status and my former drug use and all the obstacles that I faced in my journey to get where I was, and that helped me to be accepted. I treated everybody with respect and let them know that I’m here to help. As people began to talk with me and see me around the clinic, they began to realize,’ hey, she’s just here to do her job like everybody else.’ ”
Helping others keeps Beverly going strong
It is clear in talking with Beverly that she loves what she does. “Not only am I helping someone, but I’m constantly getting encouraged, getting refreshed, getting uplifted myself while I’m reaching out and helping someone else. It makes me feel good, and feeling good about myself helps my health. That’s why I’ve managed to be here so long.”
“Being a peer has made me appreciate the little things in life. It has made me very, very thankful for everything. I don’t make a lot of money, but I’m happy. When I started working in this clinic, I began to realize that, even though I have this disease, compared to a lot of people, I’m a millionaire. I’m rich because I’m free, I’m not weighed down by this disease. I really want people to know that there is life after HIV, and it can be good. “
