Sick Days

“The first wealth is health.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, I came back to work and promptly got sick. I won't speculate on any not so subtle potential meanings there, but it has meant that I've skipped several workouts this week. Instead of getting frustrated, I'm choosing to see it as an opportunity to practice my adaptation skills - crucial in multi-sport racing, right?!

The last couple of days have also reminded me of how grateful I am that my employer provides excellent health benefits, including medical and dental insurance and paid sick leave. Did you know that lack of health insurance is the leading cause of bankruptcy in our country? Because of this, a health care crisis is often a contributing factor in family homelessness. A family member becomes ill, the family has limited or no health insurance, the family member doesn't have paid sick leave, work is missed, bills pile up, and ...

Genesis Home sees this situation play out all too often. Nearly half of North Carolina's workers, 1.6 million people, lack a single paid sick day.

Thankfully a group of organization here in North Carolina is working to change the story. This broad coalition has come together to form the NC Paid Sick Days Campaign, which is pushing for passage of The Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act, to provide North Carolina workers with up to seven paid sick days annually. You can learn the facts HERE.