Local HEALTHCARE FROM PAGE 1 graduate Carla Bracamonte’s 30-minute presentation last month focused on care that young adults might find themselves needing: asthma treatments, reproductive services and mental health counseling. The campus health center won’t be able to help if students are injured in a late-night car accident, she told the audience. A threeday hospital stay can run $30,000, she said. “This is a very good deal for our students,” said Walter Zelman, a public health professor who is coordinating outreach teams on 15 California State campuses. “We just have to reach them. It’s difficult to get students to focus on something that’s reasonably complicated and not something they’re craving.” The trained educators are becoming regulars in student centers and classrooms as part of a push to reach college students
AMAZON FROM PAGE 1 another short-term stint on a nonstop journey. It’s a lifestyle and mindset for retirees, empty nesters and younger parents who shuck traditions of home and work to roam from campsite to campsite, job to job. “It’s a job, it’s not a career, so you don’t have to take it so seriously,” said Ron Dale, a college graduate with a business degree. “Go and have a good time. ... You don’t have the stress of thinking, ‘I’ve got to perform at an unbelievable level. I’ve got to work extra hours so the boss knows I’m dedicated.’” It gives him more time to spend with his wife, 7-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter, he said. Since 2010, Amazon has recruited campers for its distribution centers in Campbellsville, Ky., Coffeyville, Kan., and Fernley, Nevada — places with modest populations where the company has to cast a wider net to bring in enough temporary workers to fill its needs. The stints last about three months, and the hours on the job tend to grow longer as Christmas nears. Dale, who just logged a 60-hour work week, said: “I’m the guy who grabs the presents and sends them to the kids for Christmas.” Some jobs include plenty of lifting and bending over, as well as walking up to five to 10 miles a day. Seasonal workers, including campers, play “an important role” in filling customer orders during the holiday season, said company spokeswoman Kelly Cheeseman. On its peak day in 2012 — Nov. 26 — Amazon customers ordered more than 26.5 million items worldwide, or 306 items per second. Amazon has said it expects an even busier holiday season this year. Overall, the Seattle-based company said it was hiring 70,000 full-time seasonal workers around the country during this holiday season. Seasonal workers at its order fulfillment centers are eligible for health care benefits and, on average, earn 94 percent of the wages of regular employees. Dale, 58, and his 31-year-old wife, Kristin, embraced the roving lifestyle this past fall. They loaded their kids, the family dog and some belongings into their 24-footlong camper that’s now home, pulling up stakes in western Kentucky for the migratory life. The Dales’ camping site the past few weeks gives them a sweeping view of scenic Green River Lake in south-central Kentucky. “It’s like those people that spend millions of dollars to pay for a view like that,” Ron
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2013
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funded by a $1.25-million grant from Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange for the public. They seek to demystify and pique interest in new health care options. Funding runs through the Affordable Care Act’s full enrollment period, which ends March 31. Still, getting answers for everyone remains a tall order. “When someone is sick, I tell them to see the doctor,” said pre-med student Tracey Ng, 19, of El Monte. “They say they can’t afford it because they don’t have insurance.” To address such cost concerns, the education team is tweaking its message. Initially, members publicized an example of a $51-a-month premium for comprehensive coverage for a 21-year-old making $18,000 a year. That proved to be a turnoff for some students scrambling to make ends meet. A new handout highlights a higher-deductible “Bronze Plan” that would cost the same 21year-old as little as $14 a month. Dale said. “It’s like we’re on a vacation, permanently.” For the Dales, there’s no turning back anytime soon. They’re leaning toward spending the winter along the Mississippi coast but hadn’t lined up jobs yet. They expect to be in Wisconsin next summer, working at a campground, followed by a stay in North Dakota for the sugar beet harvest. The Dales plan to take turns working full time, while the other stays with the children and home schools their 7-year-old son. The unconventional lifestyle has appealed to retirees and empty nesters eager to downsize and sightsee while picking up odd jobs along the way. Younger couples and families with children are joining the ranks of those willing to shuck the status quo for the lure of the road. Some still have homes in towns they left, connecting them to their old lives. Others packed up from rentals they’ll likely never call home again. “You have to not be attached to a lot of stuff,” said Trampas Jones, 34, who is embracing the lifestyle with his 41-year-old wife, Heather. “You really have to learn to pare down.” They’re hoping to land winter jobs as gate guards at a Texas oilfield while living in their motorhome. Many transient workers land temporary jobs at resorts, campgrounds, theme parks and state and national parks. The workers and employers looking to hire them can go online to match up. For some workers, the wages pay for their fun. Others rely on the salaries to cover necessities. For all, though, it satisfies a yearning for wanderlust and adventure. “There’s so much out there to see,” said Gayle Kerch, who travels the country with her husband, Jim, and their two dogs in their RV. “It’s just so vast. I can’t imagine staying in one spot and not going and seeing the country.” The influx of work campers is felt across the communities, with more people eating in local restaurants and buying groceries and fuel. Entertainment venues can also benefit; the Dales, for example, have a bowling night each week. “It does bring a boost to the local economy,” said Sandy Jenner, executive director of the Fernley Chamber of Commerce in Nevada. As an incentive, Amazon pays camping fees for the seasonal workers who start arriving in early fall. The migration has provided a windfall for campgrounds near Campbellsville. Amazon seasonal workers were occupying all 82 campsites at Green River Stables, an RV campground and horse camp.
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