Hector is also grateful for behavioral health telehealth visits. “Telemedicine is really a blessing,” he said. “Sometimes you just need someone to talk to.”

An 1199SEIU member for 20 years, Hector started on the path to respiratory therapy at age 15, spurred by his concern for his asthmatic sister and the opportunity to enroll in a medical tech program at his high school. A few years later, he began his professional career in the housekeeping department at Mary Immaculate Hospital. Hector went back to school at Borough of Manhattan Community College in 2010, which helped him land his current position. More recently, he has used his 1199SEIU Funds training benefits to cover continuing education credits at New York City College of Technology, where he got his bachelor’s degree in Health Service Management, graduating summa cum laude in 2014.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Hector is thinking about using his training benefits to pursue a master’s degree in Emergency Preparedness Management, or even his doctorate. “With 1199SEIU, we have the best [health and training] benefits around,” he said. “I hear others complain about the limitations they have, but not me—I stay here because of them.”