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Immigrant Heritage Month 2015: Bettina’s New American Story

This week we celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month with a story from Bettina Lair, a Registered Nurse at Baptist Health Homestead Hospital in Miami, FL. Bettina’s respect for the hospital as a supportive employer has grown exponentially since receiving their assistance in helping her seek citizenship with New American Workforce.

“Great idea and great thing, I loved the workshop. It was very informative and really helpful. It’s fantastic that Homestead Hospital is so supportive of their employees. I have even more respect for them now. I always intended on applying for citizenship. Living in this country, I want to contribute as a citizen.”
— Bettina Lair, Registered Nurse and Program Participant, Baptist Health Homestead Hospital

IHM2015 BaptistCitizenship boosts job retention and business recruitment efforts, aiding employers. For employees, citizenship adds greater family stability, civic engagement and workplace loyalty. Creating a corporate-community partnership that helps employees becomes U.S. citizens is a win-win.

Baptist Health South Florida has offered citizenship services at four of their locations, including Homestead Hospital, Doctor’s Hospital, West Kendall Hospital and South Miami Hospital. They have collectively completed a total of 18 citizenship information and application workshops, where 266 employees received citizenship assistance. The hospital system has also reached out and educated 14,000 employees on the benefits of citizenship and the application process through publicity flyers. Baptist Health South Florida went the extra mile by offering free and low interest rate loans to make the citizenship application affordable to their employees through their existing credit union. They have joined more than 30 businesses in the Miami area directly assisting nearly 1,000 employees with their process of becoming U.S. citizens.

Join us in celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month and those who have contributed to the United States’ community, diversity, economy, and our shared American heritage by sharing your story.

#IHM2015 #ImmigrantHeritageMonth #100biz100stories #Immigration2020

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