From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu Feb 05 2009 - 15:55:01 EST
*February 5, 2009*
*Berhane honored as EARH Employee of the Year*
*By Jennifer Larsen*
News editor
Employees of Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 recently nominated
a co-worker as Employee of the Year for 2008.
Habte Berhane was selected as the 2008 recipient based on nomination letters
submitted prior to the end of the year.
Some of the comments received in the letters were: "Works tirelessly and
remains cheerful;" "Goes above and beyond in job description and work;"
"Maintains professionalism throughout and continues to strive to give the
best patient care possible;" and "Friend to all and esteemed coworker."
The hospital district hired Berhane as a medical technologist in May 1999.
He became a citizen of Canada in 1987 and earned a degree in medical
technology from St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario.
After graduation, Berhane started the search for employment, but healthcare
jobs were not abundant in Canada at the time due to hospital closures across
the country.
"I was looking for work, but it was very hard to find jobs in the late
1990s," he said.
Berhane was offered a job in the United States, and he started the process
of acquiring the necessary paperwork to work.
He explained that individuals seeking employment in certain professions in
Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are required to apply to the North America Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for temporary admittance.
Berhane said that citizens would normally seek out an employer, who would
write a letter of petition/job offer to the potential employee.
That employee would take the letter and credentials to the immigration
office in Canada, where they would decide whether to issue a visa or not.
For nearly 10 years, Berhane has utilized his training in medical technology
at East Adams Rural Hospital.
Although most view a medical technologist as someone who just draws blood,
Berhane was quick to point out that individuals are trained in
multidisciplinary fields, such as immunohematology, chemistry, microbiology,
hematology and histopathology.
"One of the reasons I decided to come here was so I could do a little of
each area," Berhane said. "This is a lot of training. It's more than just
drawing blood."
Berhane continues to remain in the U.S. on a visa from Canada, which he must
reapply for yearly. He said it is a relatively short process, but one that
must be done at the Canadian border.
He continues to seek U.S. citizenship, yet he returns home in Eritrea,
Africa, at least every year to year and a half.
Berhane lived in the country until he was six, when the family moved to
town. Although he doesn't know his date of birth, it was required to
establish the date to gain Canadian citizenship.
Berhane was almost out of high school when changes in the government started
in 1975. Those changes led to the Eritrean Liberation Front, a liberation
movement that gained control of Eritrea in conjunction with another movement
leading to independence in 1993.
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