Photo: Yandi Rojas
Yandi Villalonga Rojas and Karinna Martell, of Austin, Texas, didn’t know what they were going to do when Martell went into labor prematurely during their vacation to Greece in November 2015. But, thanks to Rojas’ supportive coworkers at Encompass Health —one of PEOPLE’s 2018 Companies That Care— he and his wife were able get home safely with their new little one.
Yandi Rojas
But Rojas and Martell weren’t on their own. During the ordeal, Rojas contacted his employers at Encompass Health — a Birmingham, Alabama, facility and home healthcare service provider — and explained the situation. Molly Thomas, director of Encompass Health’s Bastrop, Texas, branch, assured Rojas that the company would do all it could to help.
So, Thomas and Rojas turned to theEncompass Cares Foundation, an organization that supports employees through “unexpected tragedies.” From the foundation, Rojas and Martell received about $7,000 to support themselves during their time in Greece.
“We reassured Yandi that his job would be waiting for him no matter how long it took,” Thomas tells PEOPLE. “We did a garage sale and raised money that way. Different offices brought money to us and we tried to help where we could.”
The coworkers raised $450 in the garage sale.
The family remained in Greece for six months as both Martell and the child’s health improved. The couple covered expenses using the foundation’s grant, money from family and friends, and donations from an online fundraiser. Then, in May 2016, they were finally able to return home.
“When we got to the airport in Houston, our family was there with signs. We were so happy to be there and we actually felt sad to leave Greece because we’d lived there for six months,” Rojas tells PEOPLE. “We were relieved. We were happy because we were with our family and friends and starting life again, our normal lives.”
But, Thomas notes, such dedication is what Encompass Health is all about.
“One of the things that Encompass is based on is a Christian faith and caring about others,” Thomas tells PEOPLE. “That’s something that’s [in the] DNA of Encompass from the very top leadership positions and it’s brought down to the individual branch level. We carry one another’s burdens. We try to lift each other up in times of need.”
Encompass Health’s Encompass Care has additionally helped fund 58 international mission trips and 42 community assistance projects — outreach that lead the company to ranking 38th on PEOPLE’s list of 50 Companies That Care.
For PEOPLE’s full list of the 2018 Companies That Care winners,click here.
source: people.com
