Butler County employees work around the clock in critical roles
Working nine to five isn’t the only way to make a living.
As most Butler County residents are settling into bed for the night, Patty Polonchak is driving from her home in Venango County to the Lutheran SeniorLife’s Passavant Community in Zelienople for her overnight shift as a registered nurse.
Polonchak watches for residents to call for assistance and addresses their needs as they come up. If a health emergency happens during those overnight hours, she’s the person to help residents through those difficult moments and ensure they receive relevant care.
“You’re with them when they need you the most,” she said. “While I work while they’re usually asleep, sometimes I see them later on and they remember and thank me for the help. It’s very rewarding to me.”
Polonchak took up the night shift 15 years ago, which gave her the daytime to spend with her family. She said she most frequently works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
“I would come home and either me or my husband would make sure the kids got to school,” she said. “He’d leave, and I’d sleep until I got them off the bus. Then, I’d spend the evening with them before leaving for work.”
But even as her children grew, she kept the hours, so as the sun rises, she clocks out and heads home to sleep before spending time with her family in the evening.
Meanwhile, those like Eric Schrecengost are just starting their day at places like Belleville International in Butler.
He said he normally works from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but sometimes starts as early at 5 a.m. He said he likes to work the early mornings and get work out of the way, giving him time in the afternoon and evening to do whatever he needs.
At Belleville International, where he’s worked since the company opened its doors in 2007, Schrecengost operates a lathe — a machine that rotates a work piece at a high rate of speed to shape it into whatever is specified.
He said he’s tried other shifts, but finds the early morning to be best for him.
“I’ve worked the overnight shift before at an old job, and I didn’t really like it,” he said, but he knows the importance of the hand off between the shifts.
When starting his work day, Schrecengost said one of the most important steps is to speak with whoever worked the night shift.
“I’ll come in and see him, and we’ll talk it over. We see if he had any issues, if anything broke, what needs fixed and then I start,” he explained.
After being briefed, he usually takes up wherever the night shift worker left off. While the machine does a lot of the work automatically, Schrecengost said it still requires frequent attention.
“I’m running the machine and checking the parts to make sure they pass our specs and we have everything we need for the customer,” he said. “Then, once we’re done, we move on to the next edition.”
With his experience, Schrecengost said he routinely gets to work with some of the younger, less experienced co-workers, which became one of his favorite parts of the job.
“The guy (on night shift), he’s a little younger guy, hasn’t been doing it as long,” he said. “I get to train him, try to show him.”
Schrecengost found a passion for machine work in his youth when he attended a vocational-technical school for its machine shop classes.
He said he likes to work with his hands, even doing metalwork in his free time as a hobby. Getting off in the evening most days gives him the time to actually practice his hobbies, he said.
“Mostly, I just spend time with family. I’m big into hunting and fishing, too,” he said.
As his day ends, he hands over his work to the next shift.
Evie Carnathan works from 4 to 8 p.m. as a part-time food service aid at Concordia Lutheran Ministries in Jefferson Township.
The 17-year old said she had never really worked in food service before coming to Concordia last November, but is now working there into her senior year of high school.
For Evie, the shift allows her to make some money after school hours, but even through the summer, she kept her schedule to the evenings.
“I’m not really a morning person, so it’s nice to sleep in or relax and take my time getting myself ready,” she said. “It gives me a lot of time to do something nice with my makeup or my hair.”
At 4 p.m., the beginning of her normal shift, Evie said she starts by helping prep for dinner. Mostly, she helps set up waters and tables as well as brew coffee. By 4:30, the cafeteria’s lights are on and doors are open.
After the residents take their seats, she makes sure they have everything they need before dinner is served. Even in these brief interactions, however, Evie said she’s managed to strike up conversation and even befriend some residents.
“I really like working with the residents. They’re super nice to me,” she said.
Dinner is usually served at 5 p.m. and ends by 5:30. Then, Evie said she usually spends over an hour washing dishes in the dish room before coming out to clean up the kitchen.
She said she decided to apply for the job because it sounded like a unique experience and offered opportunity for her future.
“It’s a good job, for a starter,” Evie said. “There’s so many opportunities here. If I wanted to go into cooking or nursing, eventually I could do that here.”
As she wraps her day, others like Polonchak are preparing for their next shift.
Polonchak said its worthwhile to commute to Zelienople and work overnight at Lutheran SeniorLife’s Passavant Community.
Besides spending more time with her family, Polonchak said she likely saved thousands in terms of child care costs. The only negative of the night shift, to her, is the fact that she averages only six hours of sleep each night.
“It’s what worked for me and my family, and it gave us so much time together,” she said.
Polonchak started her career in nursing at the community in 1998. Now, 27 years later, she still makes the choice and commute to work there.
“I think there’s something peaceful to it, getting to watch the light come back in the morning and start hearing the birds chirping,” Polonchak said.
