Their Get-Well Gift: Sick Leave : Friendship: Cal State Dominguez Hills associates give sick days to an ailing colleague under a new policy.

Carrie Ann Blackaller still remembers the talk about a creative sick-leave policy being launched at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be the first person to use it,” the 49-year-old assistant professor from Westchester said.

Then, the day after Christmas, a car accident would shake Blackaller’s life to its foundations and propel her into the hospital for a lengthy stay. Her campus associates responded by turning to the new policy, which allows Cal State employees to donate sick days to colleagues who need them.

The response has been overwhelming, with 120 employees giving Blackaller nearly 12 months’ worth of sick time.

The benefits of this outpouring are twofold, campus officials say: Not only do catastrophically ill employees gain extra sick time but they also receive a psychological boost from knowing fellow employees are standing behind them.

“On an emotional level and a financial level, it’s wonderful,” said Blackaller, who hopes that other employers will follow suit and allow the transfer of sick time.

What happened to Blackaller is the stuff of nightmares.

She and her family were bound for a Utah ski vacation when they were in a major accident in eastern California that killed Blackaller’s husband and her only child, a teen-age son.

Blackaller’s injuries were so severe that she has been hospitalized for 2 1/2 months at Santa Monica Medical Center with two shattered knees, a broken leg, two broken ribs, a head injury and ligament damage.

Because Blackaller joined the Cal State Dominguez Hills faculty less than three years ago, she had accumulated only a few weeks’ sick time. So as news of the tragedy swept the campus, Blackaller’s colleagues decided to use the sick-leave transfer policy for the first time.

“People began calling the office, asking how they could donate. It was like wildfire,” said Evelyn Hitchcock, director of faculty personnel and one of the many people who donated sick time.

Hitchcock knew Blackaller from a campus committee, but she said some people who contributed--administrators, faculty and clerical employees--had never met the assistant professor of graduate education.

“We all realized, ‘This could be me,’ ” said Ira Schoenwald, associate vice president of faculty affairs. Without the donated sick time, Blackaller would probably have received disability pay that is only a percentage of regular pay, he said.

The sick-leave transfer policy, which applies to all Cal State campuses, was instituted nearly two years ago.

It allows Cal State employees to donate up to 16 hours of sick time or vacation time to another employee on the same campus who has exhausted all accrued leave after a catastrophic illness or injury.

Cal State officials said they think that the policy is somewhat unusual. It not only benefits the sick employee but also improves overall morale, said Sam Strafaci, director of employee relations at the Cal State chancellor’s office.

“It creates a sense of community,” added John LaCorte, a professor at Cal State Dominguez Hills who chairs the campus Academic Senate.

Blackaller, who hopes to leave the hospital this weekend, plans to send thank-you notes to everyone who contributed time. She is amazed by how many joined in the effort.

“It’s a great policy,” she said. “It helps knowing there are people out there who want to help you.”