Nursing & Rehabilitation Centers

February 14, 2017

Dear Editor,

I am writing to express my deep concern for the subpar care in some nursing and rehabilitation centers. I often visit patients in these centers who are sent there for physical and occupational therapy and overall help to get their health back. Many of these folks are elderly.

The collective staff in these centers needs to be trained in understanding that therapy and aid in healing is directly connected not only to the professional medical, nursing and therapeutic care, but also to the quality of care received through support staff such as housekeeping, cafeteria workers, and other aides. Comprehensively attending to detail from cleanliness, to laundry needs, to good food and to prompt response when something is needed is vitally important. A kind word and smile from time to time is huge in the emotional and spiritual response to recovery.

Family members put their trust in the hands of strangers who are tending to their beloved, oftentimes dependent and most vulnerable. This is indeed a sacred trust and as such should be held in high esteem evidenced as soon as you walk into a center designed for health and healing.

In advocacy for the vulnerable,

Rev. Mayra Castañeda

Senior Pastor

First Baptist Church of Westfield