From the Goodness of Her Heart to a Patient of Need

For a number of years, 76 year-old Brooklyn resident Gennadiy Vassakov had been dealt a bad hand health-wise and his luck was nowhere to be found until a nurse named Shereena came into his life. Shereena Singh, RN, a 23 year-old charge nurse at Brooklyn Center, the 215-bed nursing and rehabilitation facility on Coney Island Avenue, works at the facility where Mr. Vassakov was receiving his rehabilitation and overall care since December 12, after being treated for two weeks at Interfaith Medical Center on Atlantic Avenue. He slipped and fell in his telephone-less Weeksville tenement apartment where there was flood due to a broken pipe.

Nurse Singh also learned about Mr. Vassakov's complex medical history, as well as his shocking sleeping and everyday living conditions, so she felt she needed to do something immediately to help him after his discharge. So for his flimsy bed, Shereena, out of her own pocket, purchased a mattress, comforter set, bed sheet and pillow, all for $200. This wasn't generosity due to it being the holiday season, this defines the person Shereena is twelve months out of the year.

“I became a nurse to make a positive difference in people’s lives, which I fortunately accomplish at Brooklyn Center by utilizing my clinical skills when caring for our residents," she says. "What made this opportunity unique, was the ability to make the same positive impact on someone’s life without utilizing my skill set, and it felt just as rewarding.”

To understand Nurse Singh's deep generosity, one also needs to know of Gennadiy Vassakov's many health issues that he deals with. Suffering from many physical ailments like hypertension, prostate cancer, a stroke, chronic constipation, duration, kidney issues, chronic vomiting plus a history of head injuries due to falling, Mr. Vassakov rarely steps out of the red. If all of these internal problems were enough concern, his falls just add to a lifestyle that has been difficult to bounce back.

"I am so grateful," said Mr. Vassakov with a smile and tear in his eye. "She (Shereena) has been so nice to me, thank you so much."

Gennadiy Vassakov was discharged back home on December 29, 2019 to his apartment where a brand new mattress and comforter set was waiting for him. His Weeksville apartment is only a few blocks from the Brooklyn Center location, the former site of the old St. Marty's Hospital on Buffalo Avenue and Mr. Vassakov is welcome at any time. (in a 12/6/2019 Patch story, Brooklyn Center will be operating in a new location coming this year).

"I consider myself lucky to lead a team that's so dedicated to their residents, their "work family", who care so deeply, have compassion and that their relationships go beyond the residents' stay at the facility, " said Elie Schiff, Administrator at Brooklyn Center. "Shereena's big-heartedness is an example of that true compassion that is displayed here in our staff. What she did is highly commendable."