Sister M. Anselma's letter
I write to you on this beautiful, sunny Feast of Our Mother of Good Counsel, April 26th! I am so grateful to Mary, as we continue to experience the miracles of her guidance and protection (along with St. Joseph!) during these challenging times. I am constantly comforted by the fact that we have friends in heaven who are watching over us and helping us!
It has now been more than a month and a half since we have seen your smiling faces… and we miss you all so very much!! We are so ready for a great big, family party!! But that will still have to wait a bit. It was March 10th that we went on visitor restrictions and started this very painful process of isolating our Home in order to protect from the deadly COVID-19 virus. But I do not want to talk much about the virus itself. We are all well-enough educated as we watch the news every day. It is enough to say that we have worked to understand as much as scientifically possible in order to make the best decisions to protect those entrusted to us!
What I want to share with you today is to give you glimpse into the amazing flexibility of our team in order to care for the needs of our residents under these unique circumstances! Many of the traditional job titles have gone by the wayside, as we now call ourselves “essential healthcare workers,” and jump in wherever the needs take us. Take a look!!
Our dietary staff have completely adjusted what they do and how they do it! In an effort to reduce the flow of germs within the building, we have gone to all-disposable wear for meals. No dishes or silverware comes back to the kitchen for washing.
This significantly changed the staffing needs among the food services staff. Two of those staff members have been retrained in housekeeping and are doing a great job!! A few of them have been trained into a new position, called “Floor Aids.” Floor Aids, with the proper training, can help feed residents, make beds, and are an extra set of hands on the unit in order to ease the burden of the CNA’s and allow more one-on-one time with the residents. 
The Housekeeping staff are seen multiple times a day sanitizing all high-touch surfaces…. Door handles, elevator buttons, computer stations, and counters.
Sister M. Jessica is our “PPE Queen”… sanitizing face shields, replenishing hand sanitizer containers.
Remember that friendly face at the front desk, Paulette!! Well, don’t try to get in this building without going through her screening process. Good luck to you!!
Sister M. Luka has managed to compile a 4” binder to date with all of our COVID-19 task force documentation… she takes notes at all of our meetings, compiles the literature coming our way, and keeps it all organized.
Lynn has become our Regulatory guru… listening to daily update calls with Leading Age and CMS, reviewing new guidelines, and keeping us up-to-date on what we should be doing to combat this pandemic.
Sister M. Juliana continues to help us connect staff work with the residents’ needs, of which she is so well aware! And Bianca is stretching her HR experience to help us support the staff members throughout this difficult time.
Sister M. Caterina, Marsha Heine, Nadine Davis, and Sister M. Clarita are all working with the education, observation, and documentation of our Infection Control practices, which is immensely important in this pandemic. The Nurses, CMTs, and CNAs continue to put their focus and love each day where is should be… on caring for and loving your beautiful loved ones!!
And despite the intensity of the times before us, I have witnessed our staff members taking the precious little extra time they may find to paint the nails of the ladies, cut and style hair, and play the guitar to bring joy to our Home!!
From a leadership perspective, the events of the past two months has shown me much about our team!! Admittedly, there are very few people who were not able to rise to the occasion and have since left the services of MOGCH. But by and large, I have seen the best emerge from these people God has sent to the Mother of Good Counsel Home!! I hope the “glimpse” I have given you today brings you the same encouragement and gratitude as it does to me!!
“So that the genuineness of your faith— being more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” -1 Peter 1:7
In His Merciful Heart,
Sister M. Anselma, FSGM
Dear Sister Anselma,
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, my aunt (Annie Sttallone) was placed in your home. I believe it was from 1994 to 1998. As a child, my parents, brother and I lived upstairs from my grandparents, aunts and one uncle. Aunt Ann was very religious and wanted to become a nun. They said that poor health kept her from it.
We had a huge altar that rose to the ceiling of their home with my aunt as the caretaker of it. She taught me my prayers in English and Italian and many stories from the bible. The family was all consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I hated that she had to be put in the home but Our Lord was looking out for her because she was able to get into your home.
During my lifetime, I had to see other members of my family in nursing homes - another maiden aunt, an uncle, my beloved father and mother for rehab which lasted four months. Poppa was only 56 when he was first confined to a home. He had a massive stroke and spent the first year and a half in a home and the last year of his life with many confinements in between. There are many horror stories I could tell you. I also witnessed terrible treatment to other patients.
I can say that the only time I could put my heard on a pillow at night without worrying what was happening to my family was when Aunt Annie was in the care of the nuns at Mother of Good Counsel in Pine Lawn.
I cannot thank you enough for your magnificent care of her. I pray to St. Joseph for a Happy Death and that I will never have to be confined to a Nursing Home. Those in your care are blessed by God.
God bless you.
Marianne Peri-Sack