Holiday tradition remains in the heart of Community Regional
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| Guillermina Barajas, a patient in Community Regional's antepartum unit, said she made more than 30 Valentine's Day cards with the help of her three daughters. The cards were delivered to other patients at the hospital. |
For the past 30 years, patients at Community Regional received handmade treats on their food trays from Service Alliance, a group of Community volunteers. A decision was made that January was going to be the final month of custom-made holiday treats, until Lorna Wendt, a member of Service Alliance, and Tony Nieto, supervisor of service delivery, teamed up with the Valley’s only high-risk antepartum unit to keep this tradition strong.
Wendt, Nieto and the antepartum unit, where patients with high-risk pregnancies sometimes have lengthy stays, felt this activity was a fun and rewarding way to keep patients busy and get their minds off their worries.
“By participating and being able to give of themselves it becomes a healthy, nurturing and psychological boost,” Nieto said. “It keeps them active and makes them feel valued when they are away from their families as long as they are.”
For two days, antepartum patients and staff teamed with employees from various departments such as dietary, housekeeping, labor and delivery, case management, social services and information systems to create handmade Valentine’s Day gifts. Supplies were made possible by a gift from Dr. Douglas Helm.
“This project brought a tremendous amount of camaraderie to our unit,” said Tracy Noble, a registered nurse and clinical supervisor for maternal child services. “I am really proud of them. If anybody came by the unit any of those days, they were making a valentine.”
With decorative scissors in hands and an array of colored paper to choose from, patients in the antepartum unit were in high spirits while making the Valentine’s Day cards.
“It was something different for once. I liked the experience because it keeps you thinking of other things. It was fun and it made me happy,” said Zenaida Magallon, a patient in antepartum unit.
Patients and staff created 401 handmade valentines to be distributed to patients on their food trays. The valentines came in 10 different languages ranging from Spanish and Tagalog to Arabic and Hmong.
Patients’ families also participated in the valentines-making extravaganza.
“I made about 30-plus valentines with the help of my three daughters,” said Guillermina Barajas, a patient in the unit. “I enjoyed cutting the hearts out and spending time with my girls.”
With the large turnout of patients and their families, antepartum staff and employees from other departments, Noble is excited to get St. Patrick’s Day treats under way.
“This is definitely something we want to do again and St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner,” Noble said.
This story was reported by Joann Mercado. She can be reached at jmercado@communitymedical.org.