For many weary souls, the end of their days are not spent in the
comforts of home surrounded by loved ones and savory scents of
baking apple pie, but by strangers in nursing facilities.
For many weary souls, the end of their days are not spent in the comforts of home surrounded by loved ones and savory scents of baking apple pie, but by strangers in nursing facilities.
Community members and Hazel Hawkins Hospital administrators and volunteers have worked for the past two years to change that image at the Mabie-Northside Skilled Nursing Facility, by renovating the dilapidated building to give it a sense of home for its residents.
Hollister resident Barbara Nicoara headed the “Caring For Our Community For Northside Challenge Campaign,” which helped raise about $1.2 million for the renovations.
“I feel astounded. It really was a sad place before,” Nicoara said. “You would walk in and you had a feeling you wanted to be out as soon as you could. It was just falling apart.”
Nicoara, whose father spent several years in the facility, was asked to take on the fund-raising project by Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation’s former President Jim Sleznick, whom she was friends with.
The Hospital Foundation provides financial resources to support the health care activities of the hospital and the nursing facility.
Nicoara started collecting donations for the renovations in spring of 2002, and over about a year and a half was able to raise $268,000 by holding fund-raisers, approaching businesses and service clubs.
“The community really came through. Almost everyone had a relative or knew someone,” she said. “It’s really close to the consciousness of a lot of people in Hollister.”
To accrue the needed amount for renovations, the Hospital Foundation matched Nicoara’s figure, the Hospital Auxiliary donated $78,000, the Methodist Church gave $11,000 and the William and Inez Mabie Family Foundation gave $500,000.
Nicoara’s tireless work during the campaign made the entire endeavor possible, said Leah Dowty, director of the Hospital Foundation.
“Barbara was really the catalyst in making it all come together,” Dowty said. “She is very passionate about the welfare and rights of the elderly and I think that genuine concern really touched people.”
The renovations, which began last December, consist of new carpeting and flooring throughout the facility, new paint jobs, furniture and wallpaper and a walk-around garden with a fountain and benches in the back, said Donna Estes, nursing director for the facility.
“It was a definitely a labor of love,” Estes said. “It was hard for the staff to work around the construction, but the residents were very accommodating… It even animated some of them more.”
The fresh, homey atmosphere has enlivened many of the residents and generated a new spark in them, Estes said.
“They are happy,” she said of the approximately 60 residents. “They enjoy everything now, especially the garden area. This is their home and they feel it’s now a nice place to be.”
Erin Musgrave can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 336 or at
em*******@fr***********.com
.
