The Westview News

Press Release
Volunteer Appreciation
Date
June 19, 2019

     Within the space to which they generously donate their time and efforts, the Volunteers of Westview Health Care Center celebrated a recent Volunteer Recognition Dinner, which is held each year at Westview.

     The selfless generosity exhibited by the volunteers during their daily appearances has an especially positive impact on the lives of the residents and patients of the health care facility. Their variety of volunteer efforts also has a way of providing not only a presence to the residents, but inspiration to everyone at the facility. The dedication they exhibit is beneficial to so many people in the Westview community, but if you ask them, each volunteer will tell you that they benefit the most. For this select group, that feeling of instant reward is what keeps them coming back to spend their time at the Dayville facility. This then creates a circuit of positive energy: they are uplifted by the feedback they receive as volunteers, so in turn they work harder as volunteers to uplift others.

     The banquet held on this particular evening is meant to honor their contributions from the previous year, but for many of them, it's multiple years. The celebrated volunteers included support personnel for the daily routines of patients; musicians and entertainers who perform for assemblies at Westview; priests and ministers who say prayers with the residents and offer continued connections to community churches; and one case, a baker who frequently visits to make confections that leave trails of delicious aromas and satisfied smiles up and down the halls. Leading this group to their maximum mutual benefit is a team of similarly dedicated Westview staff members who are well-versed in the volunteers’ unique talents and broad abilities.

     Therapeutic Recreation Director Louise Taylor thoroughly appreciates their hard work, and that’s a big reason why she puts so much of her own passion back into the banquet honoring each year’s volunteer force. In Louise’s own words: “Our volunteers amaze me with the number of hours they share with our residents and patients. We have teenager volunteers, who have so many opportunities to spend their time doing self-centered activities, but instead decide to self-lessly spend time with their elder neighbors. We also have retirees that have very active lives, but make a point to share some of their time with our residents and patients. Our volunteers help our folks to recreate in ways they want to, and socialize with them so that they are engaged and connected to their community.”

     Keeping with the in-house standard of Westview excellence, their Dietary staff was called upon to create the meal for the annual banquet. They prepared a three-course gourmet range including vegetable flatbreads and shrimp cocktail, sirloin tagliata, chicken Statler, and Asiago-stuffed salmon for the appetizers and entrees. As an extra sweet-treat to show Westview’s appreciation for these volunteers, the chefs also crafted baked Alaska and vanilla bean crème brûlée for dessert.

Westview Health Care Center is a 103-bed inpatient skilled nursing facility, which includes a distinct and self-contained 28-bed sub-acute short-term rehabilitation unit and outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapies including: Sports Medicine, Adolescent/Pediatric, Adult and Aquatic Outpatient Centers, all dedicated to providing outstanding quality health care services. The facility is located in Dayville, Connecticut and is ranked among the top nursing facilities in the nation according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service; and U.S. News and World Report for the past 12 years.