Moments of Truth are spotlights on employees that have demonstrated exceptional acts that go above and beyond their expected roles or duties.
Lilia Cruz, a very dedicated and caring cook at Shoreline Healthcare Center, works hard every day preparing great food for our residents. Lilia genuinely cares for and knows the residents she serves. One night after work, Lilia recognized a former resident in downtown Long Beach and he didn’t look at all well. He had recently left our facility against medical advice which had concerned Lilia and other staff members. We called the police who arranged to have him picked up from Lilia’s home and taken to the hospital.
Lilia, we are honored to have you on our team at Shoreline Healthcare Center and thank you for all you do.
Shanae, our very caring Activities Director, went above and beyond the call of duty to help one of our residents at Shoreline Healthcare Center. Our resident had been here a couple of weeks and had been particularly agitated and unhappy about needing to be in a skilled nursing facility to recuperate and regain his strength. Shanae found out that he had also been very worried about bills piling up at his apartment and the mess he left there. Shanae volunteered to take him home, help him write out his checks to pay the bills, and clean his home. He returned to Shoreline beaming and overjoyed knowing that his home is in order and is now happily focused on getting the rehab he needs knowing that his clean home is waiting for him when he returns.
Shanae was able to turn an unhappy critic into a raving fan and a happy resident of Shoreline Healthcare Center.
One day we received a phone call at Shoreline from a resident’s landlord telling us that he was losing his apartment and that his belongings needed to be moved. If the resident was not able to do anything with his belongings, they would have a company come and take everything out and dispose of it. Two of our outstanding employees, Mercy Martinez (Social Services Director) and Brett Cook (Marketing/Admissions Director) spoke to each other and decided to go to the resident’s apartment to collect any items the resident might want. The landlord had informed them that the apartment had been broken into, torn apart by the police, and had been inhabited by cats. Despite this information and the fact that the apartment was in shambles, they still decided to go to the apartment. One can only imagine what Brett and Mercy found when they went to the apartment. Seeing the mess and filth would have turned most people away, but they rolled up their sleeves and sorted through the resident’s belongings to retrieve what they could.
These acts of service are nothing unusual for Brett and Mercy. They are always looking for ways to serve the residents and the employees at Shoreline Healthcare Center.
Phuong Banh has been the Treatment Nurse at Shoreline for more than two years and is a very serious nurse when it comes to her job. Because of Phuong, Shoreline has every reason to be very proud of its Wound Care Program. Behind the serious facade of Phuong, you will find a very compassionate, caring, and helpful nurse.
One of the staff accidentally found out that Phuong has been going to a Chinese restaurant on a regular basis during her break time to buy food for some residents. These residents usually crave Chinese food and when she learned that no one could go out to buy them food, Phuong volunteered to do it. When asked about why it takes her that long when it is only about five minutes to drive there, Phuong answered, “No, I don’t drive; I walk. I don’t mind walking. I do my exercise and make the residents happy at the same time.” Phuong has been seen walking back to the facility, carrying full bags of food for the residents to enjoy.. In spite of the long walk, she came back with a big smile on her face with no complaints and no regrets because she enjoys helping the residents feel happy and satisfied.
Shoreline is very fortunate to have a Treatment Nurse like Phuong, a healer of wounds and a healer of the “tummy”.
Mr. E. (Eliseo Juarez) has been the Medical Records designee of Shoreline for the last two years. He is very helpful and supportive to everyone and he has proven himself to be a real asset to the facility and the company in many instances. He is always behind every department head when difficult issues arise with residents and family members. One incident worth mentioning was when a family member came to the facility drunk. In spite of the threat and attempt to hurt him, Mr. E. went out to deal with this person and encouraged him to leave.
Last September, one male resident was to be discharged home. The Social Service designee noticed that the resident was wearing a very nice straw hat and complimented him. The resident said that it was given to him by Mr. E. He said that one sunny day, he was out in the patio and Mr. E noticed that he was directly under the sun. He left and came back with a hat and gave it to the resident saying, “Here, this for you. Use it to protect yourself from the heat.” Before the resident left, he said that Shoreline is a good facility because it has a very caring staff.
Mr. E also cares for our other facilities. He went to a sister facility to help when their Medical Records Designee had to go on emergency leave. He went back and forth from that facility to Shoreline and spent his weekend working there to prepare the facility for their survey.
We are very proud to have Mr. E. at Shoreline.
Shoreline’s Business Office Manager, Riz Villaruel, has been a cherished employee for the past 21 years. She is loyal, hardworking and dedicated to caring for all staff and residents. Riz has commuted daily from Montclair to Long Beach (a very long way) for all of those years. Despite the early rising and long hours in traffic, she always arrives on time. One of our residents is a Robert Ludlum fan. Riz, also a fan of the author, brought in some of his books for our resident which made him very happy.
On other occasions, Riz has brought in DVDs for residents to enjoy and once brought in a pair of Levis for a resident who needed them. When we hosted a candlelight dinner for residents and their families, Riz stayed an extra hour to help serve them. Thank you, Riz, for your generosity and kind and caring spirit.
Elsie Achiles is MDS nurse at Shoreline Healthcare Center. She is cheerful and energetic and tackles any situation thrown at her with a smile on her face. She has proven to be a big contributor when it comes to the quality of care of our residents. Even though her days are very busy, Elsie finds time to help other departments. When a dietary aide called in sick and the supervisor was setting up dinner trays, Elsie quickly put on a hairnet and started helping out in the kitchen until all trays were prepared. Elsie is always present during candlelight dinners to help serve our residents and guests. She brings joy to our residents by singing to them along with other Shoreline choir members and visiting with them frequently. One of our residents refers to Elsie as his “daughter” and she visited him, taking balloons and flowers when he was in the hospital. She also made sure that his TV was replaced soon after it stopped working.
Elsie’s passion and commitment have made her one of Shoreline’s treasured jewels.
Pricilia Raquidan is one of the wonderful Certified Nursing Assistants at Shoreline Healthcare Center. Any task the charge nurse assigns, she gladly accepts and gets done well. Pricilia is tactful, helpful, and compassionate towards our residents.
Pricilia works from 3:00 until 11:00 and likes to arrive thirty minutes before her shift starts. She visits with residents and gets to know them, so that she can give them the best care. One resident has a devoted wife who struggles to come to Shoreline every day. Pricilia knows that the woman works and takes two buses just to visit. To help make things a bit easier for her, Pricilia often does this resident’s laundry. When she comes in early, Pricilia gathers the dirty clothes and takes them to be washed. Pricilia does this out of the kindness of her heart.
Lupe Lares has been a CNA at Shoreline for three years. She is energetic, kind-hearted and excellent at providing care. Her helpfulness is appreciated by our residents. One of our residents needed to visit his bank to transact some business. Due to the fact that he was without friends and family, he had no one to drive or accompany him to the bank. He asked Lupe if she would go with him, and Lupe graciously responded that she would be happy to go. The following morning our resident was up early, dressed, and ready in his motorized wheelchair. Lupe was asked how they were getting to the bank which was two miles away and replied, “We’re going to walk; that’s why I wore my jogging shoes today. It’s not that far and it’s good exercise.” When they returned later, our resident was so happy and told everyone how grateful he was to have a nurse like Lupe.