Catherine A. Brown is a retired educator who taught in elementary schools in New York and Somerset County. She also is a former Crisfield City Council member. She shared the following story about her stay at the Alice Byrd Tawes Nursing & Rehabilitation Center during the Oct. 15, 2008 groundbreaking ceremonies for a new facility.
"On this occasion we are celebrating the groundbreaking for our new Alice Byrd Tawes Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. As a former and possibly a future user of these facilities, I wish to thank all of you whose support and cooperation have made this day possible.
(In September 2007) "I had a total right knee replacement at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. Because I live alone, I was told that I needed to go to a rehabilitation center until I could care for myself. Guess what rehabilitation center I chose? Alice Byrd Tawes in Crisfield, of course. I spent four weeks here (in October 2007).
"From the nursing staff, I received care 24 hours a day. If I needed anything, they were just a push of the call-button away. My medicines were dispensed, injections given, doctors’ appointments coordinated with McCready Hospital, etc. (The) Certified Nursing Assistant (assigned to me) was my ray of sunshine each morning. I was embarrassed about some of the things I could not do for myself, but I was given loving care.
"The dietary staff provided food choices each day. Believe it or not, I liked the food.
"The housekeeping staff was efficient and friendly. Patricia King would pray with me and sing when she came in the room. It was wonderful to see her smiling face each day.
"Terri Dize always had some fun activities planned for each day, which included games, crafts, special programs and Sunday services. I enjoyed the daily flyers that were distributed each morning because they included the day, date, daily activities and a saying, for example: “Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t.”
"The physical therapy staff limbered up my body and made me mobile even though I screamed, yelled and cried. I was not the best of patients.
"The occupational therapist taught me how to bathe and dress myself using aids, and how to cook and prepare meals for myself.
"I always had visitors. There are some wonderful people in Crisfield, who visit the nursing home on a regular basis – visiting every patient, making sure that no one goes without visitors.
"For the engraving on my paving stone, I chose the words of James Weldon Johnson from "Lift Every Voice and Sing"; “Sing a song full of hope that the present has brought us.”
"I think these are fitting words for the new Alice Byrd Tawes Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. I’m happy we will be getting a new building to accommodate more people who need help, but a building doesn’t give love. Love comes from the people who work in the building. It takes a special kind of person to work in a nursing and rehab center – loving, caring, patient, giving, responsive – and I am eternally grateful to each one of you."
Catherine A. Brown
Crisfield