‘You Rock,’ Family Members Tell Sun Parlor Home Staff

Mary Porrone cried the day 16 years ago she took her mom to live at Sun Parlor Home in Leamington.

Every day since she has been grateful.

“I say we’ve renewed her life by bringing her there,” Porrone said of her mom, Denise Najim.

Najim suffered a brain aneurysm at age 61 and was no longer able to live independently. Porrone, who had small children at the time, took her in for a year but realized she couldn’t properly care for her mom at home, she said.

The staff at Sun Parlor have become Najim’s extended family, Porrone said. “They’re always going the extra mile for my mom.”

When COVID-19 hit the region in March 2020, life at the long-term care home owned and operated by the County of Essex altered drastically overnight.

“Literally everything has changed, from the way we enter the building to the way we leave the building to what staff are wearing to what freedoms the residents have to move around in their own home,” said Jayne Brooks Keller, Sun Parlor Home’s Administrator.

Staff members are regularly tested for COVID-19. When they arrive at work they wear a mask, sanitize their hands, have their temperature taken, answer a series of questions, and then put on face shields and other protective gear.

Sun Parlor Home has had two outbreaks since the pandemic started, one in April 2020 and another in December. They were contained but resulted in residents being confined to their rooms for weeks until public health officials could be satisfied there were no more infections, Brooks Keller said.

The staff responded by spending more one-on-one time with residents and helping them video chat with family members.

Food service worker Pattie Kiric said she missed seeing the residents during the outbreaks, since her job doesn’t include delivering food to them.

“I give them love and they give me love right back,” she said.

But even when the 180 residents can leave their rooms, they can’t gather like they did before the pandemic. The home tries to keep the same staff members working with residents who live in one area, and the Life Enrichment team organizes socially distanced events like hallway bingo, Brooks Keller said.

Porrone is no longer able to pop in to Sun Parlor every day to see her mom. She visits with Najim outside when the weather is nice and on FaceTime when she must stay indoors.

Sun Parlor’s salon had to close, so a member of the care staff gave residents haircuts and styled their hair, she said. Najim loved it.

“I love them,” Porrone said of the staff. To say thank you her family donated money for a concrete pad in Sun Parlor’s courtyard. A gazebo is being built on the pad, where she and Najim are looking forward to sitting this summer.

When Porrone and other family members of residents were asked to write letters or record videos of support to Sun Parlor staff after a tough and sometimes scary year, words of gratitude poured out.

“You rock,” Estera Magri said in a heartfelt video in which she praised workers at the home for keeping her mom’s spirits up.

“Dad was disoriented when he got there (in March 2020), and never understood what was going on in the world of COVID,” wrote Denise Tourangeau. “He is now aware and understands what is happening. This is due to the ultimate and continuous loving care from the staff, personal support workers, nurses and doctors, and whoever else participated. He is a stubborn old goose and very set in his ways. Somehow, they brought him out of his shell, something we could not have done at home.”

Brenda Thompson had to move her mother, who has dementia, to Sun Parlor just weeks before the first provincewide COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.

“I had little time beforehand to settle her in. And then, of course, I couldn’t see her in person for about four months,” Thompson wrote. “Although I missed her terribly, I took comfort in the fact that she was being well cared for. My frequent phone check-ins with the staff and video chats with Mom gave me peace of mind.”

Don and Brenda Bauder said their daughter, Jen, who has multiple sclerosis, is cared for with dignity at Sun Parlor.

“Thank you for being a joy-bringer, comfort-maker, dignity-grasper and hope-sharer to our girl,” they wrote. “Knowing the level of your care brings peace to our minds and warmth to our hearts.”

Nirodha Weerapura wrote: “We felt safe and were at peace knowing you were doing everything possible to keep my mom and all other residents safe and happy.”

Karen Brouillette’s parents, Lyle and Ethel Finlay, both Sun Parlor residents, celebrated their 75^th wedding anniversary in 2020.

“Due to COVID restrictions we couldn’t have the party that we wanted, but the staff helped set up a Zoom call for the family and arranged for a special table with flowers and balloons for lunch,” she wrote.

Mixed with the gratitude was concern about the health and well-being of care workers.

“Although we cannot understand its full impact on you, we know that this pandemic has taken a toll on you precious people,” Tracey Pierce wrote on behalf of her family. “May you find strength in knowing that we are behind you and couldn’t be more appreciative of you. You are doing such important work – thank you.”

Champa Kumari Edirisinghe said she is grateful for the “care, kindness, patience, consideration and special accommodations” provided to her mother, Umadanthi.

“Please know that when I do yoga every morning and every night before I go to sleep, I send positive energy your way to keep you and your families safe,” she wrote.

The letters (click here to read them all) are part of a provincewide TLC for LTC (long-term care) campaign the week of May 3-9. Families, residents and community members are encouraged to show their gratitude to care workers and use the hashtag #TLCforLTC.

“We owe the deepest gratitude to our Sun Parlor Home staff and all long-term care workers in our region,” said Essex County Warden Gary McNamara. “They were on the front line of the pandemic when it arrived and endured many difficult days. They are still working harder than ever to keep the residents they care for safe. We need to show them we have not forgotten them and all they have done.”