Mission Mater's Magazine - Flipbook - Page 24
People & Community
JOY TO THE WORLD
Karen Kennedy is CNM 3 at the Post Acute
Services in Fairview. She tells Mission Mater’s
about the joy of Christmas at this very special place
A
s we all know Christmas is the most
wonderful time of year. A time for
smiles, warmth, hugs, sharing
meals, sweet treats and gift giving,
but this could be any time of year at
Fairview - because this is the
embedded culture here. Put simply,
this is how we roll. We appreciate our
patients and support them through
their challenges with a positive word,
a warm smile and a listening ear to
help them get to the next part of their
journey - be it home or home with
supports, a new home in a care
facility, or supported accommodation.
At Christmas, 8The Beavers9 come to
sing carols and do a little variety show
for our patients like magic tricks and
Irish dancing and poetry reading.
The room is decorated with beautiful
lights and decorations to give it that
special feeling. The patients who are
able, come to see the show and we
supply tea, coffee and biscuits so
everyone can enjoy.
We also have students in association
with UCD who visit us at Christmas.
They create a little winter wonderland
and give gift bags to the patients so
everyone has a gift for Christmas and
they dress up as elves and fairies and
sing Christmas songs for all our
patients. Additionally of course, we
have a wonderful team of doctors,
nurses and carers, pantry staff and
cleaners - and Santa of course. The
pantry staff decorate our dining areas
making them very warm and inviting
and Santa comes each year to visit our
patients and brings cheer to them
also. Everyone helps to decorate the
corridors and rooms of the patients, to
create a welcoming atmosphere that
brings great comfort at a time when
some are anxious, lonely, or in pain.
Our cleaners are like little elves
cleaning up any stray tinsel or broken
decorations keeping everyone safe.
Christmas Mass is celebrated at
11.00am on Christmas morning, with
the support of the priest from the
Mater hospital and often you will see
our staff have travelled in to share the
celebration with their patients. The
joy, happiness and warmth that this
brings is what make Christmas at
Fairview so special.
Fabulous Fairview: Teresa Monza, Hima Peter, Karen Kennedy, Sheena Francis, Adina Ileni.
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