Trinity School of Medicine gives Lewis Punnett Home facelift

Many times, with the New Year comes new resolve and other forms of renewing that set the pace for the way in which things will continue.

The members of staff and faculty of the Trinity School of Medicine made sure, on December 21 and 22, when they entered the premises of the Lewis Punnett Home in Glen, that the lives of the residents would be enhanced and that this enhancement will set the pace for further such ventures throughout 2016.

The mission of the group of 55 volunteers was multi-faceted. Group leader Dr Conrad Nedd said, “What we are doing is, we are working on improving the physical environment but, at the same time, we are taking the opportunity to provide some medical care for them. All patients would be seen throughout the two days. We’ll first concentrate on the female ward, then we will move on to the males.” He said that it was the group’s desire to make the health visits a continuing feature. The physical improvements included a thorough cleaning of the facility through power washing, mopping and sweeping; painting of the male and female wards; laying down carpeting in some wards; and providing new bed linens for the residents. Additional to these, they distributed care packages to each person and congregated with them in the chapel in a service of thanksgiving.

Dr Nedd explained that, “We just want to try to make a difference in the lives of the residents, because we recognize that they have needs.” Simply put, but Dr Nedd did not stop there. He emphasized the need for the community as a whole to play a role in the upkeep of such facilities. He stated, “The Lewis Punnett Home is an institution that belongs to the community, even though it is staffed by the Government. I think if the community comes together, we can meet some of the residents’ needs.” It was his firm belief that this country needed to see the Lewis Punnett Home as an opportunity to take care of elderly people.

Head of the Deanery at Trinity Kaushayla Nedd applauded the volunteers, comprising drivers, housekeepers, and maintenance and security personnel, along with two doctors, who willingly took the two days off to complete the exercise. She described the two days as inadequate, but stated that, “We know that two days will not be sufficient where cleaning is concerned, so we’ve planned to return once a month to do general cleaning.”

Staff Nurse Mayers at the Lewis Punnett Home felt that the venture was a good one. She intimated, “It is not every day that the residents and staff alike get to see something like this. We are seeing that we are not forgotten in the community.” She explained that the job being done was much more than was expected and she was happy that the residents were showing how much they appreciated it. She was happy for the cleaner and friendlier environment created.

For the two days spent working at the institution, the members of staff and faculty of Trinity, in uplifting the spirits of the residents and staff, themselves reported of how uplifted they were for their involvement. Members of the Housekeeping Department are looking forward to continuing the cleaning and upkeep which they started, while others are on hand to give whatever assistance will be required to make sure that the Lewis Punnett Home project continues.