Adriana Pérez Morel wears her new nurse uniform. A few weeks ago, she finished her studies and, now, carefully accommodates medicines, syringes, tablets; while his gaze escapes outside from time to time, where grandparents rest, after a snack, in the Rafael Morel Oppow nursing home, recently opened in Omaja, Majibacoa, to the approval of the community.
It is not by chance that this girl wanders through the spacious halls of the medical institution and is awake by strict compliance with the protocols in the midst of the current panorama of epidemiological instability. The coincidence of her surname with the local hero is not by chance either. It is said that, in her blood, she carries a peculiar legacy, "that of being there where you are most useful and right in the same land where my lineage was born.”
“When they told me that I would come to work here, temporarily, I was filled with pride,” the girl confesses. The truth is when I see the photo and the name of my grandfather at the entrance, I feel proud and committed. Since I was a little girl, I was taught that he was a hero who participated in the July 26 Movement, who brought medicines to the guerrillas and was also a medic for the rebel troops.
“For me, he was always an attentive, loving grandfather, great from the stories he had heard to everyday life. When I decided on Nursing, the first thing I thought about was him and the shoes so big that I had to wear..."
INDOORS
The Omaja nursing home welcomes around 40 workers who move there from the early hours of the morning and leave when evening falls. The recently inaugurated facility is due to the desire to support the course of the elderly without setbacks and with the necessary guarantees to improve the quality of life of those who live alone.
Misleidis Vidal, director of the center, points out that the property was remodeled and capacities for 25 grandparents were created. To ensure social distancing, it will host 20 for now, and when the epidemiological situation normalizes, it will also receive 10 in the semi-boarding modality.
"We are going to provide medical assistance; as well as Podiatry, Rehabilitation, Stomatology, and Psychiatry services," Vidal emphasizes. We are in charge of a bedridden patient and another with lower limb amputation, we were trained to help them and guarantee their well-being.
"We received training in the Las Parras nursing home. It has been a challenge and we are committed to running this facility and providing a safe environment, like family; that is our goal."
Due to the danger of COVID-19, the institution's staff adopted the strategy of creating a sanitary filter at the entrance, where they will bathe and wear clean clothes. All the workers and patients were negative to the PCR tests and share the responsibility of maximizing compliance with health protocols.
More than 926 million pesos were used in the construction of this work of great social impact; around 156 million went to the purchase of furniture. A large part was contributed by the contribution to local development, to support the welfare of the elderly.
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Adriana opens her professional life in this medical complex like so many other young people. In her short stay in her place, she assures that she has already received the gratitude of her grandparents for the fortuitous turn of her luck. The Omaja nursing home is a long-standing desire of its inhabitants and progress in its social development. For Adriana, it is also the reminder of her history, where past and present are intertwined with the same vocation in search of the best possible future.
