Compassion.
It is a universal term which incorporates within it layers upon layers of meaning.
In my previous career, I wasn’t as exposed to daily doses of compassion as I am today.
At Regency Nursing Centers, compassion is on display day in and day out. It takes compassionate individuals with the capacity to care for elderly people as if they were their own parents. At Regency, we don’t just hire nice people we also hire people with compassion.
I would posit that compassion cannot be taught, it must be innate and inborn. Folks without compassion do not have to be callous, but folks with compassion cannot possibly be callous.
I will say however, that compassionate people can further enhance their sensitivities by being around other compassionate individuals. At Regency, I’m thankfully surrounded by such individuals.
I am a member of a religious burial society, whose mandate and charter is to accord the dearly departed with a dignified burial, both in the pre-burial preparation, as well as during and after the funeral.
Dealing with a deceased person isn’t for everyone. I didn’t think I had the constitution for it myself, but it has been a long standing tradition in my family going back several generations. In fact, my Grandfather founded a burial society upon his arrival to these shores back in the early 1940’s.
This past weekend, I participated in the burial procedure for a young man who died under tragic circumstances. Notwithstanding my background, the experience for me was heart wrenching beyond description.
What does one say to a family that just had their souls torn asunder? How is it possible to console those who cannot be consoled?
My heart absolutely broke for this family. I cried with them and for them, but the singular experience of standing by and witnessing the acute suffering of another knowing there is nothing you could do to make the pain go away, is something you never forget.
Because I am blessed to be surrounded by compassionate nurses and caregivers all day, it allows for heightened appreciation and perspective.
Just last week, I toured with a family and about 30 minutes into our meeting, they expressed their profound appreciation for the fact that we had yet to touch upon financial considerations and simply discussed the protocol for care and treatment of their loved one. They juxtaposed this with some of the other places they visited, where the first order of business was to discuss money.
I deferred credit and simply pointed to the Regency business model, which is COMPASSION before all else.
We heal people first and foremost.
This is more than an idea or concept for us at Regency it is the driving force behind our organization. It is the reason that we have earned the respect and admiration of the entire Healthcare industry.
Money is simply a means to end. It is a vital and helpful tool in navigating the vicissitudes of life. It is far from tantamount however.
To posses money without good health is worthless.
To posses money without kindness or compassion is akin to possessing a powerful ship without a rudder.
Money hardly impresses me. Not today and not ever.
People do. Good people impress me, period.
A close family member once told me that any ‘problem’ which is easily solved by throwing some money at it, isn’t a (real) problem.
If you have your health, you have everything.
At Regency, we focus on health and healing. We mend the body and the spirit.
We have the ability to be compassionate to others because we are ourselves compassionate.
It’s why I LOVE REGENCY NURSING CENTERS.
I’ll be taking a break from posting for the next several days.
See you again soon.
