Going Above and Beyond
An idea that doesn’t get enough attention these days both in the field of mental health, and just life in general, is the concept of compassion. Recently, one of the residents at Morgan Hill was hospitalized at St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy. His mother, a nurse, was unable to be there with him because seriously bad weather prevented travel until the next day.
“Our client was very agitated, so the staff at Morgan Hill decided to form a team in-house who would support him in shifts at the hospital,” says Jean Edwards, one of Psynergy’s founding partners. “When someone from our staff was with him, he was calm. It is just so important to approach a situation like this with compassion, and do what is necessary to take care of our own. It’s a part of understanding mental health, and making our residents comfortable when they have a situation outside the ordinary realm,” Edwards stated.
Our client’s mother took time to write to Psynergy’s administrative team to express her appreciation. Here is an excerpt from her letter to Arturo Uribe, Psynergy’s CEO and one of its founding partners.
“When I got there Sam Faour was sitting in the room with (my son.) I discovered Nueva Vista staff (Martha) had been with him since his admission and I cannot thank you enough for having adopted this policy. Most hospital staffers have difficulty communicating with persons with mental illness and indeed, some are afraid. Sam was able to bridge that gap with the staff and (my son) was extremely comfortable having Sam there as a spokesperson for him. I spent the rest of the day and the night with him and the next morning Melinda came to relieve me.
"I know that you know how much I appreciate your program, your staff and all of you in Administration for having the courage and foresight to have developed such a unique, caring and successful program to serve the mentally ill. It is because of the compassion and knowledge of mental illnesses from those of you in Administration that you have been so outstanding in the programming and services you provide. I have been around a long time, and have seen many programs and there has never been one to compete with yours.
“It is important for me to take the time to acknowledge Mark Castillo, Sam, Melinda, Martha, Cole and others on the unit who were so caring to (my son) and comforting to me. I appreciate each and every one of them and just wanted you to know how remarkable they are. They are carrying out your dream of providing excellent care to persons with mental illnesses, and their families.”
Thank you, and warmest regards.
(Name withheld to support patient confidentiality.)
“Reading her letter was both humbling and joyful for me,” says Psynergy CEO Arturo Uribe. “Humbling because of the validation that our families do ‘get’ what we are trying to do here, and joyful because this letter proves that the organization we have worked so hard to create is making a real difference for our clients and family members.”
“It is vitally important to publicly recognize the excellence and humanity of our team members,” Uribe related. “Mark Castillo (pictured above) is our administrator for the Nueva Vista facility, and he is known for going above and beyond to ensure that our clients are well taken care of,” says Uribe. “Sam Faour, our lead residential counselor, and residential counselors Melinda Carrasco, Martha Orozco and Cole Salles were also integral in helping manage our client’s well-being offsite.”