SIDE-BY-SIDE: Xanilyn and her father Valentine Red both work at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick.

Capital Health Systems

National Doctors Day is an annual event that reminds us to recognize the physicians in our lives and express our gratitude for the amazing work they do every day. We all know that a career in health care is demanding during the best of times, but as we move past Doctors Day 2020 and confront the unprecedented health crisis we find ourselves in, it’s important to recognize all of our health care workers on the front lines.

Health care professionals here at Capital Health and everywhere are facing incredible challenges in dealing directly with the COVID-19 outbreak. And while those challenges are certainly daunting, the critical services that are part of the everyday work of health care still need to be provided. Through it all, our team is digging deep and doing whatever it takes to care for our patients and families and keep our community safe and well.

There’s an old saying that tells us our true nature is revealed in times of adversity, and the response we’re seeing from our health care workers throughout Capital Health during this crisis confirms what we already knew. Your professionalism and expertise are unmatched and your devotion to our patients and the community we serve is limitless. On behalf of Capital Health’s senior leadership and board of directors, as well as our community, thank you for your heroic efforts as we work through this crisis and beyond.

Morris Hall Meadows

Morris Hall Meadows at Lawrenceville was conceived and developed with innovative ideas about engaging the mind, body, and spirit of our elders. Morris Hall Meadows is an elder-centered model that places the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the elders or those closest to them.

We emphasize three core values: a meaningful life, empowered staff, and a real home. We focus on community, compassion, and comfort for every individual, in an environment that provides outstanding physical and emotional support.

Morris Hall Meadows elders live in actual homes offering more privacy and comfort than traditional nursing home settings. Each of the thoughtfully designed single-level homes has ten private bed-and-bath suites overlooking our beautifully landscaped grounds.

At the center of each home is a spacious hearth room with a fireplace facing a comfortable patio, a shared dining room, and an open kitchen, as well as a spa area and a cozy library, which is accessible to elders and their families at all times.

Our goal is for each Morris Hall Meadows elder to have a meaningful life with as much autonomy over his or her activities as they choose. Elders control their own daily routines and rhythms for waking, sleeping, meals, self-care and alone time. Each has direct involvement in his or her own care plan, and all elders enjoy formal and informal opportunities for engagement inside and outside of the home.

Elders’ health care, wellness, and social needs are supported attentively by our multi-disciplinary staff of professionals. This care team devotes themselves to knowing each individual and their families with the aim of providing the utmost care and attention.

Each house at Morris Hall Meadows is staffed by a team of universal workers who are present at all times for the needs, care, and comfort of the elders. Each worker is carefully selected for her or his ability to provide compassionate care to each individual, and to thoughtfully monitor the elders’ well-being. They work in concert with the clinical support staff to constantly provide optimal care to each person in residence.

Morris Hall Meadows is a Medicare and Medicaid approved skilled nursing facility. Elders will have access to a vast array of services, further complemented by the therapy resources of St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center. Transportation, spiritual care, security, and a stimulating array of daily activities will all help to make life at Morris Hall Meadows enjoyable and fulfilling.

Morris Hall Meadows is located at One Bishops’ Drive, Lawrenceville. (609) 896-0006; morrishall.org.

Pine Run Retirement Community

Pine Run Retirement Community is a vibrant senior living and continuing care residential community nestled in the heart of Central Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by Doylestown Health, Pine Run offers a full spectrum of independent living, personal care, memory care, and nursing and rehabilitative care.

We take great pride how our associates and villagers together nurture a community where everyone is welcomed and everyone is valued. Energy and enthusiasm for life can be seen throughout our campuses.

During National Nurses Week, we especially want to thank our nursing team and all who support their heroic efforts. Superheroes all, our health care team has gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that our villagers and patients remain connected with their families, receive outstanding care, and continue to live a full life during these difficult times.

We are Pine Run Proud of our nursing team, who were superheroes long before the pandemic and who have stepped up to fight proudly side-by-side for the health, safety, and well-being of our villagers and patients. Their sacrifices and selfless dedication to our community inspires us all. On behalf of our leadership team, associates, villagers, families, and community, THANK YOU to all nurses both here at Pine Run and everywhere for all that you do every day.

777 Ferry Road, Doylestown, Pa.; (800) 992.8992; pinerun.org.

St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center

For close to 50 years, physical rehabilitation has been our specialty. As a 116-bed, private, not-for-profit physical rehabilitation hospital, we offer a wide range of acute and sub-acute physical rehabilitation services and programs on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.

Therapies include physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, therapeutic recreation, and social and psychological services. We also offer specialized programs for brain Injury, stroke, neurologic disorders, orthopedics, Parkinsonism, amputees, vestibular/balance rehabilitation, and a driver program. St. Lawrence also manages medically complex patients needing cardiac or post-operative management.

St. Lawrence is able to effectively treat complex medical cases due to a skilled staff, including our physiatrists, who are our attending physicians specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Our five full-time physiatrists on staff all have over 20 years of experience. The medical staff also includes over 60 specialists and internal medicine physicians who contribute to the high quality of care. Patients and their families can benefit from a team approach to rehabilitation, which helps the patient attain positive outcomes and maximizes his or her independence. St. Lawrence also has a state-of-the-art Outpatient Therapy Department, which includes a spacious gym, private examination and treatment rooms, lounge and splinting area, and an on-site apartment for training with activities of daily living.

St. Lawrence is the only rehabilitation facility in Mercer County which has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for its Hospital Accreditation Program, Nursing Care Center Accreditation Program, and was awarded a Certificate of Distinction for Post-Acute Care. The accreditation is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe, high quality patient care and St. Lawrence is pleased to be recognized at this level.

St. Lawrence has also been awarded a five star overall rating by CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) each year since that rating system was established. We have also been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Best Nursing Homes: Short-Term Rehabilitation. We earned Best Nursing Homes status by achieving a rating of “High Performing,” the highest possible rating, for Short-Term Rehabilitation. U.S. News gives the designation of Best Nursing Home only to those facilities that satisfy U.S. News’s assessment of the appropriate use of key services and consistent performance in quality measures and we are among the 19 percent of U.S. skilled nursing facilities that have been recognized as a Best Nursing Home.

The care of our patients is our priority and we are proud to be recognized for our commitment to the highest level of care. SLRC is located at 2381 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville. Visit Slrc.org.

St. Peter’s University Hospital

Valentine Red has been a respiratory therapist at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick for 20 years. His daughter, Xanilyn (pronounced Zan-a-lynn) is an intensive care nurse at Saint Peter’s.

Just before the crisis, Xanilyn was planning to move from the family home in New Jersey where she lives with her parents to New York City, but the COVID-19 crisis has changed all that. Together they’re fighting the COVID-19 virus, side-by-side in the intensive care unit, where Saint Peter’s most vulnerable patients are fighting not only to breathe, but for their lives.
For Xanilyn, the crisis has meant putting her plans on hold, but the silver lining is that she’s doing what she loves and fighting the crisis alongside her dad. The two are on the front lines dealing with the sickest of the sick, but when asked about being called “heroes,” they are incredibly humble. Xanilyn says, “I don’t even think we deserve the title of hero, it’s just us doing our day-to-day thing.”

Her dad Valentine said, “Everybody that’s doing the right thing right now is a hero, even those that are just staying home to ensure others are safe.”

Perhaps Xanilyn’s sentiment sums it up best, “This is really where I need to be right now.”