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Students from Rectory School recently visited Westview Health Care Center. Courtesy photo.


DAYVILLE — Westview Health Care Center is a skilled nursing facility that prides itself on the credo “Caring for Generations.”  Essentially, it promotes caring BY generations to make possible a system that brings together people from different decades—sometimes different millennia.  Rectory School is an independent co-educational school for children six weeks old through grade 9, with a residential option for grades 5-9.  
A cross-generational meeting occurred when students and teachers from Rectory visited patients and residents at Westview.  Therapeutic Recreation Director Louise Taylor toured the facility with a group that included two Rectory educators, Fran Morano and Brad Seaward, and 12 young scholars.  The rounds included visiting residential hallways and the formal dining room as well as the outpatient aquatic center and sports medicine department.  This was not a mandatory field trip for them, nor was it a requirement for advancement.  Rather, this was a group of 9th grade students from the Pomfret-located junior boarding school who chose to be a part of a volunteer coalition as an elective experience in addition to the other rigors of academic life.
Leaders from Westview and Rectory admire each other’s organizations; specifically their pursuit of excellence beyond the typical expectations of a health care facility or educational institution.  
Westview Administrator David T. Panteleakos said:  “I applaud Rectory’s outreach with this program.  The students visiting our elderly residents create this inter-generational exchange where both groups can socialize and learn from each other.”   According to Brad Seaward, this is exactly what occurred.  In a couple of instances he observed students interacting with Westview residents in a much more open way than he recalls seeing these same students converse with peers on campus.  Better still, Seaward reports that these newfound social skills have returned with them to Rectory.   “We wanted our students to see what a great place [Westview] is, to show them the wonderful atmosphere you can create when you care for people above and beyond what they’re expecting.  You see the obvious impact on those who receive care, but the remarkable thing is how this approach positively impacts those who provide care,” said Seaward.  He added, “Everyone at Westview treats you with care, from David as Administrator to Louise with Therapeutic Recreation to Alex Williams in Sports Medicine.”   Westview Health Care Center has recently announced their desire to expand their Volunteer program, and they are appealing for more members of the team.  
Interested individuals should call (860) 774-8574 ext. 151 for information about these opportunities.

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