By Antonella Sánchez Cortés*
I arrived for the first time in this nursing home called Casa Posadas, an institution which belongs to and is located in the same ground as the Hospital Posadas, one of Argentina’s main public hospitals. Both Casa Posadas and the hospital are in El Palomar, Buenos Aires province.
This home has 26 rooms with capacity for 78 beds with a bathroom and common spaces that families keep clean thanks to the rules of coexistence that are posted on the room doors.
The mission is for parents or relatives of patients who need to endure time while treatment is carried on/being developed and conclude them in the best possible way with a good quality of life and personalized attention completely free of charge.
Parents or relatives can stay in order to have distractions like reading a book or sleeping very well. Also volunteers who accompany and contain the guests, carry out cooking, painting and other workshops.
There is also TV for cable and a big space for eating, talking, or just breathing free air surrounding the house.
In the beginning, it was hard because you are more worried about your own health than being comfortable at the house.
“What happens here is always an opportunity to create, offer services and something that doesn’t work, that is the opportunity to better and respond to the expectations of the guests who need to be here so much”, said the principal Alicia Rodriguez who works there since 2016 and “this beautiful place” she adds with emphasis.
I knew Casa Posadas existed because I heard the name but the place was far from where I live. I never imagined getting there but beyond the long story of how I did it, I will always be grateful to the hospital and the Casa Posadas.
I arrived in 2018 for the doctors to cure my infections there. The people who work there were so nice and kind to my mother and me through this critical situation. They tried in many ways that you are not worried at all by anything because this home brings to you all the elements for you to feel well and not miss your own house.
I affirm this because the first two days I ought not to make physical effort in order to avoid opening the wounds from my operation because the bed was too high ― the staff changed me to the room where the beds were low.
The rooms and the spaces are colorful, each room represents a province of Argentina – I don’t remember which one I stayed in but I remember the drawings, the paintings and how that made you a little more happy when you entered the room.
The system that works there you have to know beyond them remind you every time: you have to sign up if you want to have breakfast, lunch, meal or dinner. The food was most of the time: chicken with rice or corn cream and always fruit like apple, orange or banana.
There are no doctors and nurses in the house but there are exceptions, like my situation, in which the doctors came to cure me . One day we were so scared because I felt my wound was open so we walked quickly with my wheelchair in the middle of the night with the permission of the security guard of the house and in the end it was nothing.
I stayed for what could a been a week to three weeks, I feel the days no longer passing because I feel pain and I couldn’t move so I reada book used my phone. My mom in one of the workshops baked bread or pudding and we enjoyed it so much because we eat cookies without salt and sometimes vainillas.
after the pandemic we only could see visits outside and me must of all! I feel happy because they bring me food or snack that “was not allowed” in the house.
In a way, one misses the monotony, the structure of having that organization that the house requires. As it was a quiet place at times, there was also the atmosphere of the summer weather. Also you have a special support because you don’t lack food, the place is close to the hospital and literally you can be here without paying a penny. It’s like Camila Herrera, coordinator of the social área said: “The people are surprised that the place is free to stay and that’s a little peace of mind at that moment, in any situation”.
If it were up to my mom, she would stay for months to live there and I know that the doors of Casa Posadas will be always open to welcome you like you deserve because they are available to support you.
“The beauty of this job is when the people who have already been there, come back and thank you for everything they have experienced. Beyond the final result of theperson for whom they came, they always leave pleased and that makes you see all the work you do it is worthyand it is for good”, said Fabián Lezcano, operator.
Foto de portada: Diego Albarracín
*Nota producida en el marco del taller English For Journalists dictado por AUNO
AUNO-20-8-24
ASC-JJR
