- April 25, 2024
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About 50 cars showed up for the parade at Tuscan Gardens, at 650 Colbert Lane. Photos by Brian McMillan
Maintenance workers Dani Gomez and Ray Robinson
Pat Broadbrook, with Director of Health Services Jennifer Rogers
Lisa Annaheim
Larry and Janet Pino, owners
Sandrine Kent, Evynn Roberson, Janine Roberson and Jaxton Roberson arrived for the parade, to visit Janine's mother, Marie Brandly.
Barbara Clutter
Kimberly Puntillo and Susan Teixeira, of Visiting Angels
Flagler Beach Police Capt. Lance Blanchette
Dining Server Linda Clark, resident Dr. Wang and Bridgette Casey
Jan Hardy greets the cars in the parade at Tuscan Gardens. Photo by Brian McMillan
As assisted living facilities around the state have had to adjust to life with no visitors, the maintenance team at Tuscan Gardens of Palm Coast got creative.
Ray Robinson and Dani Gomez installed two plexiglass panels across double doors to create a safe place for visitations, similar to the concept of plexiglass panels at cash registers at restaurants and stores.
"They're using it," Robinson said. "We get five to six families every day."
The visitations are scheduled by appointment so that there isn't a line forming, and the panels are cleaned between each appointment.
Robinson and Gomez are adjusting their maintenance routines in other ways, as well. They've been distributing mail, helping with happy hour deliveries.
"We do anything to be there for the residents," Robinson said. "I've called bingo. Normally, that's not us. But everybody here has stepped outside their prescribed jobs to make things work."
Robinson and Gomez also decorated a white truck with a sign that featured wrenches zip-tied to a poster, and they participated in a parade for families to visit the residents
The parade, on May 15, drew more than 50 vehicles, many decorated with signs and window paint. One attached empty cans to a bumper and dragged the cans through the parade route in front of the facility. Some cars blasted music, and all smiled and waved.
Meanwhile, the residents sat under umbrellas or in the shade of the overhang and smiled and waved back.
Gail Kerr visited her mother, Betty Westenhiser, a Tuscan resident, who turned 96 on May 15. Kerr and her husband, Charles, were pleased with the plexiglass solution set up by Robinson and Gomez; they were among the families who had taken advantage of it.
Flagler Beach Police Capt. Lance Blanchette also attended. "It's worth it to see the smiles on people's faces," he said. "If we can put a little joy in people's lives, I'm more than happy to d it."
