Desert Knolls is real home for the elderly

A typical invigorating day for Dave (not his real name) at the Desert Knolls, a physical therapist, is treating eight to nine patients a day. He was, at the time this interview was made, helping an old male patient, who seemed to have wound in his stomach and who just had an operation, push his wheelchair at the lobby.

The railings all over the place are intended to protect patients from falling when walking to and coming from their rooms. Indeed, it is a patient-friendly convalescence center, recovery clinic, home-for-the-aged since you only see old folks around, or name it-- this is one of the best and cleanest nursing homes I‘ve seen with a ratio of almost one bed or person-is-to-one-nurse. There are 126 beds and a whole staff of 115.

These facilities in the United States are built to help families cope with their daily lives such that if they have jobs to attend to they may put their parents here yet visiting (the more frequent maybe the better) are encouraged. Should one be not too busy to fetch them from the center and finally nurse them home, great.

There are a lot of activities like Sunday service, coffee and pastry, bingo, sittercise or exercising from the seat because most patients are on wheelchairs, art and craft, movie, piano, board game, birthday party, and more. The activity centers are neat and clean. You will love the pastel ambience. It suits well nursing one to recovery. Visiting is usually at 1:30 p.m.

The story of Desert Knolls is a story of love having read its history. The founders, Kenneth and Marie Bechtold were moved by their dream of caring for the elderly in 1951 so off, the couple made a settlement at the Mojave Desert, California. Marie was a registered nurse. You can imagine how it expanded to 126 beds beginning from three patients. The family provided medical as well as personal care like preparing the patients’ meals, washing their laundry, and cleaning their rooms.

One of their four children, all males, Freddie Bechtold now administers the center/hospital located at the Apple Valley in Victor Valley, San Bernardino, California.

Government and private insurances provide for the bills.

Chow down Chinese

One of the first settlers at the Victorville, San Bernardino, California in the US of A are Chinese many of whom did household chores and because of diligence are now successful entrepreneurs especially in the dining business, so if you come from the East and is missing Oriental cuisines, looking for such is not a problem. (The Chinese, and their foods, actually, are all over the US.)

The Sushi (the word originally being Japanese which means rice roll with raw fish and vegetables) House of Joy offers authentic Chinese foods.

Start with something to nibble on-- an appetizer that is some crispy chips that you dip in a sauce. Then here comes the sizzling rice soup, a concoction of veggies like cabbage, carrots, and cubed chicken. This serves like appetizer, too. Whew! Shake off the cold from all over your body. What perfect way to start the meal proper. They have egg foo young (dunno what this means) but this is actually chicken with cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushroom, and there seems to be like tofu, all mixed in brown sauce. The beef with sesame leaves complements the egg foo young and the fried rice Chinese version with green peas aplenty, eggs, chicken, and onion. Here goes the fortune cookies; this makes a Chinese dining treat complete.

There were the four of us with my friends and we even had take-home from our abundant left-overs. Couples and families had been enjoying their plates as well.

Reasonable price? Very very.

The St. Mary Medical Center at Victorville, California

I took a friend to a hospital due cardio-vascular attack and I had the chance to see what a hospital looked like in the United States.

I am talking about St. Mary Medical Center at Victorville Valley in San Bernardino, south of California.

To give you a little background of this place-- Victorville is the city, and San Bernardino is the county-- San Bernardino's earliest known "inhabitants were Serrano Indians (Spanish for "people of the mountains") who spent their winters in the valley, and their summers in the cooler mountains." (http://en.wikipedia.orgwiki/History_of_San_Bernardino,_California)-- you can more or less imagine how the place looks like-- valleys and mountains--- big ranches for cattle raising. It is one among United States' fastest growing cities in California.

Current trends will show hospitals especially at the entrance like real hotel lobbies. St.Mary's is just like that.

Oooops, my attention was caught by the signage in front of the hospital -- it says Safe Surrender Site-- it is for babies who are abandoned by their mommies. Instead of throwing them somewhere, ... might as well deposit the baby here--- this is what the hospital is saying.

The rooms may not be spacious, but they are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities like hospital beds that the patients themselves can manipulate at a finger touch or with the use of an easy-to-handle remote control, blood pressure monitors, heart respiration monitors, pulse rates' -- body temperature--- all these are attached to computer monitors at the nurses' stations.

Facilities at the bathrooms are motion-activated from the sink, the soap dispenser, to the toilet.

A cable television in front and the view outside of a hospital room is almost a relief to any sick person. Most of all, patients are well attended to by the doctors, nurses, nurse assists-- should there be need for dieticians or physical therapists, or even the service of a priest or a lay minister-- they are provided.


St. Mary is a Catholic hospital.

Wow!

Used cloths turned into what-looked-like paintings, colored magazines into adorable necklaces, and bamboos into frames to make accents for plants-- can actually produce beautiful products.,

I stopped over at WOW Women of Cavite’s corner at Robinson’s Mall along Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines, and I could not help saying wow!

The chopped mahogany wood pieces turned into garden seats and tables were a showcase of functional art.

The rice cake or what we call here in the Philippines suman-- suman is elongated in shape-- but this time the group used chocolate with sticky rice or was it corn flour?-- but I am sure that was melted in rich coconut milk, complemented the Gano coffee that I had. Gano is seven healthful ingredients in one coffee product.

If at all the lady who stood by was proud of these products, it was because Vida Ferrer, the head of the group, said that they had been in the place for six years.

WOW is in one corner of the mall beside the satellite offices of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the municipality of Dasmarinas. Government offices are now re-inventing itself by making their presence felt in malls. Wonder if the rent of the rate is worth the try.

WOW calls the women in Dasmarinas to join the group and be taught creative skills to make them enterprising and self-sufficient.

Bistro Michelle is what your idea of a first-class dining place should be

Say that Bistro Michelle is just another dining place that is strategically located between Roxas Boulevard and United Nations Avenue. In front is Museo Pambata, a museum of arts and a venue, too, for story-telling for kids living in the Metro Manila, Philippines. Beside Museo is the Embassy of the United States so you can imagine more or less that Bistro, like other restaurants in the vicinities, caters to people from all walks of life.

What makes it unique, then?

Service.

The amiable crew of a dining place that has to survive the competition of hundreds of other dining places along Roxas Boulevard is what makes Bistro Michelle a standout as it offers French, Chinese, and Filipino cuisines as well.

Do not be intimidated by its ambience of elegance. You will be assisted by a helpful crew. They are always ready to lend a helping hand.

Michelle also offers an array of soups- with P170, there is a good serving for four. You will love the hototay (a mix of squid, shrimp, and egg with plenty of carrots and other vegetables done the Chinese way).

Surf the net for one hour for P 240 only as this goes with your choice of sandwich like ham, cheese, beef, egg, or you name it, plus juice.

Photo captions: Bistro Michelle is all elegance from the entrance (top left photo) to its interior features as the furniture. The grand piano (middle, right photo), the wine section (lower right photo) and the European-inspired mural (top right photo) all add up to its touch of class.

Paging Calamba and MERALCO!

Barangay Look in Calamba City has no electricity.

Surprised?

You don’t think that a barangay with around 200 families right in the heart of a city south of Metro Manila, Philippines, would be without power supply (for years) like it has been abandoned by God. How come?

I and my third-year college students in public relations at the University of Perpetual Help System-Calamba were to conduct our dengue awareness and prevention campaign at the Blue House on September 25 this year. Yes, that particular place at Barangay Look, Calamba City was originally called a Blue House when upon the wrath of the storm Milenyo which ravaged the country in 2006 and left major households without power for two weeks, local residents from different barangays in Calamba were relocated to the place and a blue tent was built to accommodate the affected families.

Mr. Nanding Gatdula, homeowners’ association president, said that they have asked the local government to at least give them a MERALCO post so any resident who may choose to apply for an electric current may do so.

What could be a consequence of non-electricity?

Residents confirmed one rape case of a teen-ager early dawn.

Photo caption: Ms. Maria Evelyn D. Morita (fourth from right) treats kids for an ice cream so they would not make noise while UPHS-Calamba faculty members, the Public Relations Class, third-year, and Ms. Rusela Noel, representative, City Health Office, Calamba City, Philippines hold a dengue awareness and prevention lecture-forum. UPHS joins the Department of Health in its dengue awareness and prevention campaign nationwide as dengue cases rise to over 70,000, resulting to over 500 deaths, many of which involved children. Venue was the Blue House, Barangay Look, Calamba City on Sept. 25, 2010.

Students, teachers and health professionals hold dengue seminar in Calamba

A group of public relations students, teachers and health professionals from the University of Perpetual Help System-Calamba branch held a lecture-forum titled "Tamang Kaalaman upang Malabanan ang Dengue"(The Proper Information to Fight Dengue) in Barangay Look, Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines, on September 25, 2010.

Barangay Look has been identified as a "dengue" hotspot, according to Ms. Rusela Noel, representative of the city health office, Calamba City, and one of the speakers during the lecture-forum. Barangay Aplaya had 27 dengue cases this August while Look had 19; fortunately, all have been outgoing patients now, said Noel.


The Department of Health has intensified campaign as dengue cases in the Pilippines has reached over 70 thousand with over 500 deaths; many of which involved children.

Dengue comes from the bite of an aedis egyptis, a female mosquito. The fever virus spreads rapidly.

Dr. Teresita Falome, Ed.D., and and Ms. Cristina Elauria, professors and professional nurses of the UPHSD-Calamba were among the lecturers and speakers.


Photo captions: (Upper right photo) Ms. Rusela Noel of the City Health Office, Calamba City, Philippines, talks about dengue awareness and prevention before residents (upper left photo) of Barangay Look on Sept. 25, 2010. The campaign was held at the Blue House of the same barangay and city. (Lower left photo) Teachers Teresita Falome, Cristina Elauria, Justin Rodriguez, Noel, and Anadelfa Bernardo of University of Perpetual Help System, Calamba City Philippines pose for a souvenir shot. (Lower right photo) The same group of teachers and Noel, with the student-organizers of UPHS-Calamba (from l) Mhia Cherry Ciceron, Kaye delos Santos, Michelle Rose Caringal, Joannes Margaret Abunal, Crystal Joy Espiridion, Davey Langit, and Aileen Capuno.