By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Mayor Al Arreola honored certified nursing assistants with a proclamation during a recent city council meeting.
Arreola designated June 16 through June 22 as “Certified Nursing Assistant Week” during the June 28 council meeting, his first as the city’s top elected official.
“This is dear to my heart. I’ve been on the hospital board; I was there for three years, and I saw the work these individuals do, not only at the hospital, but at the nursing homes, the school district. They provide a lot of their time and go out there and do a really strong thing, and they support our elderly, our young ones, everyone in this community,” Arreola said in announcing the proclamation.
“They do a tremendous job, and all the stress they go through, and then they have to take that home. It’s painful. Until you walk in their steps, you don’t realize the effort they put out in this community,” the mayor added.
Arreola then read the proclamation:
“Whereas, nursing homes, home care, hospitals and other long-term care agencies have accepted the responsibility for providing quality care and a quality of life for the elder, frail and disabled citizens of our community, and whereas, the well being and happiness of these citizens depend in large part on the nursing assistants, home care aides, patient care assistants and others who provide 85 to 90 percent of the daily, hands-on care in nursing homes and other long-term care settings, and
“Whereas, these certified nursing assistants are instrumental in promoting and safeguarding the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of the residents, clients and their families, and whereas, certified nursing assistants are trained professionals who collaborate closely with other health care providers to provide quality care and also to elevate the status of their chosen profession,
“Now, therefore, I, Al Arreola, as mayor of the city of Del Rio, Texas, do hereby proclaim June 16-June 22, 2022 as ‘certified nursing assistant week,’ and I urge all citizens to join with me and others nationwide to celebrate the 45th annual observance of Certified Nursing Assistant Week and to express encouragement and appreciation for the services performed by these caregivers in the public good,” Arreola read.
The mayor presented a framed copy of the proclamation to Elizabeth “Liz” Elizalde, executive director of Val Verde Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and to Debra Doran, admissions director for Val Verde Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Elizalde thanked the mayor and said members of the community encounter certified nursing assistants not only in nursing homes but anytime they spend time in the hospital.
“We celebrated Certified Nursing Assistant Week last week and our theme this year was ‘I’m Still Standing,’ and just like the community and the rest of the world, we’ve endured COVID and power outages and so did our CNAs, and I’m here to accept this proclamation on the behalf of our CNAs, who serve as the front liners, electricity or no electricity, they still show up. Rain, sleet or snow, they still show up,” Elizalde said.
“The CNAs are the ones that provide the direct care for our loved ones. They are the ones who don’t throw in the towel. They are there 365/24/7,” she added.
She said despite the many challenges faced by the health care industry over the past several years, CNAs continue to perform their work, which she called “a labor of love.”
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