Extracts from Mr. Bob Willis' speech on the day

Thank you for taking the time out to Celebrate 25 Years of Caring with us.

How did we come to own San Remo Nursing Home?

In August 1982 we were having dinner on a Friday night with a friend who suggested we should buy a nursing home as our training would complement
such a venture, there began our story of 25 years of caring.

San Remo started in 1982 as a 17 bedded Nursing Home employing 5 people. In 1984 we bought the house next door and expanded to a 36 bedded nursing unit increasing our workforce. In 2001 we redeveloped and extended the nursing home to our current 51 bedded unit and employing 48 staff.

During these years, finding regular staff was difficult, but this burden was lessened when San Remo started to employ Filipino Nurses and Carers along with our Irish Staff. The expansion of the EU opened further doors and now we have a multi-national, multi-cultural staff offering stability to the workforce and extending the San Remo Family into a happy close knit unit.

It’s not easy to make a decision to place a loved one into a nursing home. We all want to live at home for ever, but this is not always possible.
However, hopefully this burden is lessened when one encompasses the caring staff in San Remo, the familiar faces and the tender loving care and the reassurances given to all our residents on an ongoing basis.

Within a nursing home the most important people are the residents. We must never forget that they have memories, they have stories, and they have wisdom and experience. More importantly they have a valuable contribution to make to society. They have a lot to say to us and we can only hope that we have the wisdom to listen and learn from them. Our elder citizens have earned and are entitled to be treated at all times with dignity and respect.

 We were honoured on the day by the attendance of so many families, friends and distinguished guests.

Mr. Dick Roche TD, Minister for European Affairs unveiled a plaque donated by the son of one of our residents and then turned on a
new fountain in the courtyard.

Left to Right: Mr. Bob Willis, Mr. Dick Roche TD, Dr. Evelyn Willis, Ms. Anne Blount Asst. Matron, Dr. Evelyn Willis, Mr. Dick Roche TD, Matron Carmel Kearns, Mr. Bob Willis.