By James Martin
The first clue that Trinity Mission is no ordinary nursing home is the lack of that hospital-sterile smell ? Trinity smells like home.
Trinity Mission Rehab Center in Provo is on a mission to make its residents feel they aren?t residents of a nursing home at all, but part of a family.
?If people walk out of here and say, ?You know, it?s like home there,? then we have succeeded,? said Trinity supervisor Dan Cosby.
The bedrooms at Trinity look comfortable and beautiful, some with magnificent scenic murals covering the walls. Down the hall and to the left is the in-house beauty salon. To the right is the physical rehab center.
And where the stereotypical nursing home has a small TV and an outdated video collection, Trinity has a 55-inch plasma screen with surround sound and all the latest DVDs.
Trinity houses long-term nursing home residents as well as short-term rehab patients.
?We get a lot of our residents from the hospital,? Cosby said. ?Maybe they had knee surgery or a total hip replacement and need rehab so they come to us. Our patients have ranged from 26-years-old to 103.?
On Thursday, the staff of Trinity outdid themselves when they held the first Fine-Dining Night for a select group of residents. Cosby organized the event in hopes to provide a welcome break from the cafeteria food. He plans on making it a monthly tradition, catering to a different group of residents each month.
The dinner, which was donated and catered by Ruby River restaurant, was a five-course meal and was true to the definition of fine dining.
Residents ate and chatted under a shimmering chandelier while Trinity staff members waited on them hand and foot.
?This is the best meal I?ve had in three years,? said long-term resident Lynette.
Cosby thought up the idea for the special dinner after reviewing surveys from residents that indicated some people were growing weary of the cafeteria food.
?You can?t always please everybody,? Cosby said. ?But we?re going to try.?
Since many of the residents of Trinity receive only $45 a month for personal expenses, a fancy dinner like the one provided Thursday night was impossible for them to afford.
Most long-term patients of Trinity rely on Medicaid to pay for their stay, which leaves them with little to freely spend.
Cosby first got involved with Trinity three years ago as an accountant. He said he was a little standoffish around the disabled residents at first and felt more comfortable as a distant accountant than a caregiver.
?And then one day an elderly woman reached out and grabbed my hand simply to show her appreciation for what I was doing,? Cosby said. ?She said, ?Come here,? and I bent down and she gave me a kiss on my forehead ? I just melted. That was a turning point for me.?
Trinity Mission can be a great resource for people seeking service projects and volunteer opportunities.
?We are always looking for volunteers to do anything from read with our patients to play music for them,? Cosby said.
To volunteer at Trinity Mission contact Dan Cosby at 373-2630.
