Meet Guylene (Gilly) Muzac, a nurse and Resident Care Manager at Sherrill House in Boston and has been working in the Alzheimer’s/Dementia Care Unit for 14 years. Gilly is one of the 45,000 dedicated caregivers working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect and care for the Commonwealth’s nursing home residents.
She loves being a nurse, and her smile lights up every room she walks into. Gilly admits she was scared during the pandemic, but the thought of leaving her patients’ bedside never crossed her mind. Gilly and her care team worked tirelessly to ease the worry of every resident in their dementia special care unit, making sure each person never felt alone, holding their hands while comforting their fears with great compassion. “We are their families. We might not have their last name or share the same blood, but our bond became stronger than ever.”
When one of her residents, “Ms. Marvelous”, fell ill, she confided in Gilly that she felt scared. Gilly and her team responded to Ms. Marvelous’ needs and made sure that someone was by her side 24 hours a day to ensure Ms. Marvelous would not be alone. Days later Ms. Marvelous passed in the comfort and company of her caregivers. The memories of Ms. Marvelous still make Gilly emotional today but she is confident her and her team did their absolute best to provide the most compassionate and loving care to Ms. Marvelous and all the residents during these challenging times. Currently, Gilly is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at Curry College and is a recipient of the 2020/2021 Mass Senior Care Foundation scholarship. Gilly’s courage and dedication to her residents are just a few reasons why she is a frontline hero.
Long Term Care Heroes: Share Your Story
Stories of our long term care heroes are more important than ever to share. Mass Senior Care is requesting caregiver stories of our long term care heroes which will be featured in the Mass Senior Care E-News Update and highlighted in weekly communication with lawmakers. We are interested in interviewing long term care staff of all positions that have a story to share about working in nursing facilities or long term care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To submit your story or a story of a caregiver you know, please email Jennifer Chen at JChen@maseniorcare.org.