There is nothing sweeter than holding an infant in one’s arms, tickling its miniature fingers and toes. Sweeter still, if the infant is not one’s own. There is none of the hard work involved in having one’s own - no late night feedings, diaper changes or minor infections. There is only the fun of playing with a brand new human. As soon as it begins to cry, the baby is handed back to the parents. Quite convenient!

Perhaps this enthusiasm for new life is the driving force behind Ellen Miller’s avid doll collecting. A grandmother herself, Certified Nurse Assistant Ellen Miller enjoys taking care of these “babies,” dressing them and showing them off, without having to go through the messy work.

Once in a while, she brings some of her dolls to work. Residents are more than willing to “baby-sit.” This was the case one sunny afternoon at the ECH-Alameda lobby. Four life-size infant dolls sat on the laps of four radiant residents. The dolls are incredibly realistic in size, weight and features. Some of them have an automated crying sound feature that goes on when the stomach is squeezed.

The residents respond to these dolls so eagerly. Their faces light up as they cuddle, talk and sing to the dolls as if they were real-life infants. They sit patiently, cradling their dolls until Ellen Miller comes to pick them up before she goes home for the day.Early this spring season, Ellen Miller held a Doll Show as part of ECH-Alameda’s celebration of Nursing Home Week. She decorated the Fireside Dining Room for a baby shower, and topped all the tables with beautiful dolls of various ethnic orientations. All the dolls were life-size, dressed in choice children’s and infants’ clothing and shoes. They were set up with fun toys to truly capture the whimsical world of child’s play. Tea sets, box cars, baby food… Ellen Miller paid attention to every detail.

All who came to the doll show were mesmerized. One of the dolls was bought and brought home by a member of the staff. This gave birth to a new idea: raffle off one of Ellen Miller’s dolls to benefit ECH-Alameda’s Christmas Party. Tony Aganus, Medical Records Director and Head Organizer of the ECH-Alameda Annual Staff Christmas Party, is currently selling raffle tickets at $10 each for the doll prize worth $150, impeccably assembled and dressed by Ellen Miller.

In nature, the most dangerous and deadly creatures are the mothers. There is nothing a mother bear would not do to protect her cubs. In Josephine Tuazon’s life, she had to fight tooth and nail for her two boys, now ages 10 and 11.

It all began in 1985 when twenty-one-year-old Josephine migrated to the United States from her hometown in Pangasinan, Philippines. She worked various jobs in convalescent hospitals, electrical plants and bottling companies. She was married for eight years, but when her husband strayed from their marriage, she pursued a divorce. Her husband took her two children with him to live with his girlfriend and her five children. Losing her children like that nearly drove Josephine insane. Aside from the hurt of losing her husband to a woman Josephine had helped and been kind to, she was more deeply hurt by the loss of her children. When it came time to visit her two boys, she was even more broken-hearted to find that they weren’t being taken care of. The neglect her children suffered in her ex-husband’s care could be considered abuse. She immediately went to the courts and fought to get her children back. The justice system granted Josephine custody of her children and a restraining order on her ex-husband and his girlfriend, who insisted on bringing chaos to their lives.

At present, Josephine is happy she is re-united with her children, and is content to focus her energy on raising them by herself. She doesn’t seem interested at this time in meeting people or dating. Her traumatic experience with her marriage is enough to make her cautious.

In 1996, a phone call made by Physical Plant Manager Dorie Manuntag to Josephine’s mother became a fateful chance for Josephine. Ms. Manuntag was looking to hire Josephine’s mother to work in the laundry, but as fate would have it, her mother wasn’t home, so Josephine volunteered to fill the job herself. From then on, ECH-Alameda’s laundry department was blessed to have Josephine. She works hard and is pleasant to the residents, families and her co-workers. Out of all her previous workplaces, she credits ECH-Alameda as the best she’s ever been in because it is close to her home, and because she has made many friends.

We are proud to have Josephine Tuazon as part of the ECH-Alameda family. We admire her courage and strength during her life’s adversity, and wish her good fortune throughout the rest of her life.

The Robert Crown Beach Park across the way comes alive. First, there were big tractors. It looked like a really big job clearing the beach. In a period of several years, the shoreline has lost a lot of sand through erosion. It took several trucks of sand. They also paved the parking lot, and patched the roads. Now, the road leading into the park is all new.

There are two items that will be interesting to see what the City of Alameda will do about. The lawn on this side of the park across from our nursing home has some large dry sections. They also lost about three trees that seemed to be useful for repelling bugs. I wonder what the City of Alameda will do about it.

Over all, the Robert Crown Beach Park is beautiful. We are very lucky to have it right across from our nursing home. A lot of young people come out there to play land and water sports. The San Francisco Bay brings a refreshing breeze our way, and the park is great for taking walks and picnics.

Every summer, nursing homes in the close-knit island city of Alameda get together for a picnic at Crab Cove, within walking distance from ECH-Alameda. The Activity Directors of all the nursing homes get together and plan this fun event. Members of the neighboring Coast Guard also join the festivities. This year’s Nursing Home Picnic featured a color guard demonstration from Encinal High School’s ROTC program. The Girls of Yesteryears also graced the picnic with their golden voices and over-the-top Victorian gowns and hats. The Activity Directors and members of the Coast Guard topped the program off with a strong rendition of the National Anthem. Hotdogs, hamburgers, watermelon and many more scrumptious picnic treats were served to the residents, staff and guests. Coast Guard members volunteered to wheel residents for a walk around the park after lunch. It was a glorious sunny day worth remembering through the winter. Until next summer…