A Family’s Letter to HarborView

It’s not always easy working with people nearing the end of their lives and it never gets easy saying goodbye to people that we love and care for. It’s so meaningful for us to know that we’ve impacted the lives of our residents and their families in meaningful ways. When we received this letter from a family member of a former resident this month it touched us all deeply and reminded us why we show up to HarborView everyday: to provide unparalleled love and care to all of our residents and their families.

Here is the letter, names have been changed to respect the privacy of the resident and family:

Dear Jeffrey,

Paula, James and I send you our deepest appreciation to you and your staff for providing a warm, caring home for our mother for the last few weeks of her life. You and Genoveva were so kind and helpful introducing us to HarborView – nothing was ever too much trouble.

Please pass on our thanks to Genoveva, your Med Techs and all of your Care Givers, who were wonderfully kind and gentle with our mom – Paula and I saw this first hand in the days we were able to spend visiting HarborView. Thanks also to Juan who was very attentive and prompt in helping us with television connections etc., along with your cooking and cleaning staff – you have an amazing team.

It was literally a breath of fresh air to find a memory care home that opens its windows, provides well maintained, clean and beautifully decorated rooms with such breathtaking views of San Diego Harbor. It’s all so lovely and you have instilled such a sense of grace and dignity in the furnishings and ambiance. We only wish we had found HarborView earlier in our search for a safe haven for our much loved mom. She would have loved to have spent time in your beautifully tended gardens with the courtyards, views and visiting birdlife. I am including our mom’s visitors in saying that we were all so impressed – we all felt so welcome.

We are also very grateful to the Hospice team and the way your staff worked so well to accommodate them and work with them, taking on suggestions and recommendations as required and contacting the team when needed. It was pleasing to watch the interaction.

As you may recall, Paula, James and I each live a considerable distance from San Diego and it has been so difficult, not only with making arrangements from a distance, but also finding a place where we felt confident that we were leaving our mom in loving, safe hands. After a very sad experience at another facility, we finally found comfort in HarborView and will be eternally grateful to you and your staff.

Sincere thanks and best wishes to all,

Janet Smith

and on behalf of Paula Smith and

James Smith