Artist brings positivity to Rockville Centre assisted living facility

Workers on the front lines – those who show up daily for jobs where they are potentially exposed to the coronavirus – are being seen as heroes for the work that they do, and many people in the Rockville Centre community are doing more than simply just thanking people for the work they do.

For the past four weeks, Tammy Marshall, executive director of Maple Pointe Assisted Living in Rockville Centre, has not had a single day off. She and her staff of 106 have been attending to the approximately 140 residents in their care around the clock, and have been staying positive in an exhausting situation.

“We’re trying to keep it upbeat,” Marshall said, “and are so thankful that Rockville Centre has such a strong community support.”

While the residents must remain isolated from one another, and from visitors, they are not alone. Maple Pointe staff members engage in individual activities with them, and Marshall said family members have been regularly scheduling window visits or FaceTime calls as ways to stay connected, and also use FaceTime for calls with doctors when needed. Additionally, she said, residents have been busy making cards to send to their families, and many have become pen pals with Girl Scouts.

And while the staff has been busy attending to the residents, the community has been helping take care of the staff. Food and drink donations have arrived from Monaghan’s Irish Pub, Sobol of Rockville Centre and Pipeline Coffee, which Marshall said were very much appreciated.

"It's so beautiful to see how this community is coming together," Marshall said.

And on Friday, April 10, Arlene McLoughlin, of Arlene McLoughlin Murals, painted a permanent message on the walkway of facility’s front entrance: Heroes Work Here.

McLoughlin is a friend of Marshall, and knowing how difficult this situation is for people who work at assisted living facilities, she reached out and offered her painting services. Marshall asked if she could do something permanent, and requested the message.

“It’s a way to say thank you to the people who are going out to work every single day,” McLoughlin said, “and the hearts and rainbows are to give hope to people, because it can be depressing to be alone and without family for an extended period of time.”

McLoughlin has been a professional muralist for the past 30 years. She spent about two hours on Friday painting the mural, and said the people who came in and out were happy to see her work.

“I got a lot of positive reactions,” she said. “People were very grateful.”