At 1p.m. on July 31st, 2024, anyone who stepped into the new short-term rehabilitation gym at Holy Family Senior Living (HFSL), Bethlehem, would see everything from the wheelchair-accessible cycling machine to the freshly painted walls glistening with holy water.
Holy Family’s chaplain, Father Paul L. Rothermel, officiated the ceremony dedicating the gym to the late Father William J. Faustner. After sharing a few words about Father Faustner, Father Rothermel blessed the gym and all who would use it, taking care to sprinkle holy water on the dedication plaque, all corners of the room, and on everyone present for the event—even the new dog.
After the ceremony, guests congregated in the hallway to enjoy a cake, which was decorated with images of dumbbells and treadmills.
Executive Assistant, Allison Guzley, shared that they scheduled the ceremony for July 31st, shortly after the gym’s opening, because it worked best for their calendar. But after the date was set, Holy Family staff learned that the 31st was the second anniversary of Father Faustner’s death.
“Now that’s newsworthy!” an attendee exclaimed.
Father Faustner, born and raised in Allentown, was ordained a priest in 1976 and served at over fifteen different parishes, schools, and hospitals before retiring from active ministry in 2018. Pleased with his mother’s experience at Holy Family Senior Living, Father Faustner left a considerable amount of money to HFSL upon his death in 2022. This generous gift allowed Holy Family to transform an antiquated dining room into a gym for the McShea short-term rehabilitation center.
“It’s lovely,” said the Director of Rehabilitation, Joana Feliciano, DPT. “[Patients in the McShea center] have a designated space—they get to interact with each other more.” And now, the patients don’t have to leave their center to get to the nursing home gym for their physical therapy sessions.
During COVID, when it was unsafe to move patients back and forth between McShea and the nursing home, Feliciano and her team started holding their sessions in the old dining room.
“You can only imagine what it looked like before,” exclaimed Chief Executive Officer, Joe Shadid. “The borders, the pink faded wallpaper, the flooring all worn out…”
Despite the less-than-ideal setup, patients and therapists loved having the dedicated space to conduct quality care in the McShea center. So, thanks to the generosity of Father Faustner, Randy Smith and his maintenance team were able to devote four months to a total renovation of the room.
“Everything is new,” explained Feliciano. “The floors, the cupboards, the equipment…”
“I worked hand-in-hand with Joana,” Shadid described the process. “We wanted to ensure that the gym would meet a five-star standard, because we are a five-star center.”
The gym, now blessed and ready for use, testifies to the passion that the HFSL staff have for providing optimum care. “I want people to know that Holy Family is a home and a place in our diocese for parishioners to go to,” Shadid insisted. He gestured behind him to the motto plastered on his office wall: “We are Catholic at heart and welcoming to all.”
Shadid also proudly shared that Holy Family is working through a congestive heart failure certification, a further demonstration of the increased quality of care the center seeks to provide.
Seeing the gym finally completed and dedicated, Shadid confessed with a big smile, “[We look ahead to] a new horizon. A horizon of better care, quality care, as we continue to advance through any challenges.”
Please visit https://www.holyfamilysl.org/ for more information on Holy Family Senior Living.
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