This year, Greenwood House Senior Healthcare in Ewing Township was blessed with the arrival of an amazing group of young men and brothers, their family consisting of five brothers with two set of twins from Jackson.
Chris Werthmuller was the first to join the activities department, then came Ryan and soon after Michael and Gregory.
Ryan recently graduated from The College of New Jersey with his psychology degree, and will pursue his masters in social work at Rutgers University. Michael is attending The College of New Jersey majoring in finance and Gregory is attending Rowan University through the ROTC program. All three bound for future success.
The brothers all between the ages of 19 and 23, first thought, “Could I build a relationship and relate to older people?” but soon enough they found themselves looking forward to spending quality time with our residents, who very quickly became their friends. They do whatever it takes to assist with the enrichment programs at Greenwood House especially during the fight against COVID-19 and the very limited and restricted activities allowable for the residents. They don’t mind painting nails, listening to stories about the residents’ childhood and family, playing word games with Estelle, talking sports with Robert, and now busy arranging and setting up FaceTime, Zoom calls and family visits with social workers.
From learning grief and now understanding to appreciate their youth, all three agree this experience has humbled them. They shared one of the residents, Lucy, always compliments Greg’s curly hair and loves his shoes, and said if she was younger she’d ask him out on a date.
Ryan and Greg are heading back to college. Michael will potentially continue with Greenwood House part time, and Chris could be rejoining.
To read a letter Greenwood House received from one of its families regarding Ryan, visit www.greenwoodhouse.org/about/testimonials.
For more information, visit www.GreenwoodHouse.org.
- This article was submitted by Sherry Smith on behalf of Greenwood House.
