Placing a parent or other loved one in a long-term living facility can never be easy. After several years of 24/7 care at home, I recently had to find a more highly skilled setting for my 92-year-old mother. Pinelake had an opening, and we, her children, agreed to place her there.

Forget any old thoughts you may have acquired about nursing and rehab units when you enter Pinelake. Forget the odor many complain of at other similar places. Forget the idea of food too horrible to eat. Forget the idea of being just another body to fill an empty bed.

Patients are held in high regard at Pinelake. Everyone from the administrator to the person who cleans the floors will shortly remember the first name of both the patient and his or her family members.

Smiles from the staff are genuine. I had to request a change of rooms for my mother. Not more than 10 minutes passed before I watched the administrator wheel her bed to a different room! I have watched the staff hand-feed a patient who is unable to do it herself. The list of positives goes on and on.

Pinelake may not be the newest home in the area, but it is certainly among the cleanest. They care!

On that horrible Sunday, when officials determined it safe to re-enter, families were called to be reassured that their loved ones were fine. They even called my brother-in-law in New York to keep him updated. It is no surprise that Pinelake received a five-star rating (much above average).

When you say a prayer for the victims, add one for the people who serve them as well as all the emergency personnel.

Robert J. Williams

Southern Pines