For the members of the Submarine School Chaplains department and twenty-four Submarine School sailors, the hoidays included community outreach visits to Fairview Nursing Home in Groton and to the VA Hospital in West Haven. Chaplain Ken Winters led the Carol Sing, which was warmly received by the residents, most of whom joined right in the singing of the fun songs and traditional Christmas Hymns with equal enthusiasm. Just days later, RP2 Jason Bocchino organized an outreach team to visit the VA Hospital in West Haven. Joined by Chaplains Ted Edwards and Ken Winters, the group sang carols inside the Main Entrance of the Hospital and then joined the Blindness Rehabilitation Clinic for an afternoon of Songs, Sharing and Snacks. During our visit we received an overview of the facility.
Residents stay at the clinic for six to eight weeks.
They are fully tested to see how much vision they may still have, receive prescription glasses which maximize their vision, and learn to use a variety of methods to utilize all of their senses to function on a much higher level than upon their arrival. They return to their own homes better prepared to deal with their vision limitations. The interaction between our sailors and the patients at the clinic was incredible and the time we spent there went by all too quickly. SubScol Sailors shared conversations with veterans and retirees of World War II, The Korean and The Vietnam War, and of the generations in between. When it was time to leave, it was with reluctance that we said goodbye to these Veterans and Heroes of our Armed Forces.