Driven by her passion for providing quality healthcare, a Latvian woman has won over the hearts of the elderly residing in a nursing home she oversees.
It is incredibly rare to find a Caucasian woman working as the director of a nursing home in Shanghai. But the fact that Anastasija Puzankova can even talk in Liantang, a Chinese dialect spoken only by residents in a small town in southwestern Shanghai, makes her one of a kind.
"I had always wondered how the elderly were getting along with others, or if they were well cared for. I realized that I could better serve them and understand their concerns if I spoke their dialect. " says the 35-year-old, who also speaks Russian, English, Latvian, French and Spanish.
Puzankova chose to study Sinology (汉学) out of her curiosity about China at the University of Latvia in 2003. The next year, she traveled to Shanghai as part of an exchange program and then she spent the next 10 years studying law at Fudan University, graduating with a master's degree in 2014.
Despite her qualifications, in 2018, Puzankova joined Haiyang Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates the nursing home, as an executive assistant. During that period, she performed so well in her nursing and management training that she was appointed the director of the home after just one year.
A caregiver, surnamed Cai, says the atmosphere at the home has changed since Puzankova took charge. "She makes life in the nursing home uplifting and purposeful. " says Cai.
"She throws monthly birthday parties for the elderly, creates a festive mood in the home for every traditional festival and frequently organizes handicrafts classes and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents. "
When family visits and group activities were delayed during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Puzankova came up with a similar idea at the home, purchasing vegetable seeds and growing them in the field near the nursing home so that the residents can observe the plants growing from their windows.
"Just watching the plants grow can lift their spirits. We can also serve these organic vegetables to them. " she explains.
Puzankova says, "I simply like communicating with people, understanding their personalities and offering help when they are in need. Making an elderly person happy isn't hard. It just takes a little time, love and thought. "
