Team puts on a surprise 57th wedding anniversary dinner.
John and Ann Boyd drop by South Florida Baptist Hospital (SFBH) on Mondays to pick up a menu and plan the days they want to eat in the hospital’s Sweet Life Farms Strawberry Cafe. “We have eaten at the hospital for a number of years,” Ann said. “We honestly find the entrees are varied, the soups above par, and the salad bar top notch. We can’t say enough about the cookies and do find them the best ever. Plus, they are baked fresh every day. The cafeteria is so well run and spotless.”
The Boyds live near SBFH’s location on N Park Ave, north of I-4. They have eaten regularly enough in the cafe, they have gotten to know several of the nutritional services staff. And the staff have gotten to know them. “They come in all the time,” Yalitza (Yaya) Leon, one of the nutritional services staff, said. “We treat them like family….They’re amazing people. Her smile lights up the room, and his jokes are great.” One of the things the staff found out is the Boyd’s have no family in the area, and no children.
Frankie Quin sometimes eats at the Sweet Life Farms Strawberry Cafe. “When Frankie comes in, if he sees the Boyds, he goes and sits next to them, and they talk and laugh a lot,” Leon said.
On June 14, the day before their 57th wedding anniversary, when leaving the cafe, Ann joked to Yaya and Frankie that, “We will be ready for fine dining on our anniversary with white tablecloths, real plates (as opposed to the durable plastic), silverware, and that place would be, of course, South Florida Baptist Hospital.”
The next day, when the Boyds walked into the cafe, “You can imagine our surprise to walk in, see a camera held by Yaya taking our picture and others clapping,” Ann said. “They escorted us to our reserved table, beautifully done with the white tablecloth and red to match the most beautiful vase of a dozen red roses—and real plates and silverware. It was a total, and certainly unexpected, surprise. We love that whole group of people.” The nutritional staff team treated Ann and John. Frankie also joined in on the party with his friends and brought flowers, an anniversary card, and a balloon.
“Especially so very important of an event, like you’re anniversary, should be spent with family, but they’re here alone,” Yaya said. “So why leave them alone? We can be their family. These people are loved by a lot of people in the hospital.”
“We can’t say enough good things about the hospital and the caring staff,” Ann said. We are fortunate to have met some delightful people eating, but the best for us is, we feel like a member of a most loving, kind, thoughtful family. The world needs more like each of those cherished friends.”
“Ann and John appreciate that people like me, and like Frankie, sit by their side, and have a full-blown conversation,” Yaya said. “That fills them up with joy, and it fills me up with joy, knowing that they leave happy. You always want to give back and treat people like family! I love treating friends or anyone like they are family, because we don’t know who needs it—who needs a hug or who needs someone just to ask, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’”
South Florida Baptist Hospital is one of 16 in the not-for-profit BayCare system, with the mission to “provide high-quality, compassionate care to all we serve.” This is another way they have completed that mission.
