Home is tuned in to individual ethnic needs of residents

Peter Ortiz
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 28, 2003 12:00 AM

From his bed Habib Rokadia gazes at Azhar Jan as they pray in their native Pakistani language.

They hold hands and ask God to bless Rokadia's roommates, knowing death can claim their frail bodies overnight.

Parkinson's disease wrecks Rokadia's own 89-year-old body, but he has reason to be happy at the Gilbert assisted-living
home that Jan and his wife, Saba Farooqi, opened for elderly residents.

An hour before going to bed Rokadia enjoyed a curry dish of beef and onions as his Anglo housemates ate a less spicy
version. He sat quietly, unable to understand the English spoken by other residents and their caregivers, but secure
that he can be heard if he chooses to speak.

"His family said his face has been filled," Jan said pointing to his own lips to indicate a smile. "He was very, very
weak when he first came here, but now he is starting to talk."

Jan and his wife are just as prepared to accommodate the needs of a Jewish resident who wants kosher food or providing
services for a Lutheran resident as they are at making Rokadia feel at home. The couple's Greenfield Assisted Living
home affords its residents an ethnic and cultural flavor absent from most facilities that care for elderly in the
state.

Habiba Rafiq realized the good physical care her grandfather received in a Mesa nursing home six months ago wasn't
enough to comfort him. But Rafiq's 59-year-old mother suffered from arthritis and after 15 years could no longer take
care of her father, leaving the family no other option but the nursing home.

"He said there is no language, no TV, no food, no music," Rafiq recalled her non-English speaking grandfather telling
her. "He would just lie down or sit in the wheelchair and look at the floor."

When Rafiq moved her grandfather into the Gilbert home Nov. 1 she noticed an immediate change. Rokadia gained 5 pounds
after two weeks and no longer asked Rafiq to visit everyday.

His new caretakers also honored his Muslim faith that calls for cleanliness by bathing him daily, something that
happened only twice a week in the nursing home.

For Rafiq, the home relieved the guilt stemming from an obligation to personally care for a man who became a father to
her in Pakistan. When Rafiq's father died at age 30, the then 8-year-old watched her grandfather support the family and
dote much of his attention on his grandchildren.

"My sister was 2 years old and my mom was uneducated, so there was no way we could get a job," Rafiq said. "At that
point he helped us all the way until we could finish high school."

Rokadia stayed in Pakistan and comforted his wife of 40 years, Shah Sultan, who suffered from diabetes.

He moved to the United States after she died 15 years ago.

"He never complained to anyone," Rafiq said.

"If he wasn't there, we wouldn't have survived and lived this long."

During a visit two weeks ago Rokadia fed chocolate ice cream to her grandfather and updated him on the family.

He is familiar with his housemates names and tells his granddaughter that he enjoys his new home more than his old one.

"Over here everybody is coming around and asking him, 'Grandpa, do you want something' "? Rokadia said. "He feels so
good that somebody is talking to him."

Reach the reporter at [log in to unmask] or (602) 444-7726

SOURCE: The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1128assistedfamily28.html

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