2016 -- H 8043

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LC005637

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING STEPHEN J. WESTERMAN ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT

     Introduced By: Representatives Keable, Ruggiero, Melo, Trillo, and Newberry

     Date Introduced: April 06, 2016

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Since May 2nd of 1982, the patients at the Eleanor Slater Hospital

Zambarano Unit have been the beneficiaries of the compassion, patience, and abiding dedication

to excellence that Steve Westerman has always brought to his work at the hospital's Burrillville

campus; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Westerman is a graduate of Sacramento State University in California

and for many years, has been the Therapeutic Recreation Director at the Burrillville hospital

which provides care for about 120 long-term patients suffering from chronic illness, behavioral

issues and brain and spinal cord injuries; and

     WHEREAS, The history of therapeutic recreation began with the ancient Greeks and

Egyptians, but did not become an acknowledged vocation until the 1940s. In the late 1950s, it

was considered a social activity and in the 1970s, it was known as hospital recreation; and

     WHEREAS, In 1984, the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was

created for the purpose of systematizing therapeutic recreation for clinical practice. Therapeutic

recreation then became a profession that required training at a university and certification by the

National Council on Therapeutic Recreation; and

     WHEREAS, During his tenure at Zambarano, Steve Westerman has helped to restore the

physical health, as well as the social and emotional stability and well-being of hundreds of

patients. He helped envision Jim Benedict’s idea of patients getting up and dressed in street

clothes every day, and helped with the organization of Patients for Progress, serving as its

Treasurer since its inception. He is a creative and hands-on supervisor who coordinates a panoply

of events including Music Festivals, holiday parties, and trips to Springfield Fair; and

     WHEREAS, Beloved by his patients and their families, and respected by his peers, Steve

was honored with the HARI Award, which is presented by the Hospital Association of Rhode

Island, in order to recognize exemplary performance and dedication in the field of health care.

He also received the Granger Award from the Chepachet Grange, naming him the citizen of the

year; and

     WHEREAS, Steve has been coming to the State House for Zambarano Day from the very

first year. His retirement will be an enormous loss to all and he will be greatly missed; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby recognizes and sincerely thanks Stephen J. Westerman for more

than three decades of dedicated service at the Eleanor Slater Hospital Zambarano Unit in

Burrillville. We furthermore wish him continued happiness, success, and fulfillment in all his

future endeavors; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Stephen J. Westerman.

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LC005637

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