NILES — A week of spirit days, muffin baking and celebration for Brentwood at Niles’ 20 resident assistant staff culminated in a formal recognition of their hard work by the city of Niles.

On Wednesday, Niles Mayor Nick Shelton and Brentwood wellness director Melissa Hochstetler presented pins and certificates of recognition to the RA staff in front of a crowd of residents of the assisted living facility.

“As mayor, I get to do some cool things, and one of the coolest things I get to do is proclaim certain days,” Shelton said. “It’s a way to show appreciation for everything you all do in our community here, so I thank you as a community member for everything that you do.”

Shelton brought the city’s proclamation declaring June 12 to June 19 as Resident Assistant Week and June 19 as Resident Assistant Day. The proclamation highlighted that RAs and other like staff provide 85 to 90 percent of daily hands-on care with residents and patients in hospitals and living facilities alike.

Cheryl Marsh, who received a pin for her work as an RA, said that the week was both a time to celebrate RA achievements while also raising awareness of what the role requires.

Amanda Robertson, another RA, said her role is similar to that of a certified nursing assistant, but the state of Michigan does not require CNAs on staff at assisted living facilities.

She said being an RA is more than just helping residents with day-to-day physical activities. It is also being a companion to residents and providing emotional support.

“It’s building that relationship so residents can trust us, and when you do that, your giving skills go up because you’ve built that relationship,” she said.

RA Christalyn Brinkley said she has a resident who gives her coffee creamer each morning. She was not expecting to develop close relationships like that.

“I never thought when working in this field that I would be building relationships with people,” she said. “Now, you can be comfortable with some of the residents that are here. You feel like family.”

Relationships extend past residents, too

“We all create relationships with each other because we all work together,” Brinkley said. “We have stressful times when we’d rather not come in, but we work together as a family, and it brings us closer.”

She said that close bond helps each of them work better individually and as a team. Each RA knows the others’ strengths and weaknesses.

“There’s always somebody to lean on,” Robertson said.

Brentwood at Niles executive director Jessica Andrews agrees. She said some call Brentwood a “unicorn building” because of its staff and 73 residents.

“There’s something magical that happens here,” she said. “There’s a lot of us who have been in the industry for a very long time, and there’s something magical about this family. They’re all family. Everybody’s family.”

Celebrations will continue next Tuesday, when Brentwood at Niles hosts its monthly family night for residents. This month’s activity is making s’mores.