rest homes has won the approval of one administrator.

Julia Dears, director of the Pembroke Rest Home, threw her support behind news that a review of the St. George, Pembroke, Warwick, and Sandys Rest Homes had been ordered by Health and Social Services Minister Nelson Bascome.

"I'm very pleased with this review. It's long overdue,'' Mrs. Dears said last week during a break from running the 22-bed facility on Parson's Road.

"From my perspective, I think they started from the ground up,'' she explained. "First there was a surveyor who talked directly to me about the conditions and what I might like to see. Then came an architect and I aired my views with him.'' Mrs. Dears added: "He took notes and did drawings. I'm pleased. I have been here for 21 years and I haven't seen anything similar. But I've been here so long I don't get excited, though.

"Of all the politicians, Nelson Bascome came around the earliest after an election. He came a month after being elected,'' she said. "I was impressed with his sincerity.'' Mrs. Dears, who prefers to be called an administrator rather than Matron, is a registered nurse with almost 40 years experience behind her in Bermuda and in the UK and US.

The Pembroke Parish Council generally gives her a free hand in running the home, while keeping an eye on the finances.

"They'll take direction from me on what we need. They feel I'm a trained person on these things so they defer to me,'' she said. "Government is aware of the conditions of the homes because they get submissions from the councils.'' Believing now is the time to totally revamp the Island's rest homes, Mrs.

Dears would like to see several changes in how the Parish homes are administered.

Sure to raise some eyebrows is her call for a move further into the Government bureaucracy, with the councils only providing financial support.

"We should be more progressive and realistic,'' she explained. "No two rest homes are operated alike. That's unacceptable. We should have one standard rather than working independently.'' Mrs. Dears added: "Pembroke Parish Rest Home ceased being a `Parish Home' years ago. We have people from other parishes now. And just think what we have come from. Just three years ago the phone book stopped referring to us as `poor houses'. I am glad we are removing that stigma.'' She explained the Island's multi-tiered system, with private and public homes, and skilled nursing facilities, like Lefroy House in Sandys.

Pembroke is believed to provide more advanced care than some of the other parish homes and is the largest of them.

"We provide the care that other parish rest homes cannot,'' Mrs. Dears added.

"When a person can walk and are active, that is a kind of preventative medicine.'' Looking to the future, Mrs. Dears said she would prefer rest homes to be near schools and playgrounds where there can be greater interaction with children, especially in a day when young people often have little or no contact with grandparents.

"That's why I take Mrs. (Patience) Godfrey's concerns about separating the St. George's Rest Homes residents,'' she said. "it is going to be stressful for them. Those people are friends and they are a family.'' Since Mrs. Dears first heard about the potential closure of St. George's, three of the 22 beds are being kept free for the East End residents.

But the Pembroke home is sure to be on Government's hit list for upgrading.

Originally built in the 1600s, and extensively renovated and expanded since then, the home last saw major work in the 1950s.

But modern machinery like televisions, freezers, and washers have taken their toll on the wiring and plumbing of the home and are surely in need of an up-grade.

"I'm a nurse, and I see death as the end of a rewarding life,'' Mrs. Dears said. "No, I don't see this work as depressing. As long as the environment is conducive, a rest home is a wonderful place to end one's days.'' She added: "You know, I would like to see the whole world coming here to see how we treat our seniors. Tourism wouldn't suffer if we took care of our most vulnerable people.'' Planned upgrades? The Pembroke Parish Rest Home may be renovated after Government's recent review of facilities for seniors.