North End South Como Block Nurse Program

Funds will support neighborhood seniors to remain living in their own homes. We thank you for your support!

We received a call from a daughter living in Chicago with concerns about her elderly parents living in our neighborhood.  Her dad had been able to drive and they had been independent but now her dad was having health problems which were threatening their ability to continue living in their own home.  Each day he had been driving to a local restaurant to buy dinner for both of them; he drove them both to medical appointments and to the grocery store.  All that stopped when he became ill.  We made a home visit and realized they needed more help than the daughter thought.  Their home was packed with “stuff”, the lawn had not been mowed, they were out of medications, the wife had a profound hearing loss but since she had always been the decision maker, she wanted to continue doing that even though her hearing loss caused lots of misinterpretation.  They had not seen to their doctor in months. 

We had a nurse make a visit, started a home health aide twice a week for bathing and light housekeeping, found a volunteer to drive them to appointments and also one to mow their lawn.  We helped the wife buy a Pocket Talker to help with communication issues.  We had a social worker help them fill out MA forms.  They started Meals on Wheels too.  A volunteer took them to functions at their church.  Their health is now stable and they are happy and healthy in their own home.