Bringing health care right to your door

A knock on the door can be a cause of concern for many elderly people living alone. But in Milton, it can be the welcome signal that Julie Cordasco is paying a visit.

A veteran registered nurse, Cordasco is part of a new provincial program that aims to bring health services right to the door of seniors, offering checkups in the comfort of their own homes.

Under the trial, Cordasco works two half-days a week as Milton's first Aging at Home visiting nurse. Her mission is to bring health care to seniors over 80 who are not physically mobile or cannot get transportation to visit Milton's Family Health Team clinic, where Cordasco works.

It's not a program with all the bells and whistles; it's basic nursing, but we need the time to listen to the patients,” she says.

The $3.5-million initiative, launched in 2009 by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, was designed to reduce the number of long-term patients staying in hospitals. The visiting nurse lets them return home sooner.

I usually try to spend an hour or an hour-and-a-half with each client — it depends on what's going on with them, too,” says Cordasco, 43. “This is not a quick fix; it's the start of a long relationship.

A couple of weeks ago, I was amazed as one veteran told me about when he came onto Juno Beach in the last war and what it was like,” she says. “To me, that's our history, but it's like seeing it in living colour.

Cordasco says her task as a visiting nurse is multi-faceted: providing health checkups, connecting patients with community services they may not know about, and offering a sympathetic ear to lonely seniors.

I do regular blood-pressure checks and their injections, like B12 for example,” she says. “And I can also do minor assessments for the doctor, in case they need to be seen.

Over time, Cordasco earns the trust of her clients because “they know they can call me whenever they need to.

We're trying to help people who we know, if we can keep them at home, it will be a win-win for everybody,” she says. “Then it liberates the health-care system so it can care for people who really need it. For the client, they feel more useful living at home, where they can still do a few tasks for themselves.

Cordasco's 21-year nursing career has stretched all the way from the operating room at SickKids to public health, long-term care and community care. But she says this new role is “the most satisfying job I've had.