Onward with purpose

Three years after the Flu Epidemic of 1918 killed some 50 million people worldwide, a nurse in Tamworth launched a plan to protect the public health of this small mountain town.

Elizabeth Lane Whittemore, visiting from Connecticut, recruited other women to the effort. They hired a community nurse and later established an endowment. The Tamworth Community Nurse Association has looked after the health of this community since. Care is free for anyone who lives in Tamworth.

It’s as though the whole town has a school nurse. Every year at Town Meeting, people in Tamworth (which has among the lowest median incomes in Carroll County) vote on a bond article to help support the nurses.

“This feels like a special thing to our community,” said Lianne Prentice, a member of the town’s selectboard. “We don’t think every town has this ability to care for their people the way we do.”

Julie Lanoie, R.N., is the executive director of the association, which is housed in newly built space attached to Town Hall. Julie’s experience includes primary care triage, counseling, caregiving and hospice care. The four community nurses see patients of all ages on-site — and do house calls. They cannot diagnose or prescribe. But they can offer assessment and triage, blood draws, vaccines, suture removal, help navigating the medical system, medication reviews — and more.

“We can sometimes head off the crisis that leads to the ER trip, the hospital stay, the rehab stay — with proactive, good nursing care,” Julie said. The association runs Meals-on-Wheels for Tamworth (with a cadre of volunteers), offers support groups and educational programs, free supplies from diapers to masks and loans of wheelchairs and other equipment.

Julie started a recent day doing a medication and vitals check. Later, she would dole out bandages, facilitate a support group for caregivers, check on a man who burned himself on his woodstove, visit a woman to replace a dressing on a wound.

Black medical bag in hand, Julie arrived to visit a patient who had abdominal surgery and went home the same day. The patient was unclear on aftercare instructions, stressed and not sleeping well. Julie listened. She checked the woman’s incision, explained when to call the doctor, and reassured her that she would recover. Through tears, the woman thanked Julie for helping her feel better.

“Every community should have a town nurse,” the woman said. “They’re awesome and they have the heart for what they do.”