Newsletter - June ‘25
Dear Friends of the Brown Nurses,
The first 5 months of 2025 have been a busy time for the Brown Nurses Team. We have continued to grow the work of our Ministry, bringing hope and compassion to more clients in our community. Our professional registered nurses continue to provide in home care and support for clients to help them achieve their healthcare goals, build connections and enhance their physical and mental health and wellbeing. For some of our clients, a visit from a Brown Nurse may be their only interaction with others and with the wider community. Enjoying a walk in the park or a cup of coffee with a member of the Brown Nurses Team is an activity many of our clients look forward to and enjoy, especially because of the time it allows for connection, conviviality and support.
Eileen O’Connor Anniversary Mass
Early this year, on January 10th, members of our Brown Nurses Team attended a Mass to celebrate Eileen O’Connor’s life and devotion at St Brigid’s Church, in Coogee. Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, led the mass in remembrance of Eileen, and Father Ted McGrath’s vision and mission to serve the poor and disenfranchised in their community.
Their mission and legacy has lived on through the great work of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor and now today with the community nurse-led service of the Brown Nurses. After Mass it was a great opportunity for some of the Team to meet with the Archbishop and to chat to members of the congregation about the work of the Brown Nurses. It is always lovely for us to have the opportunity to meet supporters of Eileen’s cause, members of the community, and with the Sisters (the original Brown Nurses), visit Eileen’s Chapel and reflect on her life, her commitment, and her and Our Lady’s Nurses legacy.
Brown Nurses Simon, Elisabeth, Paul and Rod with Sr Kerry OLN
Client Story
With so many isolated and living alone, with few or no family or friends nearby, the support of the Brown Nurses means a great deal, especially when cost-of-living pressures are making it so much harder to manage day to day. These very real challenges are placing many at risk of losing their homes, and greatly increasing their chances of homelessness. Offering hope, compassion and connection in times like these is critical to our mission and helps sustain our clients when times are particularly difficult.
Sharing a client’s story below will, we hope, demonstrate the significant difference Brown Nurses’ care can make to those living in isolation in our community Greg, (a pseudonym used to protect his identity) has kindly allowed us to share his.
Greg’s Story:
Greg is a 65-year-old man who was referred to Brown Nurses in 2022. He had recently been found accommodation after being homeless for more than 10 years and had a history of mental illness and multiple chronic diseases. Greg was socially isolated and had no known next of kin, no mobile phone and no access to any other technology, such as a computer or television.
Since his referral to our service, the Brown Nurses have built a supportive and therapeutic relationship with Greg, enabling rapport and building trust. His trust in the relationship has given him the confidence he needed to reconnect with mainstream health services, including regular contact with a GP and a range of medical specialists.
In early 2023 whilst on a routine weekly visit to Greg, Brown Nurses identified that he was experiencing symptoms of heart failure. Prompt escalation led to Greg undergoing urgent heart surgery. Following his surgery, Brown Nurses worked with him to remain at home, prevent any unplanned re-admissions to hospital and to manage his health. This included assisting with medications, encouraging physical exercise and coaching on lifestyle factors such as diet, and the importance of staying connected with his specialist teams.
Encouraging Greg to realise his goals, Brown Nurses have more recently been supporting Greg to build the confidence he needs to independently manage his own medications, stay connected with his GP and to budget his money to shop for food independently. All of these activities he had previously found overwhelming but now feels empowered to manage them without additional assistance.
When Greg turned 65, although eligible, he was resistant to apply for government funded aged care support. Through considered conversations with Greg, he became more open to the idea. With collaboration and care planning with his GP, our team supported Greg with a successful aged care package application. The good news is that he now has a package, that can provide him with financial security and care, in his home, as he ages. Greg has been enabled to live independently, improve his quality of life, reduce his isolation, engage with mainstream health services and maintain his tenancy.
Brown Nurses work with a holistic, person-centred framework to provide advocacy, support, health education and care co-ordination, to enable the navigation of the complex healthcare system, promote independence and coordinate multidisciplinary and multiagency collaboration to enhance outcomes for our clients. We remain committed to providing compassionate care, enabling hope for those in the community, like Greg, that we care for. Our values will continue to underpin the work that we do, and we hope, this will be demonstrated through our everyday actions, continuing to give our Brown Nurse mission and vision life.
Seasonal Change
As winter approaches we have been encouraging our clients to ensure they have their seasonal vaccinations. It is important particularly this year, as the flu season has arrived early and is predicted to be a strain of flu could cause severe illness, especially in vulnerable populations. To support our clients, we are helping with booking appointments and transportation to their doctor or pharmacist for their vaccinations.
Our goal is to make sure all our clients are covered, avoid serious illness and are able to enjoy autumn and the seasonal changes it brings.
The next generation of nurses
Late last year and again this year Brown Nurses have welcomed Student Nurses to the Brown Nurses Team. Their clinical placements with us enabled the students to experience nursing outside the ‘hospital walls’ and in the community. In their time with us, the second-year students were able to learn about a range of chronic and complex conditions, care coordination, client advocacy, mental health and drug and alcohol nursing in a community and primary health care setting.
We were also able to share with them the uniqueness of our Nurse-led service that follows in the traditions of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor (the original Brown Nurses) in the delivery of mission driven and person-centred care.
Thank you,
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Brown Nurses. Don’t forget to visit our website for more information on the Brown Nurses and our important work.
Elisabeth
Dr. Elisabeth Black
CEO & Director of Nursing Services, Brown Nurses
