Newsletter - December ‘24
Dear Friends of the Brown Nurses,
This year the Brown Nurses team has continued to grow and the work of our Ministry has expanded, bringing hope and compassion to more clients in our community. Many clients have struggled with cost-of-living pressures significantly impacting on their ability to manage day to day. Financial and health issues have put many at risk of losing their homes, which greatly increases their chances of homelessness and jeopardises their health, safety, and well-being. Many of our clients are very isolated, living alone, with few or no family or friends. Offering hope and compassion is critical to our mission and helps sustain our clients when times are difficult. Sharing Louise’s story below will demonstrate the difference connection, advocacy and support can make.
Louise’s Story
Louise is a woman in her early sixties who was accepted as a client of the Brown Nurses at the beginning of the year. She was referred to the Brown Nurses by another health care agency to provide advocacy and support, assistance with medications, and welfare and health monitoring due to her social isolation and intermittent engagement with much needed medical services.
Louise has a medical history of chronic and complex conditions and had recently been diagnosed with an advanced cancer on the roof of her mouth, for which she underwent radiotherapy. Throughout her life, Louise has experienced mental illness which, at times, has significantly impacted her health and well-being. Post her cancer treatment, Louise has suffered multiple complications due to the side effects of her treatment and had been referred to a range of specialists at two large inner-city hospitals, but struggled on her own to be able to navigate the healthcare system and engage with services in a way that would optimise her health and well-being.
Over the year the Brown Nurses Team has built a strong rapport with Louise, supporting her independence and motivating her to attend her appointments. Mid-year, when Louise reported ongoing pain and complications, the team supported her to visit her GP for pain management and advocated for a renewed referral to medical specialists. The team assisted her to navigate the complex referral pathways across multiple health facilities.
This led to a specialist review for surgical intervention and several pre-operative appointments including imaging, pathology, cardiology, anaesthetics, speech therapy, dietetics, and nursing assessments, all of which the Brown Nurses team attended alongside Louise advocating with her for her preferred treatment options. Ahead of her surgery, Louise experienced significant weight loss, leading to a pre-operative hospital admission for nutritional optimisation. The surgery went as planned and included a tracheostomy - an airway in her neck, which would allow her surgical wounds to recover. She remained hospitalised for five weeks. The team visited Louise during her hospital stay, which she reported as a source of comfort. On discharge, the Brown Nurses continued to provide wound care, support to attend a weekly wound clinic, co-ordination with her dietitian for nutritional management and ensured follow up with her surgical specialist.
Louise is now living independently at home. She continues to receive community mental health support in conjunction with the Brown Nurses service and we continue to provide her with the support she needs to maintain her independence and well-being. Louise’s story is an example of how our nursing practice and care defined within our Brown Nurses Model of Care can make such a difference for our clients.
We 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.
(*Louise is a pseudonym used to ensure our client’s anonymity)
None of this would be possible without the dedicated professionalism of our Brown Nurses team.
We are now looking forward to 2025 and continuing the pioneering spirit of Eileen O’Connor, Father McGrath, and the Ministry of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor. We remain committed to providing compassionate and holistic care, enabling hope for those in the community, like Louise, that we care for. Our values will continue to underpin all that we do, and we hope, this will be demonstrated through our everyday actions, giving our Brown Nurse mission and vision life.
Eileen O’Connor Anniversary Mass
Friday 10th January 2024
Please join us at 10am on Friday 10th January 2024, to celebrate the anniversary mass commemorating Eileen’s life and devotion at St Brigid’s Church, corner Brook and Waltham streets, Coogee.
Thank you,
Thank you again for your ongoing support of the Brown Nurses.
Don’t forget to visit our new website for more information on the Brown Nurses and our important work.
Merry Christmas and Seasons’ Greetings. Wishing you all the very best for the year ahead.
Elisabeth
Dr. Elisabeth Black
CEO & Director of Nursing Services, Brown Nurses
