Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/162603
Contract_4 pg 6/2/11 3:57 PM Page 13 The Hungry Ones In May 2003, California RN Zenei Triunfo-Cortez and her family started buying food and cooking meals for homeless folks one Sunday a month with the Missionaries of Charity. They used to feed about 100 people each time, but recently that number has ballooned to 300. About a year and a half ago, Triunfo-Cortez said she noticed that the profile of the people they serve has also shifted, including many more men in their mid 30s who are clean shaven, wearing slacks, and not looking like your typical homeless person. "I started asking questions out of curiosity," said Triunfo-Cortez. "They have almost the same story: They were laid off, used up all their savings, could not find a job, lost their apartments, and cannot get out of the hole." She met an architect who lost him home, which was also his office. She met an IT guy who got laid off, lost his insurance, and had to file for bankruptcy after burning through his savings paying for medical bills. "Whatever little money they earn they try to keep. That is why they look for places that provide free food." The Patient With a Secret The Uninsured Son For a period of almost three years, Minnesota RN Jean Ross' 31-year-old son Tony went without health insurance. You can't tell by looking at him, but Tony was born with a congenital heart defect for which he takes medications to keep his heart from pumping too hard and growing abnormally large. Though Tony was working three part-time jobs, he had no health coverage and had to stop taking his pills. Just a few months ago, Tony landed a job building and repairing bicycles that offers health insurance and was finally able to see the doctor. "He just got an MRI, but we don't have the results yet about how much damage has been done or not," said Ross. Tell us your stories. We want to hear from your family, friends, and neighbors about how the economic crisis has made life harder. These stories will help us make our case to win a Main Street Contract for the American People. Southern California RN Carol Koelle was charge nurse on her telemetry unit during a recent shift and was happy to learn that one of the patients wanted to compliment her RN for the care she received. Koelle said the patient, who was in her 50s, was eloquent and carried herself elegantly, shaking Koelle's hand when she entered the room. A former executive secretary for more than 30 years, she penned her comment card in a beautiful handwritten script. Later that shift, as Koelle was giving report, she realized that the patient was the same person she had seen on the boards two weeks ago but never met: a homeless woman. She would have never suspected that this classy former executive secretary with impeccable penmanship was the same homeless woman if it weren't written right there in the charts. The discovery stunned Koelle and brought her to tears. She went back to visit the patient and learn her story. It's an all-too-common one: After losing her job, she lost her healthcare, then lost her home and her family. "The face of homelessness in America has changed," said Koelle. "We have prototypes in our heads of what homeless people should look like, but they look like you and me. I was ashamed of myself for putting a face on her when I didn't really know." The patient's story also struck a nerve for Koelle because some years ago, after a back injury at work, she and her husband also struggled to pay $1,400 a month in COBRA premiums to maintain their health insurance while she was on medical leave. "I was just crushed by this woman, thinking, 'That could be me,'" said Koelle. www.nationalnursesunited.org/story M AY 2 0 1 1 W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N AT I O N A L N U R S E 13