In November of 1914, the Marion Visiting Nurse Association was established in an effort to provide quality care for members of the community. The inspiration for the association came when a young lady who cared for her family fell ill and was not able to get proper treatment as a result of poverty. After this tragic incident, the idea came to life and a trained woman was able to ease pain in the community.
This self-supporting group has been successful since its establishment, assisting residents of Marion while holding fundraisers and flea markets to raise money to support the costs of caring for the ill.
Eventually, in 1990, the group was taken over by St. Luke’s Hospital and subsequently became a part of the Southcoast hospital system. As a whole, the combined group covers a larger territory.
According to current President Jeanne Daly, “At the time of the merger, St. Luke’s allowed them to keep the money that they raised and the group developed a non-profit.”
This non-profit is known as the Friends of Marion Visiting Nurses, which continues to use the interest of these previously invested funds to provide scholarships and fund organizations committed to “helping the health and welfare of the people in Marion,” according to Daly.
The impact of the Friends of Marion Visiting Nurses is widespread and perhaps under the radar.
The non-profit assists well-known caring facilities and organizations locally such as the Council on Aging, Coastline Community Services, and Community Nurse and Hospice.
Additionally, Daly explained that the group underwrites the cost of the senior stretch program, which is held at the community house of the Congregational Church three times a week.
Annually, the Friends of Marion Visiting Nurses provides scholarships to students of the Tri-Town area who are graduating from a public or independent high school within the Tri-Town who plan to pursue a career in nursing.
The college-bound graduates “must demonstrate academic achievement and community involvement,” according to the scholarship association.
This year’s recipients are Victoria Caton of Mattapoisett and Sarah Robertson of Marion, both of whom recently graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School.
Caton will be attending Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts to study nursing. Her career objective is to acquire a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. Caton has participated in a number of community service projects such as Habitat for Humanity and had the opportunity to work with the Schwartz Center for Children in Dartmouth where she interned with medical professionals.
Robertson will be attending Saint Anslem College and has also done a variety of service work pertaining to medical care. In addition to working with nurses at Tobey Hospital tending to patients, she volunteered in Guatemala to run a health clinic for babies with her mother and sister. For Robertson, both of these projects helped to reaffirm her career choice.
Both young women will be provided with $1000 to assist them in funding their nursing education.
The Friends of Marion Visiting Nurses continues to support endeavors in the community to provide healthcare for all.
For more information on the Southcoast Visiting Nurse Association please visit http://www.southcoast.org/vna/.
By Julia O’Rourke