OLD LYME—As of Feb. 3, Town Nurse office hours are temporarily restricted to three days per week while Nurse Denise Piersa is on a scheduled leave. A substitute nurse is available for blood pressure clinics and office hours Tuesday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Christ the King Church in Old Lyme.
For residents, who are sick or convalescing at home, the substitute nurse is also available to make monthly house calls for health assessment and promotion. If skilled care is needed, she can coordinate that care through our partner agency, Yale New Haven Health at Homz Southeast. These skilled services do incur a fee, but the cost is usually covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance.
As always, Town Nurse appointments are open to all residents free of charge. Walk-ins are welcome, but residents are encouraged to call ahead of time.
The Town Nurse’s phone number is 860-434-7808.
With the large increases in the town budget this year. Why is there a town nurse and why are her/his visits free?
If there is a financial hardship I can understand and support this, but if the resident has insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, there is no reason for this added cost. It should be low hanging fruit to cut. No need for a town blood pressure clinic. People should have their own doctors or APRN’s offices for BP check, so adjustment in meds can be done quickly under their primary provider’s care and knowledge. Plus, people probably should buy a BP cuff if their BP needs constant monitoring. They are not that expensive and it promotes more responsibility for someone to be involved in their own personal healthcare. Nothing is completely free!