National Nurses Week honors special relationship between nurse and patient

In honor of National Nurses Week, News 12 is introducing you to one of the 112 nurses in the Bronx with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

News 12 Staff

May 10, 2019, 11:43 AM

Updated 1,805 days ago

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In honor of National Nurses Week, News 12 is introducing you to one of the 112 nurses in the Bronx with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Willie Mae Fordham sees her nurse David Heron once a week. 

“I'm the only person, when he walks through that door, it's only me,” says Fordham.

Heron is a nurse with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, traveling each day to multiple patients’ homes.

“We teach patients to take care of themselves, so they don't have to go back to the hospital to make sure they're safe,” says Heron.

Fordham has M.S., diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure.
She says its a lot to manage, but says Visiting Nurse Service of New York makes it possible to manage it all herself in the comfort of her own home.

Heron says it's a lot of work to juggle several patients a day. He says it requires always being available by phone to help keep them disciplined. He says the people he cares for become more than just patients.

“You want to keep the repour, you want to make sure the bonding is taking place because they're responding better if they're comfortable with you,” says Heron.


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