[Music] [In Time of Need] [Aerial view of city housing] [Twin Towers] [Railway transportation] [Aerial view of a cloverleaf interchange] [Guest appearance by:Kitty Carlisle Hart] [Kitty Carlisle Hart:] New York. There's no other citylike it in the world. It's a city of contrastsand endless variety, embracing allraces, all cultures, all creeds on the streetsand in the canyons of 1,000 different neighborhoods. A city of sound andmovement, New York is an incredible mix of people,of promise, and problems. [City traffic] You know too oftenin our city, we've become so caught up inthe daily rush of living that we are neverreally aware of all those thousands of peoplewho touch our lives each day. New York can be a lonely placewhen you're old or handicapped, when you're sick or alone, andunable to reach out for help. And as life grows moreimpersonal and complex, our need for aperson to person help becomes even more compelling. We need to be tendedwhen we're ill, to be comforted whenwe're alone, to be helped when we can't help ourselves. Sometimes what we need most isto reach out and touch someone. But no matter how large orcomplex the city may be, there are always somevery special people willing to devote their skillsto giving that kind of help. People like theVisiting Nurse who brings comfort and health andcaring to every New York home. [Music] [Narrator:] Home toa New Yorker can be an apartment in the SouthBronx, the pad in the village, a brownstone in GramercyPark, a row house in Queens, or a single room in anOld West Side hotel. The Visiting Nurse is familiarwith every section of the city. It is here that you'll findher helping people cope with illness and the problemsof daily life, teaching people how to live with their handicapsin order to survive reaching out into every neighborhood. [Train rumbling over tracks] Nursing, counseling, helpingthe new mother, the poor, the disabled, the elderly, [Rotary phone dialing]--the drug addicted. The Visiting Nurse service isthe largest nonprofit public health nursingagency in America. [Nurse Makensy:] Good morning, this isMiss Makensy with the VisitingNurse Service. How are you? [Narrator:] It's amulti-service agency [Nurse talking on phone] providing a widerange of vitally needed, comprehensive care. But the problems are providinghome health care are mounting. In New York, as well asthroughout the United States, the population is increasing. We are living longer,and we are becoming more aware of people's needs. And no one is moreconcerned with this problem than the Executive Director, of Visiting Nurse Serviceof New York, Mrs. Eva M. Reese. [Mrs. Reese:] We'reseeing in New York City the same kinds ofproblems that I think exist all across the country. Perhaps we see more of thembecause we're a larger city, and ours is a large agency. But unless home healthservices across the country develop a range ofservices that can really be meaningful to people ingetting their health needs met outside of institutions,the whole country is going to be invery serious trouble. [Narrator:] Hospitalsthroughout America know the problems oftheir communities, and New York has 130community hospitals. One of these isColumbia Presbyterian located in the Washington Heightssection of New York City, where last yeartheir Vanderbilt Clinic, had over 400,000outpatient visits. [Dr. Joseph Snyder:] This communityaround us of some 300,000 people, in the last few years,the physician population has dropped from over200 physicians down to less than 50 physicians. And I might say in acommunity in which it would appear that themedical needs have increased. [Narrator:] Director ofVanderbilt Clinic, Dr. Joseph Snyder. [Dr. Joseph Snyder:] We've beendoing our very level best to take care ofall of the people. And so far it's possible, butthere are just too many of them out there with just too manydifficult needs that we just can't take care of everyone. And we need help. We need all the help we can get. We here in theclinic need to have that arm out in the community. I have no hesitation insaying that we could not take care of asmany patients as we do if we did not have theservices of Visiting Nurse. The Visiting Nurse is the sourceof a great deal of comfort and a great deal ofstrength for the patient and a great deal of peaceof mind for the physician. [Carol Brown:] Go like that. Good. That's good. [Narrator:] The difficulttask of providing home health care every day forthousands of New Yorkers is a demanding andoften frustrating job requiringextreme dedication. But it's the kind ofchallenge Visiting Nurse Service of New Yorkhas been facing daily for over 80 years. [Older male patient:] [?] [Carol Brown:] I was just goingto say, it looks great today, much better. [Historical film] [Narrator:] This long historyof service to the city's people began when New York was theteeming gateway to America for millions of immigrants. [Ragtime music] Many of whom settled in the crowded tenementsof the Lower East Side. It was here in ahouse on Henry Street that Lillian Wald,a young nurse, founded what is today VisitingNurse Service of New York. Inspired by her courage anddedication, thousands of nurses have followed in herfootsteps, alleviating the pain and suffering ofhundreds of thousands of men, women, and children. Times have changed, andneighborhoods have changed. [Upbeat music] But the human needs ofpeople remain the same. Today, field staff membersof Visiting Nurse Service make more than 400,000 visits ayear to people in need of care. Their visits take theminto the city's most disadvantaged slums, [Street traffic] to middle class neighborhoods, and into thewealthiest sections. For Visiting NurseService of New York is for everyone, whoever theymay be, young or old, married or single, whether or notthey can afford to pay. Wherever theVisiting Nurse goes, she must be resourcefulenough to handle a variety of problems. In the home, she confrontsloneliness, poverty, and poor nutrition. And a big part ofher job is helping people to organize theirlives, teaching them how to help themselves,as well as each other. Carol Brown visits sixor seven patients a day. She helps to rehabilitatethe handicapped, teaches diet and nutrition,and works with doctors to carry out aneffective plan of care. Her caseload runs the gamutfrom geriatric patients, to the young man orwoman living alone who broke a leg ina skiing accident, or the instruction of a new mother,for the care of her baby. [Descending footsteps] [Carol Brown:] In the hospital,people come to you stripped of essentiallyeverything they are, except for being a patient. They're not in theirown environment. They're in your environment. And in the home, thisis where they live. This is how they live. [Older female patient:] Sit down, honey. [Carol Brown:] How haveyou been feeling? I want to talk Ms. [?]. This is them, andI think it's real. And I like it. [Older female patient:] Straighteningup and things like that, and I'm not able toshop because when I was going, me and this big shopping cart,I guess that was too much. [Carol Brown:] Yeah. [Renee Vassallo outsidea patient's residence] [Dog barking] [Door opens] [Barking] [Narrator:] At a time whenfamilies are scattered and neighborhoods arechanging, a Visiting Nurse like Renee Vassallois more than a nurse. [Footsteps ascending staircase] [Renee Vassallo:] How areyou doing today? [Narrator:] She is like thedaughter who lives halfway across the continent. The neighbor who moved away. She is a friend. [Renee Vassallo:] When I spoke toyou on the phone before you sounded very [?]. [Mrs. Trell:] Yeah, when Iwas coming up the stairs. [Renee Vassallo:] Oh. [Mrs. Trell:] And I will do my-- I'm a, I'm a little lame. [Renee Vassallo:] Are youtaking it easy? [Mrs. Trell:] Yeah, I takeit very easy, very slow. [Renee Vassallo:] OK [Mrs. Trell:] Veryeasy, very slow when I walk I got to be slow becauseI haven't got the stand yet. [Renee Vassallo:] Mr. Trell, hi. [Mr. Trell:] How are you doing? [Renee Vassallo:] How are you today? [Mr. Trell:] Oh, I'm not too bad. [Renee Vassallo:] Are you having anytrouble with your breathing? [Mrs. Trell:] Well, when Iwalk the stairs, you know. Otherwise-- [Renee Vassallo:] Any coughing? [Mrs. Trell:] --No, sofar there's no coughing. If I, once in awhile I, you know. [Renee Vassallo:] Are you bringinganything up when you cough? [Mrs. Trell:] Yeah.[Renee Vassallo:] I little bit? [Mrs. Trell:] Yeah. There's nothing, just whitephlegm and things like that. [Renee Vassallo:] Ifthere's any changes, if you find that you'rehaving more trouble breathing, or that you'recoughing more, let me know so I cancontact the doctor. The last time you wentback to the hospital when that happened. [Mrs. Trell:] Yeah, yeah. [Renee Vassallo:] I don't think itwill but, just to make sure. [Mrs. Trell:] I hopenot, I hope not. [Renee Vassallo:] OK. [Mrs. Trell:] So far, so good. I said, God [?]I have that woman before. [?] from the doctor. Had a good doctor. So far, I'm on my feet. But I can say in ninemonths on my feet, and I can do little things. Not much, but I go around. You know? Every day a little bit. Every day a little bit. And time just passes the week. [Renee Vassallo:] Have you gottenany tingling or pain? [Narrator:] TheVisiting Nurse becomes involved in the livesof people in a way that few professionals can. [Mr. Trell:] Most here. [?] [Narrator:] She plays many roles. One of the most importantand most rewarding is that of family substitute. [Renee Vassallo:] OK. It's good. [Mrs. Trell:] Now, let's hope so. [Renee Vassallo:] OK. [Mrs. Trell:] I have myshare of everything, so I'm praying to God thatI come something better. [Renee Vassallo:] OK. Should I come backFriday to see you? [Mrs. Trell:] All right. [Renee Vassallo:] And Mr. Trell? [Mrs. Trell:] [?] stays fine. [Renee Vassallo:] OK. [Mrs. Trell:] Any time, thank you. [Renee Vassallo:] Well, whenyou make the strudel, I'll definitely come back. Whether you need me or not atthat point, I'm coming back. [Mrs. Trell:] Not thisweek yet, I have to walk too farto the [?].. [Geraldine Poloni:] This isMrs. Poloni from the VisitingNurse Service. Yes, this is Visiting Nurses. [Narrator:] GeraldinePoloni starts her day as all Visiting Nurses do,in a local district center. [Sarah Lapin:] Whatabout your medication? [Background office noise] [Geraldine Poloni:] Got mystethoscope in here, too. Oh, I think beinga Visiting Nurse, you can offer themmore of yourself, more care, moreof your attention, more of yourprofessional abilities. And therefore, theydo receive more. They receive much more at avery individualistic level. All right, wheneveryou're ready. I'm ready. [Patient:] I'm ready now. [Geraldine Poloni:] All right. OK, just standthere for a second. [Narrator:] TheVisiting Nurse is often the only person bringinghope and happiness to the lives she touches,sometimes their only contact with the outside world. This holds particularly truewith many geriatric cases. [Nurse assists patient to walk] [Geraldine Poloni:] Justa little bit more. [Narrator:] But she alsoplays an important part in providing propercare for a new life. [Sarah Lapin:] Are you left handed or right handed?] [Mom:] Right handed?] [Narrator:] Each year, thousandsof expectant mothers and new mothers receiveinstruction and guidance in the care of their infants. [Sarah Lapin:] Hey there,you a little chilly? You're almost through. [Narrator:] During visits to thehome, nurses like Sarah Lapin are trained toobserve and evaluate any physical, emotional,or social problems that may affect patient care. In the majority ofcases, she is equipped to handle such problems. [Sarah Lapin:] For many times,there are social problems that the parents aretrying to deal with. And this is when you turnto your social worker. And I asked him to makea visit to find out what's going on to see if wecan be of help in this area, whether it's housing,whether it's dealing with different city agencies. But this our social workertakes care of or tries to. [Narrator:] Often apatient's pressing health problems are intertwined with social and economiccircumstances. [Social worker:] I'll beaccompanying you when you go. I spoke with a lawyerfrom legal aid. [Narrator:] Together withthe other professionals of Visiting Nurse Service, heworks to ease the physical. [Social worker:] And they'renot going to be recouping that moneyfrom your check. [Narrator:] The emotional andthe environmental conditions that affect people'slives, bringing them the resources to help themget through difficult times. [Nurse practitioner:] Have youhad any difficulty? [Narrator:] To meet theneeds of the community, Visiting Nurse Servicehas broadened the range and scope of healthcare, adding to its staff specialists in physical therapy,rehabilitation, and speech therapy, specialists inmental health, and nutrition. And the familynurse practitioner, who has special trainingin physical assessment and management of patient care. She is a valuable link inthe Visiting Nurse program of cooperation with hospitals,ministering to patients after they are discharged. Visiting NurseService of New York recognizes thathome health care is only part of the solutionto the increasing health needs of its community. They are also reaching outto the walking sick and the walking worried too incentrally located places. Like the one at the GeorgeWashington Bridge Bus Terminal. Under the guidance of adedicated board of directors special committeesand volunteers, they have established a programof reaching out to people in a variety of settings. Bringing help and aid toclubs for troubled youths, shelters forhomeless men, schools for unwed, pregnant girls.Drug addiction centers, and single roomoccupancy hotels. [Female patient:] I had alittle cottage cheese with a couple of peaches. [Narrator:] At the veryheart of the Visiting Nurse Service is a philosophy oftrue concern for the needs and problems of people, whoeveror wherever they may be, a strong desire to reach outand help on a personal one to one basis. [Footsteps] It's hard work, demanding,and sometimes frustrating. [Apartment house hallway] [Distant crying and chatter] But not without its rewardsand personal satisfaction, which can be found everyday in the eyes of thousands of grateful patients. It's a service thatrequires people who are not only trainedin their profession but have a concernand compassion for their fellow man. [Children fussing] Truly, a special breed highlymotivated to help in every way they can, like nurse Olga Perez. [Olga Perez:] Thereason I primarily went in was toteach the mother how to take care of the littlegirl with the spica cast and to perhaps showher some ways-- since this limits thelittle girl's movements-- to show her someways in which she didn't have to be so limited. You're trying to teachpeople how to stay well, to give thempreventive care, which is the kind of information thatthey need to be in the home, to be independent. It wasn't easybecause there were just so many other problems. I mean, this wasn'tthe only thing. You come into the house. There was no furniture. The apartment was sadlyin need of repairs. The mother's pregnant,and then there was a little boy whohad clubbed feet. And it was the otherchild who had pneumonia, which kept reoccurring. So it was like fromone thing to another. She was-- she couldspend the whole week just making clinicappointments, never mind trying to managea home with three very active little children. The mother was warmand caring, and it was like the kind of home. You walk in and say, oh,they deserved everything, and you wish you coulddo everything for them. [Narrator:] Nurses like OlgaPerez, Sara Lapin, [Music] Geraldine Poloni, and CarolBrown are just a few of the great many concernedpeople who comprise Visiting Nurse Service of New York. It is through theefforts of Visiting Nurse Service of NewYork and agencies like theirs that theimportance of home health care is being recognizedthroughout America. But the ability to provide thebroadest range of home health care requires volunteers, publiccontributions, medical science, and social servicesall working together to help meet theneeds of our society. [Music continues] [Kitty Carlisle Hart:] In ahectic world, we are often lost in the preoccupationof earning a living, making a life. And the dedication anddevotion of the Visiting Nurse to the needs of othersis a lesson to us all. We never know until it strikeshome how illness or handicap [Street traffic] can change the life, our lives. We never know whenwe ourselves may need the helping hands of others. Through its inspiringprogram of service to people, the Visiting NurseService of New York reaches out and touchesus all in times of need. [Music] [In Time of Need] [Directed by: Ralph Weisinger] [Narrated by: Joe Given][Written by: Kitty Hansen] [Editor: Sal Termini][Music: Michael Shapiro] [Dir. of Photography: Ralph Weisinger] [Asst. cameraman: Richard Reis, Ernest Miceli] [Production manager: Ben Oliver] [Production Asst.: Linda Halberstadt, Cathy Nonas] [Produced by: Avon Productions, Inc.]