She’s a bit daunted by the shoes she has to fill but Debbie DeVries is ready to revive the Street Nurse Program for the Belleville Salvation Army.
DeVries, a Registered Nurse, is taking the place of the late and beloved head of the Street Nurse Program Doug Roy who passed away about a half a year ago.
She began her work today (Tuesday) at the Family Services building on Pinnacle Street. Previously DeVries has worked in a hospital setting and most recently ran a health clinic for the Army in Sault Ste Marie.
“I love providing nursing care and advice to the marginalized in our society. Many of the clients I will see fear or distrust the regular health care system for a variety of reasons. Some feel the system judges them and discounts them.
I will, we will, be there for them. And in the regular health care system there wasn’t time to really talk to people, to really find out what makes them tick and what issues they have. I will have time, and with the Salvation Army we are also encouraged to talk about the power of faith in living a good and healthy life. It’s not all about physical care.”
At first, Nurse DeVries will only operate out of the Pinnacle Street Salvation Army headquarters on Tuesdays but as time goes along and she gets to know the lay of the land she’ll follow in Doug Roy’s footsteps and hit the streets and meet more people in their environment.
“Doug knew where he could find those that needed him and he had a regular care route, so to speak. I can’t wait to get going!”
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