Causes: Health, Nursing

Mission: The mount desert nursing association is dedicated to serving the health care needs of the town of mount desert's year-round and summer residents. Its skilled, caring nurses provide top quality health care to all ages without regard for ability to pay. As a private, independent organization, the needs of the patient are always first. The nursing association also supports community health by offering preventive and educational programs.

Programs: During the year, mdna has had 18 admissions and 19 discharges including 5 deaths. Mdna nurses have called the ambulance 4 times on behalf of patients. A total of 163 patient visits were made to the office. This number does not include all the visits from persons borrowing loan closet equipment. The loan closet provided durable medical equipment to 100 mount desert island residents, for a total of approximately 212 pieces of loaned equipment. Most of this equipment is returned within a few weeks or months and then needs to be cleaned and restocked into the basement. In addition to the 956 regular patient care visits, the nursing staff spends many hours conferencing with health care professionals, individuals, and families by phone. During the year our rns have made approximately 1851 follow-up phone calls to families, physicians, clinics, labs and other health care providers, to manage the care of our patients and to make referrals, all of which are to facilitate our patients' well-being. These calls and consultations represent the care manager aspect of our nurses' service to patients, and that number does not include any of the many calls the office staff made to and about patients or community needs. Beside our usual home care visits we gave 18 flu vaccine shots at our fall flu shot clinic and to home bound patients and residents at the maple lane apartments. Our registered nurses have continued to visit our patients at local hospitals and our former patients at nursing homes.