ENFIELD — The Enfield Selectboard gave preliminary approval to a community nurse pilot program Monday night, voting overwhelmingly to establish a “Community Nursing Trust Fund.”
Community Nurse Pilot Program Provides 10 Hours Of Community Nursing Per Week To Enfield Residents
The fund will provide a location for the Enfield Community Nursing Project Steering Committee to put the money raised into a contract with Lebanon to provide 10 hours of community nursing to Enfield residents each week.
If the group can fund $30,000 for the first year of the program, Lebanon’s two nurses might begin visiting Enfield residents in January 2024.
Residents, town officials, and Lebanon’s two community nurses provided feedback on the community nursing program prior to the Selectboard’s vote. Some Selectboard members were concerned about the strain it may put on town staff.
“It is (in fact) a noble idea, but I am concerned that it will put additional strain on our own staffing,” Selectboard member John Kluge said.
Enfield Town Manager Ed Morris estimated that he would spend about an hour a year reviewing the contract with Lebanon and
that Emily Curtis, a member of the nurse steering committee and the public safety administrative coordinator for the Enfield Police Department, would assist in providing data about visits to the committee.
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The program’s progress would be reported to the Selectboard by the volunteer steering group.
While people praised the community nurse program, their main fear was that taxpayers would bear the bill once the pilot program ended.
“My concern is that it will become another responsibility for the town,” said homeowner Jean Patten.
Her husband, Steve, appeared later in the session and expressed concern that the municipality was taking on too many obligations.
“I think the town already has more programs than they can manage,” he says.
However, Meals on Wheels volunteer Leigh Davis believes that residents might benefit from a community nurse program.
“I believe that services for the elderly are desperately needed,” she remarked.
Before casting his vote in support of the trust fund, Selectboard member Erik Russell requested that the steering committee raise funds for a one-year contract. Morris stated that the contract with Lebanon will be reviewed by Selectboard before he signs it.
Russell requested that people be given the opportunity to comment on the community nurse program at the 2025 Town Meeting, approximately 14 months into the pilot program.
“This is a significant change in town government in my opinion, and it’s worth bringing to Town Meeting as a warrant article,” Russell said.
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