Astoria Characters: The Nurse the Doctor Ordered

At the end of the corridor, there's a wall of glass tile that looks like the sparkling waters of a stream struck by sun. It leads to a waiting room of charcoal-colored chairs and bouquets of fresh flowers arranged in vases.

In this serene space stands Alma Mesquita, a tower of tranquillity. Stethoscope slung over her shoulders like a shawl, she speaks in soft, lilting tones that promise that no matter what's wrong, she'll make everything all right.

Alma, a family nurse practitioner, has been seeing patients at Quality NP Family Health, her solo office, since August, treating every ailment from allergies, acne and asthma to low blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Alma is a family nurse practitioner

It's no accident that this is such a soothing space. Alma used the principles of feng shui to guide its design and painted the walls in chase-all-fears-away greens and blues.

"I love being a family nurse practitioner because it's like having two professions," she says. "One involves communication and assessment skills -- I listen to patients, diagnose and prescribe just like a physician -- and the other deals with the holistic being -- mental and spiritual health."

Saving Seniors' Sight

Making her morning coffee was painful for 70-year-old Mrs. Cowel.* Diabetic retinopathy made it nearly impossible for her to distinguish the contrast between the color of the coffee and the color of her dark mug. Because she couldn't determine when to stop pouring, she frequently spilled the hot liquid and burned her fingers. But giving up this daily chore would mean surrendering one more piece of independent living. 

Taking his daily prescription medications was dangerous for 75-year-old Mr. Thomas.* Low vision prevented him from seeing the directions on the pill bottles and increased his risk for taking the wrong medicine at the wrong time.

Cowel and Thomas are part of the escalating numbers of seniors with vision problems that threaten their health and quality of life. To counter these problems, Lighthouse International, in partnership with Senator Martin J. Golden, then-chairman of the New York State Senate Aging Committee, launched New York City's first homebound elderly nurse practitioner program for people with vision impairment.

Aging Up, Vision Down

As people age, their chances of contracting chronic illnesses such as diabetes and macular degeneration increases.

"We project that there will be close to one million elderly with some type of significant vision loss in the New York City area by 2015," says Noreen Brennan, RN, MA, vice president of Clinical Services of Lighthouse International, a 103-year-old, nonprofit organization dedicated to fight, preserve, and prevent loss of vision. Vision loss leads to health and safety issues, to isolation, and to becoming homebound, especially for those in rural communities who can no longer drive, she says.