A Caring Career and Beyond
Rose Kilmer always dreamed of being a nurse.
got done with my patient, I’d go check out the neighbor.”
“I love taking care of patients,” she said. “It started with my elderly relatives when I was a kid. I was just drawn to staying with them and being company for them. I’m glad I was able to be a nurse. It was very fulfilling, and I loved my job.”
Rose worked for VNA for 12 years, visiting people’s houses and putting her nursing skills to good use. She often had as many as 13 patients a day, working 13-hour shifts. Occasionally, patients’ needs were beyond her capabilities, and she’d have to send them to the hospital. But she took her job very seriously.
Rose, a resident of Masonic Village at Warminster, is a retired nurse of nearly 40 years. She most recently worked for the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Greater Philadelphia, the eldest and largest nonprofit home health, palliative and hospice provider in the region. Outside of her duties to them, Rose often did a lot of impromptu home visits, usually related to the neighbors of those she had been assigned. “VNA was really serious about taking care of our patients,” she said. “Once the neighbors knew there was a nurse in the neighborhood, a family member would come and ask me to come see another [ailing] family member. So when I 16
Spring 2021 Issue
“I took a pay cut, but it meant a lot to me to work for a nonprofit, so I could give that type of care,” she said. “I did a lot of volunteer work. I bought supplies for patients. I would even buy shoes for patients sometimes.” Rose always gave a portion of her salary to The Caring Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves individuals who need healthcare, but don’t have insurance. When she had time, she also teamed up with a Christian group to distribute coats, boots and hats to the homeless in and around Center City Philadelphia.
