Opportunity Enterprises is celebrating National Nurse’s Week by honoring the work of nurses who provide medical influence for children and adults with disabilities throughout OE’s educational, vocational, and residential programs. The nursing department ensures the well-being for more than 650 of OE’s amazing clients.
Kelly Meschede, registered nurse (RN) for OE’s residential clients, oversees the health of more than 40 clients who receive group home services in Porter County.
Group homes provide a warm, family-like setting for OE’s clients designed to encourage self-sufficiency and independence. Each home provides 24-hour personalized assistance, medical and nutritional support, and staff and medical monitoring.
Meschede is responsible for tracking the health of OE’s group home clients by maintaining all state mandated paperwork, passing medications, performing medical treatments, and initiating new medications and treatments prescribed during doctor’s visits. Meschede also meets with families and group home managers to evaluate and provide the best outcome for each client’s health needs.
“The greatest reward of being a nurse at OE is connecting with our amazing clients and their families. Coming to work puts a smile on my face every day,” said Meschede.
Meschede graduated from Purdue University in 1994. Prior to OE, Meschede worked at St. Mary’s Hospital for 10 years in the cardiac unit and worked directly under pulmonary doctors for four years. Most recently, she served as a school nurse in Valparaiso.
Director of Nursing, Laura Brown said, “Kelly has been a great source of knowledge in educating group home staff on basic and new skill requirements.”
Two additional nurses work for OE’s residential programming. OE also houses a nurse trainer who provides on-going medical education, four medical liaisons, a dietitian, two medical assistants, and medical passers for every site.
“Our nurses are great with our clients because they are great people. I admire each and every team member of the nursing department for their unique perspectives on health care, their assessment skills, their ingrained attitude to be strong, self-supportive professionals, and their ability to be kind-hearted people,” said Brown.