Many of the people who work at the Victorian Order of Nurses were cleaning out their offices on Thursday.
The organization shocked many yesterday with its decision to shut down everywhere but Nova Scotia and Ontario.
In New Brunswick alone, 118 full time and part time employees are now out of a job.
Many seniors say they fear they will be most affected
“I’m going to be 14 years working for the VON,” says Maria Desroches in Moncton, “which was a wonderful organization.”
Seniors are concerned they’ll be the most affected by the closure.
Veteran Louis Leger, 93, became quite attached to his VON worker.
“The nurse that use to come home,” he says, “I used to love her, she was a real good person, you know.”
A VON nurse would also visit a legion in Moncton once a month to care for veterans.
“Mostly it was foot care here on a regular basis,” explains Bob Dupuis of Moncton Legion Branch 6. “If they needed more they would advise them on where they needed to go.”
Some of the services provided by the VON, such as flu shots, will fall back on clinics and pharmacies.
“We can definitely do that,” says Dieppe pharmacist Denis Abud. “Our infrastructure is already set up for it, to take on new clients, so to do flu shots is not a problem.”
Members of the VON also care for, or run, programs for new mothers, their babies, youth and adults.
“All staff are in tears because we are worried about our clients, our people, our families, our children that were accessing our services,” says Desroches. “What does that mean for them?”
That’s what veteran Louis Leger is wondering as well.
He doesn’t drive and has a hard time making it to appointments, appointments that used to come to him.
The Victorian Order of Nurses organization is 121-years-old.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
