On-Site Medical Care May Have Saved His Life
on-site medical clinic. Assisting is Sharon Pleasant-Jones,
R.N., NCC Director of Health and Social Services.For years, Keith Carney believed the headaches he was suffering were related to a traumatic incident he experienced at least a decade ago.
“I was working for McDonalds and carrying money to the bank and someone shot a gun and the bullet skidded off the top of my head,” explained Carney, who still bears the scars, but doesn’t feel he was the intended target.
Today, Carney is disabled and resides in New Community Associates, a senior residence that boasts an on-site medical clinic. Residents simply take a short elevator ride downstairs to see the nurse and doctor. Carney decided to do that one day and the trip may have saved his life.
What he learned is that the headaches he had been experiencing were more related to his blood pressure than the shooting. His pressure was extremely elevated, putting him at high risk of a stroke. Dr. Nicholas Guittari, the geriatrician who sees New Community senior residents in clinics at Associates, located at 180 South Orange Ave and NCC Manor Senior, located at 545 Orange St., prescribed medication for Carney to help control his hypertension.
“Dr. Guittari took care of it. I feel good now,” said Carney, who keeps busy by doing odd jobs for people around the neighborhood.
According to Guittari, Carney has been very compliant when it comes to taking his medication. Sharon Pleasant-Jones, the nurse who also serves as NCC’s Director of Social Services, said Carney has also made some positive lifestyle changes, such as smoking fewer cigarettes.
“Keith has really been trying to do things to improve his health,” she said. “He really listens to good medical advice and attempts to implement it in a practical way.”
There have been other advantages to Carney living in a New Community residence as well. Carney had never been to the beach before he boarded a bus last year with the seniors from his building and traveled to Seaside Heights. Carney was told about the trip a month in advance and was so filled with excitement, he just couldn’t stop talking about it.
“The beach was so nice,” he recalled. “I had a really good time.”
