Toronto physician, Dr Mark Nowaczynski, has received much media attention in recent years for his unusual practise. He recognised that there were a number of elderly individuals living in isolation – both social and physical - within the city, due to reasons such as limited mobility and contacts. In spite of this, there were few in-home healthcare services available to accommodate them.
In response, Dr. Nowaczynski began conducting house calls to senior citizens full time and founded House Calls. In addition to Dr Nowaczynski, the House Calls team includes a social worker, an occupational therapist, a registered nurse, and a nurse practitioner. They describe themselves as a not-for-profit program providing frail, vulnerable, marginalized and homebound seniors with physician-led interdisciplinary care at home.
As one might expect, this experience introduced him to a wide variety of people of varying backgrounds and stories. In what has been described as an act that portrays both the vulnerability as well as inner strength of these individuals, Dr Nowaczynski began taking black and white photographs of his patients. These images were on display at the ROM throughout the summer of 2011 and received much praise. In addition to his series, Dr Nowaczynski’s work can be seen in Ian McLeod’s (2004) documentary, House Calls.
House Calls website:
House Calls: the Documentary
No comments:
Post a Comment