The pictures and documents are fuzzy with age, but the memories are still fresh. April 4, 1906. It all began with a meeting of well to do women in the parlor of the Somerville YMCA. The Visiting Nurse Association was formed as a grass roots organization to reduce infant mortality in a city teaming with immigrants living in tenaments. The nurses worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day, with half a day off on Sunday. Part of their job, handing out milk and eggs to the needy. The going rate 25 cents a visit; free for the poor.

One hundred years later, the principles are the same, but the technology is a bit different, utilizing modern computers and medical supplies. Today, the Visiting Nurse Association of Eastern Massachusetts boasts 30,000 visits a year at the homes of 500 patients, in 16 cities and towns, thanks to solid community support and a dedicated board of directors.