Known as “Nurse Ellen” by many of Milwaukee’s homeless, Ellen Krueger goes out of her way to provide health care with compassion to some of the city’s most vulnerable people.
Since 2007, Krueger, a registered nurse for St. Ben’s Clinic for the Homeless, spends about 15 hours a week at The Cathedral Center Inc., a homeless shelter for women and families in downtown Milwaukee. There, Krueger provides basic health assessments, flu shots, tests for tuberculosis, helps people sign up for Medicaid benefits and even teaches the homeless how to wash their hands to avoid spreading colds and flu germs.
Many of the center’s clients have gone a long time without medical care or haven’t been taking their medicine because they can’t afford it.
Krueger schedules her hours – early mornings, late evenings, weekends and even holidays – to meet the needs of the people who need the center’s services, says Janet Peshek, director of resource development at the center, 845 N. Van Buren St., Milwaukee.
“To say Ellen is compassionate and caring does not begin to describe her commitment to helping the most vulnerable in our community,” Peshek wrote while nominating Krueger as a Health Care Hero. “She provides these services with a special warmth and kindness. Nurse Ellen knows and understands the struggles homeless women face and works diligently to advocate for their health care needs.”
Peshek says Krueger serves as “a beacon of hope” for the women and families who visit The Cathedral Center.
“Her quiet manner provides a calming respite during a difficult time, and ensures much needed medical attention is provided in a dignified fashion,” Peshek said.
A nurse for the past 33 years, Krueger says she treats her patients the way she would want her own family to be treated. These days, many more of her patients are homeless because of job losses and home foreclosures. Others are homeless because of mental illness.
“I provide these patients with the same care I would provide for anyone across the board,” she says. “With the homeless, we have to understand more about the challenges they face and look for the strengths they have, and help them use those strengths to get the health they hope to keep.”
