Middlefield resident Millicent Malcolm has a soft spot for senior citizens, meaning she’s in the right line of work.
A geriatric nurse practitioner, Malcolm has worked with Middlesex Primary Care for 22 years, and despite the challenges associated with COVID-19, she’s still going strong. “When the pandemic started, nobody really understood what was going on,” Malcolm said. “When the numbers really started climbing, we had to suit up to visit the patients,” she added.
At times, virtual visits were the only option for seeing patients, which, Malcolm said, was not ideal. “This was difficult for some of my patients as some of them didn’t have the technology, or had challenges with it,” she said. “They had to get help to get connected just for their telehealth visits.”
During COVID spikes, many elderly patients were unable to see their families for months at a time. “There was a period, where I was the only one that they got to see,” Malcolm said.
Geriatric nurse practitioners give patients physicals, diagnose and come up with care plans and provide prescriptions.
Since 2001, Malcolm has been making home visits and going to assisted living facilities to take care of patients, who often are too ill to travel to appointments.
Malcolm has lived in Middlefield with her husband for 35 years, raising children who are now adults with kids of their own.
In addition to her tireless work in the medical field, Malcolm instructs the next generation of nurses at UConn. “I want to teach my students all that I can about the field,” she said.