Sandy Hook resident and family nurse practitioner Ann Rhodes will be at C.H. Booth Library this week, the featured guest of an author program planned for Thursday, March 10.

The public is invited to meet Rhodes — who goes by Nancy, or Nancy the NP — when she is in the Gathering Room of the library, at 25 Main Street, from 6:30 until 7:30 pm. She will discuss her book, Caregiver Success; share tips and tools to help guests of all ages take care of themselves and others; and discuss her YouTube channel, launched in April 2019.

As an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse-Board Certified (APRN-BC), Rhodes has 40 years of experience working in home care and running a house calls company.

She has also, since last summer, coordinated at least 21 walk-in COVID-19 clinics presented in Newtown.

Working with Griffin Health and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), Rhodes — who also serves as the St Rose Faith Community Nurse — has been orchestrating the free clinics since June 2021. The clinics were initially presented on the St Rose campus, but moved in January to NYA Sports & Fitness Center.

As of this month they have relocated once again, this time to Newtown Community Center.

(Follow our Community Calendar, in print and online, for clinic dates and additional information.)

In her role as Faith Community Nurse, Rhodes has also organized or co-organized free public programs including “Strong Bones for Everyone,” Stop the Bleed training clinics, and CPR recertification courses at the St Rose Faith Formation Center; and a virtual Lunch & Learn event, “Care for YOU, the Caretaker,” hosted by C.H. Booth Library in December 2020.

Rhodes stepped into the position at the town’s Catholic campus in June 2019, filling a role she said had been vacant since 2012.

“It’s a purely volunteer position,” she told The Newtown Bee. “I just want to help the parish, and everyone in town. I just love people, and I love helping people.”

Rhodes also maintains a Facebook page (CaregiverSuccess) and a YouTube channel. Launched in April 2019, Caregiver Success by Nancy the NP offers guidance on things, “some things that may not read easily, like making a bed, but transfer well through video presentation,” Rhodes said.

“I like people to see things,” she said.

She also likes to help people find answers. Every flier she creates for the COVID-19 vaccination clinic includes her personal phone number, and she usually answers her phone by saying “Hello, this is Nancy.”

While speaking with The Newtown Bee for this story, in fact, she excused herself to answer from someone who had a few questions about the next clinic, scheduled for the following evening.

“They just need reassurance, and answers,” she said, smiling, after finishing the call.

‘Caregiver Success’

Rhodes released Caregiver Success: How to be a successful caregiver by learning tips and tools from an experienced nurse practitioner in 2020. The 365-page, large print book, she told The Newtown Bee that June, “is geared for the home health aide, nursing student, you, or your family member who is disabled with multiple medical conditions or is homebound.

It covers the human side of aging by allowing the caregiving experience to be more fulfilling for the caregiver and the aging person. It also covers the most common medical problems an older person might experience in their later years.”

The book, Rhodes says right in the opening pages of Caregiver Success, is not a textbook. It is not all-inclusive, nor is it intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

It is, however, an easy read filled with a ton of information, from tips and tools to care for the aging and/or disabled to mental health conditions to watch for, rehabilitation needs, and even tornado tips.

Following her earlier mention of wanting to show people how to do things, rather than just tell them, Caregiver Success is also filled with plenty of photographs. There is a glossary and even a few suggested charts caregivers can use to keep track of daily routines for those under their care.

Self-published through Outskirts Press, Caregiver Success is available through amazon.com and as a book and e-book at caregiversucess.com.

Registration is requested for the March 10 program at C.H. Booth Library. Call 203-426-4533 or visit chboothlibrary.org to register or for additional information.

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Associate Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.