Winnie Province is committed to improving the lives of Black New Yorkers as they recover and heal in their homes. Her work as a nurse started in 2011 in the hospital setting, but it wasn’t until she started working at VNS Health that she transitioned into home care.
Province, 37, is a mother of two, said, “There are certain rewards that you feel working in home care.” For her, the beauty of her profession lies in guiding and educating her patients closely, witnessing their journey toward recovery and independence, and supporting patients within their households.
She understand how difficult it can be to receive care in the home setting. “Patients at home often feel vulnerable,” she said, “they may be sick and unwell, and also say ‘A stranger is walking into my house.’” This is where she comes in and holds their hand through the process, “Once you build a certain level of report and trust, you can achieve any goal.
Both her parents were born in Haiti, her mother was an elementary school teacher and her father began practicing nursing on the island, “My dad, who I look up to as my hero, he’s a registered nurse himself.” Winnie’s original fascination with healthcare came when she was a child and she wanted to pursue a career as a pediatrician, but ultimately followed in her father’s footsteps.
Her father has worked as a nurse in multiple areas of healthcare — as a geriatric nurse, at a nursing home, at long-term care facilities in the Bronx, and also in Harlem Hospitals during the AIDS epidemic. He would often speak to Winnie about that time, about the lack of education and how difficult it was to experience the death of patients.
According to the CDC, between 1981 and the year 2000, 448,060 people reported with AIDS in the U.S. had died.
Black people and Black representation are and should be fundamental pillars to the healthcare system, said Winnie. “I think a lot of the time if you are going to see your OB-GYN, you may say to yourself ‘I want a female practitioner’ because she has parts that I have. For the African American community, I would like to see representation in all scales; Black physicians or Haitian physicians because he or she would understand me a little bit more — understand the way that I eat, understand my life and my struggles.” Adding, “When you find someone that looks like you or can speak the same language and understand you, it builds a level of trust, report, and allows patients to understand what it is that you are trying to educate them on.”
Mistrust in the healthcare system prevails among African Americans for various reasons, a Pew Research report from 2022 found that “49% [of African Americans] say a major reason why Black people generally have worse health outcomes is because healthcare providers are less likely to give Black people the most advanced medical care. A roughly equal share (47%) says hospitals and medical centers giving lower priority to their well-being is a major reason for differing health outcomes.”
Winnie describes home care as a learning experience both for her and the patient — it requires communication, “Asking the patient about their day, while I clean a wound,” and adds, “At home, you have to be fully aware of where your patients are and really be able to care for them, mentally, physically, emotionally.” She says this allows her to see the progress and evolution in patients who may otherwise feel disconnected from their healthcare providers.
For Winnie, “home care is all-encompassing,” after a while, she notices her patients becoming aware of their blood sugar, their blood pressure, and the implementation of a better diet they might have discussed with her. “Witnessing their process is what really is rewarding.” She emphasizes.