This month, the Dominican Sisters Home Health Agency of Denver will celebrate 85 years of providing nursing care and related services to the sick in their homes.

Since the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor (now the Dominican Sisters of Hope) were invited to Denver in 1923 by then Bishop J. Henry Tihen, the sisters and the organization they built have provided loving nursing care and services, loaned medical equipment free of charge and visited the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the poor who are without other resources.

Dominican Sister Regis Nuva is the one lone religious who is still an active part of the organization. A native of Trenton, N.J., she came to Colorado more than 40 years ago to put her training as a nurse to work. Today, her job has taken on other aspects, but says she can’t imagine doing anything else.

“I still make visits although not as many as I used to,” Sister Regis said. “Today my title is Volunteer Coordinator which means I meet people, a lot of people.”

She spends a lot of her time talking to people, especially potential donors, telling them about all the wonderful things that the agency does. She said that even with the substantial list of benefactors and friends the agency has, as the result of 85 years of good work, there are always people who are interested in hearing about the agency, its history and the devoted people who work for it.

“You could describe me as a jack of all trades,” Sister Regis said with a chuckle, “but this is where my interest lies.”

Started in New York City by Mary Walsh, an Irish immigrant who gave up her job as a washer woman to help the sick, the community that became known as the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor began in 1869. Eventually moving to Colorado, the group, with the help of the Knights of Columbus, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the order set up shop in a house at the corner of 25th Avenue and Gaylord Street in Denver, which remains the agency’s headquarters today.

Donna Heath is a registered nurse and executive director of the agency. She said that even though the religious community has become smaller, the number of people cared for and the heart of the organization continue to grow.

“We have so many different professionals here,” Heath said. “With the exception of Sister Regis we’re a lay organization but one that has a big heart for this ministry.”

The 31 members of the staff come from all denominations and backgrounds, according to Heath.

“We have registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants,” she said. “Everyone comes here knowing they are doing God’s work. I don’t know how else to say it; but everyone brings that to their job every day. We’re serving a special niche. Serving people who have no place else to turn.”

Some of the many services the agency provides are in-home nursing visits, housekeeping, medical equipment loans, wellness clinics and pastoral care assistance.

For Sister Regis, help for the poor sick is what her life’s work has been about.

“The idea behind what our founder, Mother Mary, envisioned so many years ago is still a strong and vibrant one,” she said. “And the quality of care provided by our staff and volunteers is better than it’s ever been. I’ve said it over and over; I can’t imagine doing anything else.”