Our History
Home Nursing Foundation through the years: A Chronology

The 1970s
Almost a decade after Singapore had first taken its tentative steps towards nationhood, there was a serious need for affordable home nursing services for the large numbers of elderly residing in the rural areas who had to grapple with elderly ailments.

Dr Toh Chin Chye – then deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health – established the Home Nursing Foundation (HNF) on 2 October 1976 to address this need.

The HNF nurse, in her white uniform and carrying an umbrella and black medical bag in each hand, became a familiar sight in the kampongs as she trudged to visit her elderly wards. In its first year of operations, HNF nurses made over 32,000 home visits to 1,471 patients. The second year saw a spike in the numbers to over 38,000 home visits made to 1,998 patients respectively. HNF’s first major fund-raising event – the SIA-Hilton Celebrity
Tennis Gala – held over three days in May 1979 raised a princely sum of $91,123.

The 1980s
HNF’s mission of providing home nursing services to the elderly sick received widespread support from medical professionals and members of the public. The HNF nurse goes beyond her duty of just providing medical ministrations but is also a listener, friend and companion to her patient.

In 1984, following the recommendation of the National Advisory Council for the Aged, HNF commenced offering rehabilitative and day-care services in conjunction with its core service of home nursing. Seven Senior Citizens’ Health Care Centres (SCHCCs) were subsequently set up from 1986 onwards. Ambulances were outfitted with elderly care facilities.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) seconded 23 nurses to HNF fulltime in 1985 and the HNF Constitution was revised to encourage greater public involvement and transparency. A Board comprising five elected and eight appointed members serving two-year terms was set up. Ms Lee Seok Tin was appointed the Chairman of this Board in 1986.

The 1990s
Another revision of the HNF Constitution was effected in the mid-nineties in the light of a rapidly ageing population. Mrs Fang Ai Lian, then Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, was appointed HNF President while Ms Lee Seok Tin became the Patron.

HNF started working with the five Community Development Councils (CDCs) from 1997 to succour the elderly residing in the various precincts under the CDCs.

A rebranding of HNF was effected through a new lilac nurse uniform which replaced the previously all-white one. A new logo with the theme “A Pulsating Heart within the Community” was also unveiled in 1998.

A Central Admission System was introduced on 1 December 1997 to provide a single point of contact for referrals from different sources and facilitate a fairer spread of workload. Each home nurse was issued with a pager, sponsored by Singtel for one year from 12 September 1998.

The millennium onwards
Starting from 2001, HNF began restructuring and streamlining its services to stay relevant in the midst of skyrocketing costs and a burgeoning elderly population. One of the major changes involved the divestment of the SCHCCs to other voluntary welfare organisations to manage as HNF consolidated its resources solely on home nursing.

Aiming to gain greater visibility in the heartlands, HNF shifted from its old location at 26 Dunearn Road to the new Toa Payoh Central Community Building on 5 April 2003.

The new HQ was officially opened by Mr Moses Lee - Permanent Secretary (Health), MOH - on 28 February 2004. The Official Opening was marked by a commemorative 2.8km walk from Toa Payoh Sports Stadium to the new HQ by HNF staff, board members, volunteers and students from Raffles Girls’ Secondary School. The distance symbolised the 28 years of home nursing service that HNF had provided for the elderly sick.

HNF turned 30 in 2006 and marked this watershed with a Charity Family Dinner at The Istana. This Dinner, organised with the support of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Singapore Academy (EOYSA), raked in almost $500,000 in donations.

A sign that the elderly cause was gaining significance was when SembCorp Industries donated a generous $70,000 to HNF to sponsor medical requisites for the most needy patients.

In Financial Year 2006/07, HNF distinguished itself with a total of 30,416 home nursing visits made to 4,341 patients. The number of home visits had increased by almost 1,100 over Financial Year 2005/06.