Educated to do well: Hellen Kato ’17, DNP’24

Taking patient care to the streets 

On most days, Hellen Kato can be found riding through Hartford, Connecticut in a medical van, parking outside libraries, shelters, and community centers — bringing healthcare directly to patients who might otherwise go without it. From treating infections and managing chronic diseases to offering health education and basic preventive care, Kato meets patients where they are, quite literally.  

After earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Saint Joseph in 2024, Kato chose a different path than many advanced practice nurses. She became the medical provider for Charter Oak Health Center’s Mobile Health Van, delivering care directly to underserved communities throughout Hartford. 

Kato and Corinne Plaisir, Charter Oak’s director of Healthcare for the Homeless, spend several days each week driving through Hartford, bringing care directly to patients in neighborhoods, shelters, and community spaces. 

Inside the van, Kato treats patients ages 18 to 80, providing everything from routine check-ups and cold and flu care to blood pressure monitoring, diabetes management, and ongoing support for chronic conditions. But the work goes far beyond routine care — it’s about access, trust, and meeting people who might otherwise never see a healthcare provider. 

A personal mission 

Kato’s commitment to underserved populations began in her native Uganda, where she witnessed limited access to healthcare during the 1990’s HIV/AIDS pandemic.  

“I saw so many children dying,” she said. “There was such a need for medical care that simply wasn’t available.” 

Even then, Kato did what she could, bringing leftovers from her family’s meals to orphans living on the streets. 

That concern for underserved communities continued years later when Kato earned her bachelor’s degree from USJ. She worked as a registered nurse at Hartford Hospital, then spent 10 years with Hartford HealthCare at Home as a visiting nurse in Hartford’s South End. There, she noticed a troubling pattern: many of her patients did not know how to manage their chronic conditions after leaving the hospital. 

“Maybe we expect patients to know what to do after they leave the hospital, but many need more education and support,” Kato said. 

The setting has changed, but the mission remains the same: to show up with love, dignity, and care.

Hellen Kato

She observed that patients with type 2 diabetes often lacked the knowledge to handle their condition effectively. “I saw so many people who had their legs amputated when they didn’t have any idea their diabetes had reached that point.” 

Wanting to do more for her patients and prevent those outcomes inspired Kato to return to USJ for her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. She drew on her home healthcare experience in her research, “Implementing Comprehensive Foot Exams to Improve Long-term Diabetic Complications in Urban Community Health Centers.”  

“I focused on increasing comprehensive foot exams in primary care, a simple but powerful way to help prevent diabetic complications and reduce amputations in vulnerable communities,” she said. 

Compassionate, community-based care 

With her DNP in hand, Kato began practicing in the mobile medical van in March 2025. 

Today, in addition to treating patients inside the van, Kato and her team practice “street medicine” — walking block by block to find patients in need of care. Many are unhoused individuals struggling with substance use disorders. Kato treats wounds and infections, prescribes antibiotics, tests for sexually transmitted diseases, and offers essential, and often lifesaving, health education. When they are not working in the van or practicing street medicine, Kato and her colleagues visit local shelters to care for patients. 

Kato says she loves being able to provide compassionate, community-based care. But her aspirations reach far beyond Hartford.  

“My long-term goal, before I retire, is to work outside the United States in poor countries, supporting initiatives like immunization programs,” she said. 

When Kato returned home to Uganda in 2018, she was approached by two men who remembered her bringing food to them when they were young, unhoused orphans.  

“They stopped and said, ‘We remember you. We are alive today because of those meals. Thank you.’ I will carry that moment with me for the rest of my life.” 

Today, she continues to answer the same call. “The setting has changed,” Kato stated, “but the mission remains the same: to show up with love, dignity, and care.”