Andrea Karlin

Although she came to Oregon a hundred years after the pioneering women who came in covered wagons, Andrea Karlin was a pioneer in her own right. Moving west in her mid-twenties, she raised five children, held leadership roles in volunteer organizations, managed two shops that raised funds for Jewish organizations, and became the first in her family to graduate from college. As if that were not enough, she went on to develop an innovative nursing care model for seniors in Northwest Portland. She has led the way for many to follow, and her family, including her husband, five children, nine grandchildren, and great-grandchild, honor her as one of Portland's heroines.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, to parents with deep roots in New England, Andrea grew up in Cleveland during the Great Depression. Since college was not an option financially, she decided to pursue nursing. She spent the summer after high school working to earn funds for tuition and entered Mt. Sinai School of Nursing in Cleveland in 1942.

After earning her RN, she stayed on at Mt. Sinai as a unit head nurse. While she was working as a private duty nurse, one of her patients, a young woman with liver disease, introduced Andrea to her older brother. Recently returned from WWII service in England, he was a student at Harvard Law School. After graduation from law school, he practiced briefly in Cleveland, then moved to Portland. She soon followed him to Portland, they married, and by mid-1957 they had five children. 

Other than the day-to-day needs of the growing family (which were significant!), she did not work as a nurse during these years. However, she volunteered and held leadership roles as treasurer of Congregation Beth Israel’s Sisterhood and president of Portland Chapter of Hadassah. While volunteering for Hadassah, she improved its resale shop by expanding the location, improving the lighting and customer service, and creating a side business in selling fabric as rags and books by-the-pound to recycling companies. She also re-energized the gift shop at Congregation Beth Israel, making it a shop of choice for Judaica and gifts.

As her children began leaving for college, she decided to go back to school herself, to Linfield College’s off-campus Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She graduated in 1977, with her family, including her first grandchild, in attendance. 

Familiar with Northwest Portland from her many years of volunteering at Congregation Beth Israel, she realized that many seniors lived in the area. While they preferred to live independently, many were unable to do so without nursing care. They needed help with such needs as foot care, insulin shots, wound care, and blood pressure monitoring. Recognizing that a senior center and Loaves and Fishes in a nearby church already drew many seniors, she founded Northwest Neighborhood Nurses (NNN) to provide nursing care in the same building.

Under her leadership, NNN innovated in providing warm, compassionate care, managed and delivered by nurses, for nearly fifteen years. Local foundations helped with funding. Doctors, dentists, hospitals, churches, and synagogues in the area were supportive, serving on the board and contributing funds, supplies, and equipment. Many others in the community contributed and helped raise funds, including by helping out at the monthly pancake breakfasts that became a neighborhood institution. 

Although they helped clients avoid more costly medical care and even institutionalization, NNN’s services were never covered by insurance or Medicare. Funding was a constant challenge. After Andrea retired in 1993, NNN affiliated with OHSU, moved, and eventually ceased operation in the face of budget challenges. Some of its work has continued, however, as former NNN staff provide foot care both independently and at a church in downtown Portland that hosts a foot care clinic each week. 

After her retirement, Andrea returned to help out at the Hadassah’s Nearly New Shop until it closed in the early 2000s. She also volunteered at the Sellwood Library. Her pioneering contributions to Portland have been recognized by the Jefferson Award for Public Service in 1985 and the Oregon Nursing Association Honorary Nursing Practice Award in 1988. She also received the Song of Miriam Award from the Portland Chapter of Hadassah. 

Since she arrived in Portland as a young woman, Andrea has quietly and with compassion led the way in nursing and in volunteer activities. She is truly a heroine!