Member Story: Tom Greenwood

Tom Greenwood was born and raised in East Boston. “I moved away a couple of times,” he explains, but something always brought him back. Over the years, Tom says, “I’ve seen a lot of changes; some good, some not so good.”

Tom and his wife Josie met 26 years ago and have been married for 22 years. They both had children from previous marriages. Tom has a daughter, Jannette, and a son, Doug—and a granddaughter, Devon. Jannette lives in Troy, MA, and Doug lives in Ohio.

Tom and Josie originally lived on Brook Street. After moving a few times, they moved to Victory Gardens, where they’ve lived for the past nine years. Tom and Josie both worked for NeighborHealth: Tom worked as a security guard for several years, and Josie worked at the health center’s Lewis Mall PACE Center as a secretary. In April 1994, Tom heard about a transportation opening, so he applied and was assigned as a driver for Neighborhood PACE! He had a great relationship with the Neighborhood PACE participants he transported. “I used to playfully bicker with participants—I’d jokingly yell at them and they would yell back at me. We had a great time,” he says with a laugh. “I wanted to get in 20 years [as a driver], but I only got in 15,” Tom says wryly.

Tom also found that working as a driver was more hands-on than he had expected. “For example, one time, I went to pick up a lady, and she was stuck on the toilet,” Tom explains. Although this definitely wasn’t in his job description, Tom says, “What was I supposed to do? Wait for a health aide to come? So I took care of it. Why pass up the opportunity to help someone?” Tom earned the reputation of being someone you could count on.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Tom was hit by a car in 2009. The accident left him unable to walk, but Tom was determined to get as much function back as he could. “From being around the PACE program, I knew what to do about physical therapy,” Tom says. He and his wife joined Neighborhood PACE at the same time. Josie had been having trouble getting a certain medication due to cost—but by joining Neighborhood PACE, where medications are included without co-pays, this is no longer a problem.

Tom is now riding in a Neighborhood PACE van, rather than driving one. He and Josie get rides to and from all of their doctors’ appointments. They also get rides to the PACE program’s Wellness Center in Winthrop, where they take advantage of what the Wellness Center offers. “I do acupuncture,” says Tom, “it helps, especially with your shoulder. I hope that stays.” He’s also able to work out his legs, something that is still important for him to do this many years since the accident. “It’s a good program,” says Tom. “And this Wellness Center is the best thing NeighborHealth has ever done!”