Norway's healthcare in action

Recently I went to Lene's hometown of Sarpsborg to meet the rest of her family. I'd already met her parents when they came to Oslo. Sarpsborg, the 10th largest city in Norway at 60,000 people, is a short train ride south of Oslo. Lene had Wednesday off work so we hopped on the train Tuesday night and stayed through Wednesday evening. As has been true with everyone I've met so far, her family was very welcoming. We spent part of the day hanging out with her cousins and their young children. One of the little boys in particular was very funny, talking incessantly to me in Norwegian and not worrying that I didn't understand a word he said.

The title of this posts draws itself from the last family visit we made that day. An hour or so before our train left we stopped to see Lene's grandmother. She doesn't speak English but Lene did a good job as translator. While we were there someone rang the doorbell and it turned out to be a nurse who had come to give Lene's grandmother her medication. Evidently there are nurses everywhere who have specific areas that they are considered responsible for. These nurses go door to door helping anyone in need with their medication. This service is free. The only thing that is not covered by the state is dental.

I'd been hearing stories about Norway's fabled healthcare and other social programs but it was very cool to see it in action.