VNS Health
| Abbreviation | VNSNY |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1893 |
| Legal status | Not-for-profit organization |
| Headquarters | New York City |
Region served | New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties; parts of Upstate New York |
| Subsidiaries | VNSNY Home Care, VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care, Partners in Care, VNSNY CHOICE |
Staff | 16,500+ |
| Website | VNSNY.org |
Founded in 1893 by nursing pioneer Lillian D. Wald and Mary M. Brewster, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organization in the United States, serving the five boroughs of New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties; and parts of upstate New York. VNSNY offers a comprehensive array of programs and health plans designed to meet the diverse health and personal care needs of its patients and members, to improve their quality of life, and to reduce the number and length of hospitalizations.
On any given day, VNSNY has approximately 65,000 patients and health plan members under direct and coordinated care. In 2013, VNSNY clinicians made nearly 2.3 million professional visits in homes and throughout communities, serving approximately 163,500 New Yorkers.
Mission
VNSNY’s four-fold mission is:
- To promote the health and well-being of patients and families by providing high-quality, cost-effective health care in the home and community.
- To be a leader in the development of innovative services that enable people to function as independently as possible in their community.
- To help shape health care policies that support beneficial home- and community-based services.
- To continue our tradition of charitable and compassionate care, within the resources available.
Background
Throughout its history, VNSNY has combined the latest medical knowledge and nursing techniques with a commitment to social well-being.[1] Lillian Wald, the founder of public health nursing, began her mission on the Lower East Side; at the time, this was the most densely populated area in the world.[2] Disease was rampant because the connection between health and hygiene wasn’t fully understood.
By 1895, demand for services had grown enough for Wald to move her operation to Henry Street. Although VNSNY officially separated from the Henry Street Settlement in 1944, VNSNY still believes that individuals need healthy communities to thrive.
Services
Quality home- and community-based health care is central to the mission of VNSNY. The diverse and growing number of programs tailored to individual needs and a changing population include:
- Post-Acute Care Services
- Long-Term Services
- Care Coordination
- Community Outreach
- Medicare and Medicaid Health Plans
- Hospice and Palliative Care
- Community Mental Health Services
- Skilled Nursing Care and Self-Care Education
- Children and Family Services
- Private-Pay Nursing and Home Care
Charitable care and community benefit
In 2013, VNSNY provided $30.3 million in charitable care to uninsured and undersinsured New Yorkers, including $16.1 million in direct home care services. Many of VNSNY’s Charitable Care and Community Benefit programs and services are made possible in part by contributions.
Corporate information
Staff
The VNSNY frontline workforce is more than 16,500 strong and consists of 1,918 licensed practical and registered nurses; 525 physical, occupational, and speech language therapists; 414 social workers; 11,700 home health aides and home attendants; and more than 139 other clinical professionals, including physicians, registered dietitians, and psychologists.
Collectively, VNSNY staff speak more than 50 languages.
In the past ten years, VNSNY and its staff have received more than 90 national and regional awards from the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Visiting Nurse Associations of America, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Times Tribute to Nurses, New York University College of Nursing, Home Care Association of New York State, Crain’s New York Business, Public Health Association of New York City, and the national associations of Social Workers, Hispanic Nurses, Chinese American Nurses, among many others.
Organization
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) is the not-for-profit parent organization that provides administrative and support services to the following group of companies:
- VNSNY Home Care: a certified home health care agency that provides skilled nursing care, rehabilitation therapies, and other professional services, as well as certified home health aide services.
- VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care: a Medicare-certified company that provides palliative and advanced illness care to patients and their families.
- Partners in Care: a licensed home care agency that provides home health aide services on a contract basis to VNSNY Home Care. It also provides home health aide and professional services to patients and families who pay privately.
- VNSNY CHOICE Health Plans: an affiliate company created by the Visiting Nurse Service of New York to further its mission of care and compassion for chronically ill adults and the elderly. VNSNY CHOICE offers an array of Medicare and Medicaid health plans designed to keep members living well at home.
Research center
With a patient population of more than 163,500, VNSNY is an ideal laboratory for conducting research to mobilize the best scientific evidence in support of health care at home. VNSNY’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research, established in 1993,[3] is internationally renowned as the preeminent research center for home care. Data gathered by the Center has broad applications for home and community care, and the Research Center frequently hosts delegations from across the country and around the globe.
Policy and advocacy
VNSNY’s government affairs department works to maintain and expand programs that improve patients’ lives, and to maintain funding that covers their care so they can remain at home and in their communities, living as independently as possible.
VNSNY acts as a liaison between patient and government bodies such as the state and federal legislatures, as well as regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Insurance.
References
- ^ "History". Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ "Lower East Side Tenement Museum".
- ^ "Background". Retrieved March 17, 2016.