The Visiting Nursing Association of Western New York (VNA of WNY) is continuously evolving and expanding to meet the ever-changing needs of our region’s healthcare system. Founded in 1885 and recognized by the Smithsonian Institute as the nation’s first home health care provider, the VNA of WNY is primed to meet the home health care needs of our diverse Western New York community.

Change in Health Care
The Western New York region is quickly following national trends in healthcare where the focus is more towards community based care and away from care in traditional venues such as hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. The emphasis on value, high quality outcomes and patient satisfaction is at an all-time high, with a focus squarely on reducing avoidable hospital readmissions and emergency department visits. The VNA of WNY is optimally situated and prepared to support this particular focus. With over half a million home visits throughout a 10 county service area, the VNA has expanded the availability of their award winning home care services. Through partnerships with hospitals and physicians across the region, the VNA works to develop programs focused on improving the health of our community.

Quality Counts
Changes in the health care environment have resulted in a laser focus on patient outcomes and quality of care. At the VNA of WNY, quality has always been the top priority and the evidence of this focus is found in the results. The HomeCare Elite™ listing is the compilation of the most successful home care providers in the United States. Now in its ninth year, this market-leading review names the top 25% of agencies based on performance measures including quality of care, quality improvement, patient experience, process measure implementation, and financial management. After two straight years in the HomeCare Elite™ Top 500, the VNA of WNY made the leap up to Top 100 status this past year. This ranking places the VNA of WNY in the top 1 % of nearly 10,000 home care agencies in the United States and makes us the highest ranking agency in the state of New York. As a not-for-profit provider of home health care services, quality and patient satisfaction mean everything to the VNA of WNY, and the HomeCare Elite™ results provide solid validation of our commitment to this area.

Comprehensive Patient Care Programs
Besides being the longest standing, largest and highest quality home care agency in the region, the VNA of WNY also offers the most comprehensive services to our patients and referral sources. While relying on our core services of home nursing and rehabilitation services, the VNA of WNY has also answered the call for expanded specialty programs and services. Our dedicated team of home infusion nurses coupled with our in house infusion pharmacy provides vital solutions for in home recovery from serious illnesses. Our Lifeline™ and Home tele-monitoring programs provide crucial reassurances to those patients at risk of a fall or risk of worsening of a chronic condition as well as assist in reducing avoidable hospital admissions. Our pediatric and maternal team provides in-home care to some of the most vulnerable patients in our community. Other specialty teams including Wound Care and Behavioral Health provide much needed support for complex conditions found throughout our region. Other developing programs such as Rapid Response, Palliative Care, and VNA Care Transitions are focused directly on the needs of our changing health care delivery system. Overall, the VNA of WNY listens to, understands, and acts to fulfill the changing needs of our community.

Critical Convenience
High quality and comprehensive care mean little if the services are difficult to access. At the VNA of WNY we constantly evaluate the ability of the community as well as the health care system to contact and engage the services we provide. From a comprehensive intake department to in-facility nurse and therapy liaisons, we strive to make initiating our services as simple as possible. The use of our electronic medical records system makes it easy for our clinicians to document care, and easy for the physicians ordering our services to electronically sign orders and monitor the progress of their patients. We accept nearly all insurance plans, most with little to no out of pocket cost to our patients. As a not-for-profit provider we also evaluate for and offer charity care programs for the more financially challenged members of our community. We are committed to providing high quality, high value care to the Western New York community in a manner which is both uncomplicated and straightforward.
As today’s health care system continues to evolve, dependence on reliable and quality home care will continue to escalate. Increased pressure on facilities and providers to reduce both length of stay and avoidable re-hospitalizations will continue to demand the highest quality home health care. At the VNA of Western New York, the ability to adapt to an ever-changing health care system while providing exceptional quality and value is our ultimate goal.
To learn more about the VNA of Western New York, visit www.vnawny.org or call (716) 630-8000 (toll free at 1-800-442-3227).