Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley, Inc.

Mission

Keep the Heart in home health care

More than 110 years ago, Visiting Nurse agencies literally created the profession and the practice of home health care. The need then was critical -- there were no hospitals in many communities, and when they existed, they usually cared only for those who were terminally ill.

Patients were cared for at home, by their families, as best they could. When Visiting Nurse ' agencies began making home visits, they made a life-saving, health-preserving difference, bringing professional skills and compassionate hearts to care for the patient and support the family.

They made a critical difference in the late 1800s, as the country approached a new century.

Health care has essentially gone full circle. Patients spend less and less time in the hospital. Many procedures are done on an outpatient basis. Lengths of stay for inpatient care have been dramatically reduced. Recovery, rehabilitation, and care for chronic diseases and conditions are happening in the home.

Once again, Visiting Nurse agencies are making the critical difference. They remain at the forefront of the home health care industry, providing innovative, comprehensive home health care services to patients across the nation.

As inpatient care becomes the exception rather than the rule, home and outpatient settings are now the primary way Americans receive health care. Home health care is now highly skilled and technical to accommodate high-acuity level patients discharged early from the hospital.

Home care is an essential, integral part of health care today, touching the lives of nearly Every American.

Home health care services are needed by people of all ages, in cities and rural areas, without regard to income or socio-economic levels:

• Older Americans who have health problems, but who want to and are able to maintain their independence in their homes, with the support of a professional caregiver.
  
  
• Middle-aged Americans --the baby boomers or "sandwich generation" - who want their parents to have quality care at home.
  
  
• Patients of all ages, who are going home hours after surgery or being discharged after only a few days and sent home with complex treatments, medical equipment and medications to family members who have no idea what to do.
  
  
• Mothers and newborns, home after 24 or 48 hours, in need of the education, support and clinical assessment skills of a trained nurse.

• Young adults, recovering from accidents or injuries, who can manage on their own -- if they know an experienced health care worker will be there when needed.
  
  
• Mentally ill adults who have been deinstitutionalized and need support to remain in the mainstream into which they are trying to acclimat to.
  
  
• And millions of Americans with chronic diseases and disabilities, like Alzheimer's, heart failure, kidney disease, or diabetes, who need careful monitoring but do not want or need to enter a nursing home or skilled care facility.

While home health care has been through many transformations since the 1800s, the role and contributions of Visiting Nurse agencies have remained essential and consistent.

Visiting Nurse agencies, then and now, are the heart of home health care.

Visiting Nurse agencies are the "gold standard" -- the model for effective, compassionate, innovative and cost-effective care. Today they provide a wide range of services, essential to patients and communities, such as:

• Skilled nursing care
  
  
• Rehabilitation therapy
  
  
• Chemotherapy
  
  
• Ventilator care
  
  
• Blood transfusions
  
  
• Kidney dialysis
  
  
• Pain management

Visiting Nurse agencies also offer specialized services, such as adult day care, hospice care, and Meals on Wheels, and are often the primary community source for preventive health services such as:

• Flu and pneumonia clinics
  
  
• Well-child exams
  
  
• School physicals

Visiting Nurse agencies care for patients denied service because they do not meet low-income levels for Medicaid, or do not have full coverage for services, or have exhausted their private insurance benefits. Visiting Nurse agencies play an essential role in providing care for the fastest-growing segment of the American population -- uninsured, working families.

Today, Visiting Nurse agencies care for nearly 10 million people every year, and represent nearly one-quarter of all not-for-profit, freestanding home health care services in the United States. Visiting Nurse agencies are, indeed, the heart of home health care.

The home health care industry has expanded rapidly and has come under intense scrutiny. However, Visiting Nurse agencies have maintained their unblemished reputation, and fulfilled their mission as an essential health care service in the communities they serve:

• Because they are not-for-profit agencies, founded by and committed to their communities, Visiting Nurse agencies focus solely on providing care, not on improving their stock price or generating profits.
  
  
• Physicians are confident when referring to Visiting Nurse agencies because they know about their quality standards, demonstrated outcomes and clinical excellence.
  
  
• Patients are extremely satisfied with their care. Visiting Nurse agencies have a 99 percent satisfaction rating.
  
  
• Visiting Nurse agencies are remarkably cost effective, with lower costs per episode of care, and fewer needed visits for nearly every type of diagnosis.

Services are available from the Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley, Inc. to anyone living in Centerbrook, Clinton, East Haddam, Essex, Killingworth, Lyme, Madison, Old Lyme, Chester, Deep River, Haddam, Ivoryton, Old Saybrook and Westbrook.

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Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley, Inc. (860) 767-0186 (860) 510-0628