VNS of Connecticut Named as 2012 HomeCare Elite Agency

BRIDGEPORT, CT-Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut today announced that, for the third consecutive year, it has been named to the 2012 HomeCare Elite™, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. The HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of Medicare-certified agencies. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, process measure implementation, patient experience (Home Health CAHPS), quality improvement, and financial performance.

"The 2012 HomeCare Elite winners demonstrate a commitment to providing patient-centered care and serving as leaders in the home health community. Their success offers data-driven proof of being well-managed and high quality care providers to hospitals, managed care organizations, ACOs, and other potential referral partners across the healthcare continuum," said Susan L. Henricks, President and COO of National Research Corporation, the parent company of OCS HomeCare. "Again, this year, we updated our methodology to reflect the rapidly evolving quality-focused healthcare landscape and national value-based purchasing trends. We congratulate VNS of Connecticut on being recognized as a top home care agency."

VNS of Connecticut President and Chief Executive Officer William F. Sullivan, Jr, credits a singular focus on excellence in patient care with the agency's ability to achieve recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite. "In these times of rapid change in our nation's health care delivery system, we take great pride in the ability of our staff and volunteers to uphold the nonprofit values of our organization and deliver excellent home health and hospice care for our patients and their families. This has been our mission for over 100 years and will remain so even as we adapt to the changing conditions around us to ensure the future of VNS. We take special pride in the fact that this is the third consecutive year we have achieved this prestigious honor."

"HomeCare Elite recognition continues to gain importance given the increased regulatory mandates and the threat of shrinking reimbursement revenue. Home health agencies that have earned recognition among the HomeCare Elite demonstrated that they not only can adapt to an evolving marketplace but continue to excel in clinical, patient experience, quality improvement, and financial outcomes," said Marci Heydt, Product Manager for the post-acute care business group of DecisionHealth

The HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health profession. The 2012 HomeCare Elite is co-sponsored by National Research Corporation (also known as OCS HomeCare),the leading provider of cross-continuum healthcare metrics and analytics, and DecisionHealth, the publisher of the industry's most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line. The data used for this analysis were compiled from publicly available information.The entire list of 2012 HomeCare Elite agencies can be downloaded by visiting the National Research Corporation website at www.nationalresearch.com.

About VNS of Connecticut
Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut is one of the state's largest non-profit home health care organizations, serving residents of 56 cities and towns in Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties, with particular focus on geriatric care. A national Home Care Elite agency, VNS provides a comprehensive range of services including skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work and home health aide assistance. VNS Specialty Services include Hi-Tech Home IV Therapy, Wound Care, Psychiatric Nursing, Pain Management, Palliative Care, Nutritional Counseling, Elder Care Planning. The VNS Hospice at Home Program? provides comprehensive home care for terminally ill patients and their families. VNS affiliate, Partners in Care, offers live-in and sleep-in home health aide services as well as the VoiceCare personal emergency response system. For more information, visit our website at vnsct.org

About National Research Corporation and OCS HomeCare
OCS HomeCare is a product of National Research Corporation. For more than 30 years, National Corporation (NASDAQ: NRCI) has been at the forefront of patient-centered care. Today the company's focus on empowering customer-centric healthcare across the continuum extends patient-centered care to incorporate families, communities, employees, senior housing residents, and other stakeholders.

Currently recognized by Modern Healthcare as the largest patient satisfaction measurement firm in the U.S., National Research is dedicated to representing the true voice of patients and other healthcare stakeholders. This integration of cross-continuum metrics and analytics uncovers insights for effective performance improvement, quality measurement, care transitions, and many other factors that impact population health management.

For more information, call 800-388-4264, write to , or visit www.nationalresearch.com.

About DecisionHealth®
For over 30 years, DecisionHealth has served as the leading source for home health news, coding tools and resources, and training materials found in reputable products such as Home Health Line. Our unique blend of award-winning staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives and industry experts enables DecisionHealth to provide solutions, tools, and guidance that are relied on by nearly 100,000 home health care and specialty physician practice professionals. For more information, please visit www.decisionhealth.com or call 877.602.3835.

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Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut is one of the state's largest non-profit home health care organizations, serving residents of 54 cities and towns in Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties. VNS provides a comprehensive range of services including skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work and home health aide assistance. VNS Specialty Services include Hi-Tech Home IV Therapy, Wound Care, Psychiatric Nursing, Pain Management, Palliative Care, Nutritional Counseling, Elder Care Planning. The VNS Hospice at Home Program™ provides comprehensive home care for terminally ill patients and their families. VNS affiliate, Partners in Care, offers live-in and sleep-in home health aide services as well as the VoiceCare personal emergency response system. For more information, visit our website at vnsct.org.