VNS Services

Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut is committed to providing patient care services using best practice protocols to ensure the highest level of excellence in care. Our services are patient-centered, offering high quality individualized care to achieve exemplary outcomes and patient satisfaction. VNS provides specialized programs that fulfill a wide range of home health and hospice needs for adolescents, adults and the elderly. Each patient undergoes a comprehensive assessment of patient needs to develop a personalized plan of care.

Our services include specialized nursing, rehabilitation and end-of-life care as well as support services for those who simply need assistance with activities of daily living. Specialized programs include infusion therapy, cardiac, telemonitoring, respiratory, diabetes, wound care and rehabilitation services. Care coordination is a top priority, and VNS will collaborate with each patient's physicians and care providers so that all care needs are met, including medications, high-tech and supportive equipment and medical supplies. Our visiting nurses and therapists have continuous and real time access to secure electronic health records and clinical support systems to ensure the highest level of care coordination while they are caring for the patient in their home.

All Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut's programs and services are progressively responsive to the dynamic changes in the health care industry. Our integrated care management programs are designed to promote wellness, and reduce avoidable hospitalizations and emergency care visits whenever possible, keeping our patients safe and independent in their homes.

For individuals and families in need of personal care and household assistance, caregivers from Hartford HealthCare Independence at Home are the trusted solution to help you or your loved ones maintain your life in the comfort of home.

Our care coordinators will work with you to develop a personalized plan of care designed to suit your needs. Call

  • Skilled Nursing

  • Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses, with a wide range of clinical backgrounds, will systemically assess, plan, deliver and continuously evaluate a high quality individualized plan of nursing care for each patient. Many of our nurses have extensive experience in emergency room, intensive care, medical/surgical, cancer, mental/emotional, pediatric care and obstetrical care settings. All are highly qualified and specially trained for the home care environment.
  • The Registered Nurse Case Manager will take into consideration each patient’s total needs and is responsible for managing the plan of care and coordinating all other necessary home care services. He/she will communicate frequently with each patient’s physician to update the plan of care and will ensure that all needed medical equipment and supplies are available.

  • Physical Therapy

  • Physical therapists and physical therapy assistants provide rehabilitative therapy including exercise, gait, balance and prosthetics training to help restore patients to their highest functioning levels of strength, range of motion and mobility.

  • Occupational Therapy

  • Occupational therapists use rehabilitative techniques such as an exercise regimen, splinting and/or helpful devices to increase their patients’ ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities such as eating, dressing, grooming and performing household tasks. Occupational therapists guide patients through specialized care plans that encourage sensory and muscle return.

  • Speech Therapy

  • Speech language pathologists design treatment programs based on individual needs to help patients regain and maximize their communication skills and swallowing ability. The treatment focuses on improving verbal comprehension, verbal expression, reading and writing.

  • Medical Social Work

  • The Medical Social Worker provides short-term counseling services, referral to and coordination with community resources and assistance with living arrangements, identifying financial alternatives and long-range planning.  

  • Home Health Aides

  • Home Health Aide services are delivered under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed therapist. Our aides have had experience caring for people in need and have been carefully chosen to provide care for the patients of our agency. An aide is assigned when there is a specific need for personal care on a part-time basis at home. Typical duties include bathing, shampooing hair, changing bed linen and assistance with other activities of daily living.

  • Home Health Telemonitoring

  • Electronic health monitoring equipment that patients keep in their homes provides vital information to nurses and physicians. Information such as heart rate, blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation and temperature can be captured and transmitted to VNS. Professional clinicians receive the information immediately and can respond appropriately. Home health monitoring helps ensure that conditions are identified and treated early, thus eliminating the need for an emergency hospital visit. Home based telemonitoring is often recommended for patients transitioning from a hospital or extended care facility to home care as well as individuals with chronic illnesses, such as congestive heart failure or diabetes, who require frequent monitoring of vital signs.

  • Intravenous (IV) / Infusion Therapies

  • Specially trained nurses are available from VNS to deliver high tech Intravenous (IV) therapy and other medicines and sophisticated treatments in the home. Specific treatments provided include central line maintenance, continuous and intermittent medication administration, antibiotic infusions, hydration and total parenteral nutrition. In some instances, home-based IV/Infusion therapies may reduce the need for physician or clinical visits.

  • Wound & Ostomy Care / Wound VAC

  • VNS’ nursing staff includes credentialed professionals with specialized training in wound and ostomy care.   We provide care to all types of wounds including, but not limited to, pressure ulcers, wounds resulting from vascular conditions, diabetes, trauma, surgery, disease or infection, burns and ostomy care. We provide wound care in a team approach with the Nurse Case Manager providing assessment, management, treatments and monitoring of existing and potential problems. We relieve or prevent precipitating risk factors and instruct the patient and caregivers regarding the patient’s needs.   One of the most effective treatment methods we use is the Wound VAC. This leading edge device promotes wound healing through the use of continuous negative pressure and specialized wound dressings.

  • Integrated Chronic Care Management

  • Integrated Chronic Care Management (ICCM) is focused on patient-centered care. It is accomplished through interdisciplinary coordination and proactive planning to reduce avoidable hospitalizations and emergent care. ICCM specialized care protocols are customized to specific patient needs to address chronic conditions including cardiac, respiratory and diabetes. Care coordination and case-conferencing with the patient’s primary medical team is always a top priority.

  • Palliative Care

  • Our Palliative Care Program is committed to enabling persons to gain comfort and control over their lives when they are facing a life-limiting illness.  Palliative care is simply the extension of hospice principles to people who are diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, but who may still be undergoing active treatment for their disease. Our palliative care patients receive individualized pain and symptom management, while continuing their treatments. We work closely with physicians, hospitals and all other members of a patient's health care team to provide seamless, high quality palliative care. We continually assess resources and provide the appropriate referrals to enhance services, including hospice services when appropriate.

  • Psychiatric Nursing

  • For patients experiencing behavioral, emotional or mental health issues, VNS’ psychiatric nursing staff can foster independence and help patients remain in the comfort of their own home. Working under a physician’s orders, the role of the psychiatric nurse is to assess the patient’s mental status, evaluate level of functioning, coping skills, and availability of support systems, treatment compliance and efficacy and to provide therapeutic intervention as needed.

  • Nutritional Counseling

  • Registered dietitians assess diet and nutritional health and can instruct patients on how to adopt new dietary recommendations.

  • Hospice at Home™

  • Hospice is not a building or a place, but a concept of care that is recognized as the model of quality, compassionate health care delivery for people facing life-limiting illness, regardless of diagnosis. Hospice allows the illness to follow its natural course. Our focus is on caring, not curing.
  • Hospice care utilizes a team of specially trained health care professionals and volunteers that, collectively, address symptom control, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient's needs and wishes.  Most private insurance plans, HMOs and other managed care plans, provide coverage for hospice services, as does Medicare.
  • Hospice eligibility requirements should not be confused with length of service.  While many insurance companies, as well as the Medicare Hospice Benefit, require that a terminally ill patient have a prognosis of six months or less, there is not a six-month limit to hospice care services. In fact, a patient in the final phase of life may receive hospice care for as long as necessary when a physician certifies that he or she continues to meet eligibility requirements.

  • Private Duty / Personal Care



  • When living independently becomes difficult due to age or disability, caregivers from Hartford HealthCare Independence at Home are the trusted solution to help you or your loved ones maintain your life in the comfort of home.
  • Our personal care assistants, live-ins, companions, and homemakers are an ideal alternative to assisted living or nursing home care. Whether it's just an extra helping hand or around-the- clock care, you and your family can find peace of mind knowing that our in-home care has been trusted by Connecticut families.
  • Visit Hartford HealthCare Independence at Home or call 1.888.863.2771