VNS - Providing Exceptional In-Home Care

Established in 1909, Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut is an innovative, not for profit home health and hospice leader, providing comprehensive and specialized home health and hospice services for residents of Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties. As a Medicare certified and state licensed agency, VNS provides the highest quality home health and hospice care for approximately 8,000 patients each year. Our commitment to achieving optimal outcomes through patient centered care and inter-disciplinary coordination has made VNS a preferred referral partner in the communities we serve.

In April 2019, VNS of CT affiliated with Hartford HealthCare at Home, part of Hartford HealthCare, a fully integrated health system serving residents of Connecticut. Together, VNS of CT and Hartford HealthCare at Home provide  comprehensive and coordinated home healthcare services including clinical home healthcare, hospice and palliative care and private duty / personal care. 

For more information on Hartford HealthCare at Home, visit HartfordHealthCareatHome.org

VNS’ dedicated staff of home health and hospice professionals provide expert patient-centered care including skilled nursing, specialty nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, palliative and hospice care, social work and home health aides for personal care and supportive services. Specialized programs include infusion therapy, cardiac, telemonitoring, respiratory, diabetes, wound care and rehabilitation services.

For individuals or families requiring personal care, 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.

VNS is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP), the leading home health accrediting program in the United States.

  • Mission, Vision and Values

  • Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut, Inc., (VNS) a nonprofit health care provider, finds its mission in the provision of quality home health and hospice services to individuals, families and the communities it serves.
  • VNS is committed to the development of a partnership with the patient in the delivery of comprehensive, compassionate care. Our competent and caring staff are driven to help patients reach their highest attainable health care outcomes.
  • The VNS approach to care is guided by:
    • A respect for the dignity and value of life.
    • Patient centered satisfaction.
    • Effective use of available resources.
    • Responsive advocacy to develop innovative services.
    • Dedicated leadership, which helps shape health care policies and services.

  • Vision

  • Our vision is to be the premier home care provider in Connecticut. We define premier in the following ways:
    • Being the agency of choice for patients and referral sources, with an ability to effectively serve all referrals.
    • Being the employer of choice with the highest quality staff.
    • Consistently achieving excellent clinical outcomes.
    • Being the leader in the development of innovative and comprehensive breadth of services that address the changing needs of our patient population.
    • Being recognized as a valued community resource with strong affiliations.
    • Maintaining financial stability.
    • Relentlessly demonstrating our commitment and dedication to our Mission and Core Values.

  • Values

  • VNS is committed to the promotion of health and the provision of quality care within a changing health care environment. Our corporate core HEART values of Humor, Excellence, Attitude, Respect and Teamwork are visible in all that we do.

  • Communities We Serve

  • VNS is the leading home health and hospice care provider in the 54 Connecticut communities we serve. Our referral partners choose VNS based on our clinical capabilities and commitment to patient satisfaction. VNS’ team of approximately 400 healthcare professionals are assigned to four regional offices to ensure care coordination with the patient’s medical team and primary care providers.
  • VNS provides clinical home health and private-duty personal care in the following communities:  (Alphabetical by town)
    • Ansonia
    • Bakersville
    • Bantam
    • Barkhamsted
    • Beacon Falls
    • Bethany
    • Bethel
    • Bethlehem
    • Bridgeport
    • Cheshire
    • Darien
    • Derby
    • East Haven
    • Easton
    • Fairfield
    • Goshen
    • Greenwich
    • Hamden
    • Harwinton
    • Huntington
    • Litchfield
    • Middlebury
    • Milford
    • Monroe
    • Morris
    • Naugatuck
    • New Canaan
    • New Hartford
    • New Haven
    • Newtown
    • North Haven
    • Norwalk
    • Oakville
    • Oxford
    • Plymouth
    • Prospect
    • Roxbury
    • Sandy Hook
    • Seymour
    • Shelton
    • Southbury
    • Southport
    • Stamford
    • Stratford
    • Terryville
    • Thomaston
    • Torrington
    • Trumbull
    • Watertown
    • West Haven
    • Weston
    • Westport
    • Wilton
    • Winchester
    • Winsted
    • Wolcott
    • Woodbridge
    • Woodbury

  • Choosing VNS for Home Healthcare

  • Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut is focused on each patient as an individual, at all times. As an innovative community-based, not-for-profit agency serving Connecticut residents for over 100 years, we measure our success by how well our patients manage under our care. At VNS, we constantly assess our quality performance standards to ensure that our state of the art, evidence-based best clinical practices are achieving patient goals and desired outcomes. Our professional staff are expertly trained to address a wide spectrum of patient needs and are equipped with mobile clinical decision support systems providing access to critical patient electronic health information at all times.

  • Quality Outcome Measurement

  • Medicare provides Home Health Compare and Hospice Compare rating information that allows consumers and referral sources to evaluate home health and hospice agency outcome performance. The outcomes provided measure the quality and standards of care provided for patients. VNS is proud to be one of the best performing agencies in Connecticut with results which exceed both national and state averages on a majority of measured outcomes. This information is readily accessible to the public and we encourage referral sources, patients and their caregivers to review this information for reference and comparison.
  • Read the Medicare Home Health Compare data for VNS
  • Read the Medicare Hospice Compare data for VNS

  • Patient Satisfaction

  • All patients receive a comprehensive satisfaction survey that asks them and their families to evaluate our performance in areas such as care-delivery, knowledge and management of their needs, caring and respectful communications and interpersonal skills, punctuality, accessibility and overall satisfaction. VNS analyzes all results and consistently works to exceed patient expectations. Our goal is to achieve satisfaction outcomes that place us in the top-tier of home health care agencies nationwide. Patient satisfaction is included in the Home Health Compare star ratings and hospice satisfaction ratings are anticipated on the Hospice Compare site in the near future.

  • Care Coordination

  • As one of the largest and best-performing home health and hospice care providers in Connecticut, VNS can address a wide spectrum of patient needs, including specialized care that is coordinated with discipline-specific, advanced credentialed staff. VNS clinicians, therapists and home health aides work collaboratively as a team to provide patient-centered care and are in frequent communication with the patient’s medical team to ensure the plan of care is current and appropriate.
  • For patients requiring private duty personal care or household assistance, VNS’ affiliate Partners In Care can provide hourly or live-in care coordinated with VNS’ clinical staff. Read more information about Partners In Care.

  • Physician and Hospital Partners

  • VNS is a preferred referral partner for regional hospitals, healthcare facilities and leading physician practices because of our quality outcomes, patient satisfaction ratings and our patient centered philosophy of care. We periodically survey our referral partners for their assessment of how well we support patient transitions to the home setting, implement the home-based plan of care, and provide best practice home health and hospice care for their patients.

  • Agency Leadership

    • Ann M. Olson, RN, BSN, MBA
      Vice President
    • F. Edward Nicolas
      VP, Finance - Chief Financial Officer
    • Jeanne Bodyk, RN, MSN
      Vice President Clinical Services, Administrator

  • Directors

    • Joy Angelone
      Director, Human Resources
    • Jamie Burn
      Director, Information Technology
    • Karen Giarnese, RN, BSN
      Director, Hospice at Home
    • Bernard Lynch, MBA
      Director, Development
    • Benedict P. Mazotas
      Controller
    • Fran Milette
      Director, Revenue Services
    • Diane Miller, PT, MPT
      Director, Rehabilitation Services
    • Monica Sartor, RN, MSN
      Regional Director of Clinical Services
    • Paulette Sementilli, RN, MSN
      Director, Customer Relations and Care Transitions
    • Michael Stone
      Director - Independence at Home

  • Professional Advisory Committee

  • VNS' Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) advises the agency on professional issues, participates in the evaluation of agency programs and assists the agency in maintaining liaison with other healthcare providers in the community.

  • Chair:

    • Pamela Hoffman, M.D.
    •  

  • Members:

    • Mary Beth Bednarz, RN, BSN
    • Jeanne Bodyk, RN, MSN (ex-officio)
    • Michael Catuccio, MS, PT
    • Susan Connolly, PT
    • Frank Diaferio, RPh
    • Jan Hollerbach, OT
    • Betty Horan, Community Member
    • Carol Landsman, ST
    • Maurice Magnotta, Community Member
    • James Roach, MD
    • Yonzel Sells, Ed. D
    • Astou Seye, MD