VNS Health

VNS Health
Formation1893
TypeHealth Care
Legal statusNot-for-profit organization
HeadquartersNew York City
Region served
New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties; parts of Upstate New York
SubsidiariesVNSNY, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, VNSNY CHOICE health plans
Staff16,500+
Website[1]
Visiting Nurse Service office

Founded in 1893 by nursing pioneer Lillian D. Wald and Mary M. Brewster, VNS Health is one of the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organizations in the United States, serving the five boroughs of New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties; and parts of upstate New York.

Background

Main article: Henry Street Settlement

Lillian Wald, the founder of public health nursing, began her mission on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. At the time, this was the most densely populated area in the world.[1][2][3] In 1893 Wald founded the Nurses' Settlement, which later changed its name to the Henry Street Settlement. In 1895, banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff purchased the Federal style townhouse at 265 Henry Street for the new organization to use, and expansion continued to adjacent buildings over the next few years.[4][5] Henry Street Settlement funded the first nurse in the New York City public schools—an innovation that led to the creation of a citywide public school nurse program, the first in the world. By 1940, nearly 300 visiting nurses were providing medical care throughout New York City.[6] Henry Street Settlement's nurse service became the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.[7] On May 18, 2022, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York rebranded to VNS Health.

Corporate information

Staff

The VNS Health workforce[8] consists of licensed practical and registered nurses; physical, occupational, and speech-language therapists; social workers; home health aides and home attendants, physicians, registered dietitians, and psychologists.

VNS Health has received more than 90 national and regional awards[citation needed] from the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Visiting Nurse Associations of America, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Times Tribute to Nurses, New York University College of Nursing, Home Care Association of New York State, Crain's New York Business, Public Health Association of New York City, and the national associations of Social Workers, Hispanic Nurses, Chinese American Nurses, among many others.

The current President and CEO of VNS Health is Dan Savitt.

Research center

The company researches to increase the evidence base for health care at home, and established the VNS Health Center for Home Care Policy & Research in 1993.[9] Its IT innovations have been the subject of research[10]

Advocacy

VNS Health acts as a liaison between patient and government bodies such as the state and federal legislatures, as well as regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Insurance.[citation needed]

Controversy

The company paid $35 million to the federal Medicaid program in order to settle a civil suit alleging it enrolled ineligible people into Medicaid plans,[11] and is currently defending allegations it claimed Medicaid and Medicare income for the care ordered by doctors but never delivered.[12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lower East Side Tenement Museum".
  2. ^ "History - Visiting Nurse Service of New York".
  3. ^ "The Incredible Shrinking CIO". CIO. 77 (2). 15 Oct 2003.
  4. ^ "Our History". Henry Street Settlement. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  5. ^ Eisenstadt, Peter; Moss, Laura-Eve (2005). Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse University Press.
  6. ^ "Henry Street Settlement". National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  7. ^ Elizabeth Fee and Liping Bu (July 2010). "The Origins of Public Health Nursing: The Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service". American Journal of Public Health. 100 (7): 1206–1207. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.186049. PMC 2882394. PMID 20466947.
  8. ^ "How to Control Costs With CMS's Knee Replacement Bundles".
  9. ^ "Background". Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  10. ^ Rosenfeld, Russell; Ames, S; Roasti, R (12 August 2010). "Using Technology to Enhance the Quality of Home Health Care: Three Case Studies of Health Information Technology Initiatives at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York". Journal for Healthcare Quality. 32 (5): 22–29. doi:10.1111/j.1945-1474.2010.00098.x. PMID 20854356. S2CID 5931154.
  11. ^ "Visiting Nurse Services to pay $35M in Medicaid fraud suit". Politico.
  12. ^ Pamoukaghlian, Veronica (10 October 2016). "Visiting Nurse Service of New York Faces Medicare & Medicaid Fraud Suit".
  13. ^ Bernstein, Nina (23 September 2016). "Whistle-Blower Suit Accuses Visiting Nurse Service of Fraud" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ "Day Centers Sprout Up, Luring Fit Elders and Costing Medicaid". The New York Times. 23 April 2013.