News Release

VNA INCREASES PATIENT VOLUME, SEEKS MORE GROWTH IN 2006

		After experiencing a sizable increase in patient volume last year, VNA is on target for more growth in 2006.

Feb. 28, 2006 — Visiting Nurses Association of Venango County experienced a 25 percent increase in patient volume last year, and it is poised for more growth in 2006 when it will mark its 89th anniversary, according to Chief Executive Officer Pat Kaufman.

The organization is on target for further expansion of its hospice, palliative and private duty services, and will seek to maintain the high marks that it has been earning in patient satisfaction surveys.

Here is a summary of last year’s achievements and a look at 2006:

Patient Care

While making slightly fewer visits in 2005, VNA markedly increased the number of patients for whom it provided care. VNA’s 157 staff members helped meet the needs of 2,049 patients (up 25 percent from 2004) while making 39,780 home health, hospice and palliative care visits to these individuals.

The importance of VNA’s services also can be measured by its average daily census, which was 450 in 2005.

Growth of the VNA Hospice also continued last year: the average daily census in the hospice program has more than doubled the past four years, from 12 in 2002 to 26 in 2005, and VNA wants to expand hospice services this year to include more hospital inpatients.

Palliative Care

VNA provided high quality palliative care, education and support for 196 patients in 2005 and it is seeking to make these services available to more patients in 2006, Mrs. Kaufman says.

Palliative and hospice care have the same goal – to help patients live with an incurable disease – but there’s one important difference between them. Palliative care is for patients before or during active treatment of a chronic or terminal illness, while hospice care is given after active treatment concludes.

“Palliative care is the middle ground between regular home health care and hospice,” Mrs. Kaufman says. “It involves the same caregivers and many of the same services as hospice, but typically at an earlier stage of the person’s illness.”

Palliative care focuses primarily on managing pain and symptoms that patients experience with chronic or incurable illnesses, according to Lynn Smith, RN, VNA’s hospice/palliative care nurse manager. While palliative care often is associated with cancer patients, it also is ideal for homebound individuals undergoing treatment for illnesses like chronic heart, lung, kidney and liver diseases, dementia and diabetes.

“Our goal is to maintain quality of life and keep patients well enough to continue receiving care in their homes,” Mrs. Smith says. Palliative care is intended to “help people live their lives well, maybe for many years, when there’s no cure for their illness.”

There’s a definite need for palliative care services in the community “and we have the resources to meet that need,” Mrs. Smith says.

Private Duty

VNA Private Duty nurses, home attendants and PM companions provided 84,857 hours of service in 2005, up 9 percent from the year before. Private duty services including assistance with dressing, bathing, meals, medications, and other everyday activities are available around the clock every day of the year in patients’ homes and other facilities where they reside.

Also available are personal emergency response systems that summon help with the touch of a button, handyman service to help with maintenance around patients’ homes, and housekeeping services.

Demand for VNA Private Duty services is growing, and so is its reputation for providing high-quality home health care services. Nurse manager Rose Anderson, RN says that is a tribute to the caliber of its patient care team.

VNA Private Duty staff members must have first aid and CPR training, and many also have completed certified nurse aide courses to help them meet patients’ needs.
“We have a better staff than ever,” Ms. Anderson says. “They do so much for our patients. They’re good people, and our patients really appreciate them.”

Camp Good Grief

This summer camp for children and teenagers who have experienced the death of a loved one drew a record 52 participants for some therapeutic fun at Singing Hills Girl Scout Camp near Two Mile Run Park. From a modest beginning with only a few campers in 1996, Camp Good Grief has become a hugely successful VNA outreach that sets a new mark for attendance almost every year.

Patient Satisfaction

VNA continues to be one of the best performing home health care organizations among more than 350 in the Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey. VNA’s patient satisfaction ratings have been in the top five percent of the nationwide survey during several recent calendar quarters, and as high as the top two percent.

Hospice/Bereavement Volunteers

VNA has given its hospice volunteer program a new dimension by enhancing bereavement services that allow the organization to meet families’ needs beyond patients’ lives. Grief recovery services like visitation, listening, comforting and spiritual counsel help families get back on their feet again, according to bereavement/volunteer coordinator Rita Kiter, who says it’s important that hospice volunteers “connect with families after their loved ones’ lives are over.”

		Rehab nurse Scott Smith, RN (above), and other VNA staff members helped meet the home health care needs of more than 2,000 area residents in 2005.

Cameos of Caring

Rehab nurse Scott Smith, RN, of VNA was UPMC Northwest’s Cameos of Caring award recipient in 2005. This University of Pittsburgh School of nursing award recognizes western Pennsylvania nurses for nursing excellence and effective advocacy for patients, and pays tribute to recipients for being role models for the nursing profession.