VNS of Connecticut Named To 2010 HomeCare Elite

BRIDGEPORT—Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut today announced that it has been named to the 2010 HomeCare Elite™, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States sponsored by health care industry consulting firm OCS HomeCare. Now in its fifth year, the HomeCare Elite identifies the top 25 percent of agencies. Winners are ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement, and financial performance. VNS was among 18 of the nearly 100 home care agencies in Connecticut to make this year’s list.

"The 2010 HomeCare Elite winners continue to demonstrate a commitment to providing their patients with the best possible care while performing at the highest level," said Amanda Twiss, CEO of OCS HomeCare. "We congratulate VNS of Connecticut on being one of the top home care agencies in the country. In addition, we salute all forward-thinking providers who are already working on measuring and improving their performance using OASIS-C outcomes and process measures and HH-CAHPS results. This important data will also be used in identifying the HomeCare Elite in the future."

VNS of Connecticut President William F. Sullivan, Jr., credits a strong commitment to excellence by staff and volunteers at every level of the nonprofit organization for the agency’s ability to rank as one of the nation’s HomeCare Elite. He said, "We are very proud of our agency’s 100 year legacy of providing the finest in home health care services for our patients. Never has that commitment been stronger than it is today, as we enter our second century of service.” "On the fifth anniversary of HomeCare Elite, DecisionHealth would like to congratulate all of the winners who have achieved excellent clinical and financial outcomes, especially during times of such drastic regulatory changes," added Marci Heydt, executive editor of DecisionHealth’s Home Health Line publication.

The 2010 HomeCare Elite is the only performance recognition of its kind in the home health industry. The 2010 HomeCare Elite is brought to the industry by OCS HomeCare, the leading provider of homecare information, and DecisionHealth, publisher of homecare’s most respected independent newsletter Home Health Line. The data used for this analysis were compiled from publicly available information. The entire list of the 2010 HomeCare Elite agencies can be viewed by visiting the OCS HomeCare website at www.ocshomecare.com.

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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 www.vnsct.org.