Business Profile: Visiting Nurse Association of the Hudson Valley
The Visiting Nurse Association of the Hudson Valley, Putnam County’s newest source of quality home care held a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony this past Wednesday, June 27.
While the official opening occurred last week, the office began operations this past January. Since 1990, Putnam County residents have been able to acquire hospice care and home health services from the Visiting Nurse Association of the Hudson Valley [VNA] through its main locations in Westchester County, and now the new Brewster location has allowed the organization to grow.
The atmosphere of the ribbon-cutting event was one of satisfaction that the office and its staff were prepared to serve the community.
“We have an incredible staff, everyone’s on board, it was an easy transition, and I don’t have one negative thing to say,” VNA’s Chief Financial Officer Frank LaPorta said.
The new VNA office is just one of sixty new members to join the Brewster Chamber of Commerce over the past year, Chamber President Geoffrey Reinwald said, who did the honors of cutting the ribbon.
The VNA’s new Brewster office is affiliated with Putnam Hospital Center, and patients in need of home care is referred to the VNA for further assistance. As of now, there are a total of ten nurses working in Putnam County.
VNA’s services include certified home care, hospice services, home health aide services, and, unique to VNA, the Telehealth Video Monitoring System, a state-of-the-art visual monitoring service through which nurses can communicate with patients and take their vitals, including monitoring medication, taking blood pressure and watching blood oxygen levels, without being in the same room.
Accepting Medicare, Medicaid, and an array of private insurance companies, VNA will not turn a resident away if they are unable to pay for home care.
VNA has years of experience dealing with clients of all ages.
“We help people of all ages – from birth to old age,” said Chief Operating Officer Rae Szymanski.
Nurses reach out to the senior citizen community with classes on subjects like disease management and chronic pain management. Screening clinics designed to monitor blood pressure and glucose levels are also sponsored by the VNA. These classes and services are available at local community centers, many times at no cost.
The VNA is a New York State Department of Health Training Facilitator, and as such, it offers free classes to those wishing to become certified home health aides.
“This is a great program,” VNA Vice President Charlotte Smith said. “We had nine graduates from our last course, and all are already employed.”
Students gain experience working with patients at the Putnam Ridge Rehabilitation Center throughout the duration of the course.
The classes, which are offered on the monthly basis, last for three weeks. The VNA said it guarantees employment or employment assistance after a student has received New York State certification.
For further information on the classes, interested parties can contact the VNA of the Hudson Valley by calling 914-666-7079 or by visiting www.vnahv.org.
This newest office of the VNA is located in Suite 101 at 20 Milltown Road in Brewster.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
