Judith Stanley Coleman, chairwoman of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, and VNACJ Chief Operating Officer Ashley Wharton flank Monsignor William J. Linder, founder and CEO of the New Community Corp., and Donnett Brown, executive director of Essex Valley VNA. RED BANK — The Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey (VNACJ), long known for delivery of home- and community based health care services to the Monmouth County community, has expanded its outreach to northern New Jersey, where it will bring needed services to an urban population.
The VNACJ and Newark-based New Community Corp. (NCC), a community development organization, recently acquired the Essex Valley Visiting Nurse Association (EVVNA), according to a press release announcing the acquisition.
“As the delivery of health care continues to change and as the demand for accessible community-based services continues to grow, the acquisition of this extraordinary VNA, which has served residents of Essex and Hudson counties for over a century, allows our agency to touch many lives for the better,” said Mary Ann Christopher, president and CEO of the VNACJ, which was founded 96 years ago.
Msgr. William J. Linder, NCC founder and CEO, spoke of the expanded services made possible by joining the VNACJ in a press release announcing the acquisition.
“We are particularly pleased that, for the first time, the agency based in Newark will be able to offer hospice services to individuals and families.
“This is an exciting venture that will help improve the quality of life for our patients and community,” Linder continued.
Christopher said that there has always been a mutual respect between the two longstanding, mission-based organizations.
“The opportunity to combine NCC’s commitment to building better neighborhoods with VNACJ’s capacity to provide a comprehensive array of heath care services is unique,” she said.
“Health care delivery is changing, and building a strong, multifaceted human services network is what enhances lives and communities. That is what this relationship does.”
Judith Stanley Coleman, VNACJ board chairwoman, spoke about the compatibility of the two agencies.
“The board of trustees of VNA is enthusiastic about this acquisition and foresees wonderful outcomes for those we will serve.
“These agencies are a perfect complement for each other in both services and mission,” Stanley Coleman added.
In an email, Christopher explained that the transition under way this fall had gone very well with no interruption in patient care. In addition, more than 100 employees had been trained and educated.
“For example, the nursing and therapy field staffs completed a transition to VNACJ’s electronic medical record system,” said Christopher.
Staff members are now using that system to electronically document health care information in the patient’s home, providing physicians and other health care providers with immediate, 24-hour access through the Provider Web Portal Link.
When asked about the new challenges the VNACJ anticipates in serving a new demographic, Christopher said that the agency has always served both suburban and urban communities.
“Those we care for in the home and at community-based facilities span the socioeconomic spectrum,” she said.
“The people we will serve through this expansion reside both in cities and towns, large and small, and will be accessing the full range of home health, hospice and other services and programs we provide.
“Because of our background, we are uniquely prepared to enhance the health care delivery system in Essex and Hudson counties through this new venture.” Christopher explained via email.
According to the VNACJ website, each day more than 450 nurses, 150 therapists and social workers and more than 200 home health aides bring their skilled care directly to patients’ homes and communities. Last year the agency served more than 100,000 individuals.
NCC is one of the largest and most comprehensive community development organizations in the United States, providing low-income housing, health care, education, child care and economic development.
“The addition of EVVNA to VNACJ enables our organizations to expand their service areas and build on a shared tradition of compassionate care, expert clinical resources and technology,” Christopher said.
In addition to the new use of electronic medical records, Essex and Hudson County residents will now have access to services such as telehealth monitoring, infusion therapy services, companion/homemaker and live-in care, emergency response solutions, and palliative and hospice care, according to the press release.
These services will be offered in addition to current nursing, rehabilitative therapies, medical social work and certified home health aides.
Community-based care will also benefit from the combined strengths of the organizations.
“Residents of the region will gain access to services such as senior wellness initiatives, immunization programs, health education, bereavement support services, and enhanced case management for longterm care,” Christopher explained.
As the delivery model for health care continues to evolve, Christopher said that home- and community-based care would continue to play a vital role.
“The services we provide across the state are cost-effective and produce healthier, stronger communities,” said Christopher.
VNACJ began with a meeting of volunteers on June 24, 1912, at Brookdale Farm, the Lincroft estate of Geraldine L. Thompson, according to the website. The VNA set out to improve prison conditions and achieve a more humane approach to public assistance.
VNA community services have evolved from mobile health clinics in the 1920s, services to migrants in the 1940s, hospice care in the 1980s, primary care in the 1990s, expansion of school-based clinics in 2000 to the introduction of advanced home care technology in the 21st century, according to the website.
NCC was born out of the disorder, poverty and despair that led to the civil disorders in Newark in 1967. The agency’s goal was to develop safe, decent and attractive housing for poor residents in a new community within the Central Ward and to use the new housing to spur neighborhood revitalization.
New Community Corp.’s first real estate development project opened in 1975. It was followed by a series of family and senior residences that were built and opened throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1985, NCC completed the renovation of its current headquarters, St. Joseph Plaza located on West Market Street.
This became one of NCC’s first economic development projects, converting the formerly shuttered church into a 24,000-square-foot complex that included office & conference space, a restaurant and jazz club, according to the NCC website.
A
n extended-care facility opened in
1986 and a transitional facility for homeless families called Harmony House was completed in 1989.
In 2009, NCC’s latest housing development, Roseville Commons, will now provide 50 units of low- and moderate-income housing in the West Ward of Newark.
In addition to its 180-bed Extended Care Facility, NCC now offers home care through its EVVNA Wellness Clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners.