Giving Back: A VNS of Connecticut Tradition

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. once said, “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” And for the staff of VNS, that is how they live their lives. The following is their story of how they have given back to this community.
When Torrington leaders began their search in 1988 for an organization willing to assume the responsibility of providing skilled home health care services for local residents, their intent was to find an entity similar to the current provider—Brooker Memorial—that was committed to the general welfare of those living in northwestern Connecticut. Their search ended when they discovered Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut, a nonprofit community provider that had emerged from the Bridgeport VNA in 1909 to rescue home health services in several other communities in Fairfield and New Haven counties. VNS had a track record of retaining local staff and remaining grounded in the new communities it served. That tradition of ensuring high quality home health care while giving back to the community remains a VNS trait to this day.
Since VNS began providing home health and hospice services for Torrington area residents, we have:
Served nearly 42,000 patients in Litchfield County;
Conducted nearly 1.5 million patient care visits;
By driving over eight million miles;
Have a daily patient census of between 525 and 550 patients;
While tending to a yearly average of more than 2,000 patients.
Over the more than two decades VNS has been Torrington’s largest provider of home health care services, we have served 63 patients over the age of 100, two patients were 104.
These services were provided by a staff of nurses, therapists, social workers and others who live within a few miles of our Commercial Boulevard offices. They work with physicians, other health care providers and local community organizations to develop care plans that allow their patients to recover fully at home and to manage chronic illnesses they may have. The staff of over 100 participates in wide variety of community support activities.
And, finally, we are most proud of our ability to live out our mission of ensuring the availability of home health care for everyone in the communities we serve, regardless of their ability to pay. During 2010, VNS of Connecticut subsidized over $6 million in free or reduced fee services for the residents of the three counties we serve. It is a legacy and a tradition that drives all we do at VNS of Connecticut.
The United Way of Northwest Connecticut funds 24 agencies that impact over 58,000 of your local friends and neighbors in the 25 communities of Northwest Connecticut. 99% of the money raised here stays here.

Where would you turn if you found yourself in need?

Give. Advocate. Volunteer.

If you’d like more information on the United Way of Northwest Connecticut, volunteer opportunities, advocacy opportunities or giving opportunities – call Stephanie Barksdale at 860-489-4131 or e-mail Stephanie.uw.nwct@snet.net.