Founded in 1893 by nursing pioneer

Lillian D. Wald Lillian D. Wald (March 10, 1867 – September 1, 1940) was an American nurse, humanitarian and author. She was known for contributions to human rights and was the founder of American community nursing. She founded the Henry Street Settlement in N ...

and Mary M. Brewster, VNS Health is one of the largest

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

home- and community-based health care organizations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, serving the five boroughs of New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties; and parts of upstate New York.

Background

Lillian Wald, the founder of public health nursing, began her mission on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of Manhattan. At the time, this was the most densely populated area in the world. In 1893 Wald founded the Nurses' Settlement, which later changed its name to the

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founde ...

. In 1895, banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff purchased the

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

townhouse at 265 Henry Street for the new organization to use, and expansion continued to adjacent buildings over the next few years. Henry Street Settlement funded the first nurse in the New York City public schools—an innovation that led to the creation of a citywide public school nurse program, the first in the world. By 1940, nearly 300 visiting nurses were providing medical care throughout New York City. Henry Street Settlement's nurse service became the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. On May 18, 2022, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York rebranded to VNS Health.

Corporate information

Staff

The VNS Health workforce consists of licensed practical and registered nurses; physical, occupational, and speech-language therapists; social workers; home health aides and home attendants, physicians, registered dietitians, and psychologists. VNS Health has received more than 90 national and regional awards from the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Visiting Nurse Associations of America, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Times Tribute to Nurses, New York University College of Nursing, Home Care Association of New York State, Crain’s New York Business, Public Health Association of New York City, and the national associations of Social Workers, Hispanic Nurses, Chinese American Nurses, among many others. The current President and CEO of VNS Health is Dan Savitt.

Research center

The company researches to increase the evidence base for health care at home, and established the VNS Health Center for Home Care Policy & Research in 1993. Its IT innovations have been the subject of research

Advocacy

VNS Health acts as a liaison between patient and government bodies such as the state and federal legislatures, as well as regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Insurance.

Controversy

The company paid $35 million to the federal Medicaid program in order to settle a civil suit alleging it enrolled ineligible people into Medicaid plans, and is currently defending allegations it claimed Medicaid and Medicare income for the care ordered by doctors but never delivered.

References

{{Authority control Medical and health organizations based in New York (state) Nursing organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1893 1893 establishments in New York (state) Community nursing