Press Room

Check here for the latest VNA news and happenings around the community. For additional information or to arrange media interviews, please contact:
Ann Irwin
VNA Development and Community Relations Director
1110 Prim Road
Colchester, VT 05446
(802) 860-4437
irwinREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@vnacares.org

VNA Offers Spring Hospice Volunteer Training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/9/10

Colchester, Vermont - Hospice of the Champlain Valley, a program of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, offers a spring training course for hospice volunteers starting March 9, 2010. The 10-week course will be held on Tuesdays from 6-8:30 pm at the VNA main building, 1110 Prim Rd, Colchester, VT. The cut-off for registration is February 26.

This training helps prepare volunteers in our community who wish to provide respite and support for people with terminal illness and their families. This extensive curriculum, presented in a safe and supportive environment, features such session topics as an introduction to Hospice and Palliative Care, the patient and family unit of care, communication, and grief and bereavement. Each session begins with a presentation on a topic and continues with a facilitated smaller group discussion.

"The hospice volunteer training is invaluable," says Erica Marks, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator at the VNA. "It really helps people think about their feelings toward death and helps them be more prepared for decisions that they face with family members as well as for themselves."

For more information on the spring hospice volunteer training, contact Hospice Volunteer Coordinators, Deb Brady or Erica Marks at 860-4411.

Hospice of the Champlain Valley is a program of the VNA's End-of-Life Care services. Other programs include: Vermont Respite House, Palliative Care Services, the Madison-Deane Initiative, Supportive Care Services for Children, Noyana Singers and Camp Knock Knock. VNA's End-of-Life Care services promote dignity and quality of life for individuals faced with a life threatening or terminal diagnosis.

Contact

Ann Irwin
Director of Development and Community Relations
860-4437

Longest-Serving VNA Nurse to Retire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/2/2009

Colchester, Vermont - The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (VNA), Vermont's oldest home health and hospice agency, today announced the retirement of Pat Wright, RN, after 43 years of service.

Pat Wright, RN

A 1965 graduate of St. Anselm's College, Ms. Wright began her career at the VNA in 1966 as a home care nurse. Since that time, she has worked at the VNA providing home-based care to thousands of clients in a wide variety of roles including Staff Nurse, Manager of Home Health Aide Program, Manager of Statewide Cystic Fibrosis Program for the VNA, and Coordinator of VNA Home Health on site at MCHV and Fanny Allen Hospital. She has managed the Intake and Referral and Medical Records Departments, and initiated the computerization of physician orders for the start of Medicare.

Ms. Wright developed the Wellness Programs at the VNA including High Risk Flu clinics, Corporate Wellness programs, and the Senior Housing Wellness Project in Chittenden County, which included a pilot project at the Pines Senior Living complex to connect residents and their families with the resources to age in place.

Pat Donehower, Vice President for Clinical Services, and Catherine Holdway, Director of Community Care Connection, note, "Pat is ingrained in the fabric of the VNA and has been an integral part of almost half of our 100-plus year history. Pat is an old-fashioned, dedicated RN who is a competent, calm and reassuring presence. When you call her and there's a need, she always figures out how to say yes, with a smile. She's an amazing nurse."

J. Churchill Hindes PhD, VNA President and CEO, remarks, Pat Wright has dedicated her life to serving patients, clients and families across our communities. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the needs of people trying to heal and remain in their homes and of the resources available to help these things to happen. Pat is so much more than an experienced home health nurse-over the years she has become one of the most familiar faces of our VNA."

The VNA is a 103-year-old nonprofit home health agency caring for people of all ages - from critically ill children to vulnerable families to adults who need rehabilitation, long-term care, adult day services or end-of-life care. The VNA provides medically necessary home and community-based care to individuals and families regardless of their ability to pay. The VNA serves over 5,000 individuals and families each year. For more information on VNA services and programs, please contact the VNA at (802) 658-1900 or visit http://www.vnacares.org/.

Contact

Ann Irwin
Director of Development and Community Relations
860-4437

Twelve New Americans Graduate from VNA Caregiver Training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/20/2009

Colchester, Vermont - The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (VNA) announced the graduation in March of twelve students from their Personal Care Attendant (PCA) training. The students' training was a collaboration between the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, the VNA and Vermont Adult Learning with grant support from the Vermont Department of Labor.

The PCA training consisted of 40 hours of instruction which emphasized body mechanics, infection control, safety and professional communication. Fifteen hours of job-specific English training was also taught. New to the United States, the graduates hailed from the following countries: Sudan, Congo, Liberia, Somalia, Iraq, Bhutan, Nepal and Burundi.

AALV PCA Training Pictured left to right: The graduates and their instructors: Isha Mohamed, Rachel Willie, Gail Hagenbach, Tiya Maya Kuikel, Khem Kuikel, John Ben Modi, Guylaine Blanchette, Chabi Luitel, Khadija Adam, Dilli Ram Dulal, Mia Lombardo, Paulina Angory, Samuel Matota, Rawa Hasan and Ali Mahdi.

Contact

Ann Irwin
Director of Development and Community Relations
860-4437