Our Mission

VNA Health Care is a not-for-profit agency dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals by providing a full range of home care, hospice and community-based health and wellness services.

Who we are

A trusted and highly regarded home health agency since 1901, VNA Health Care provides home health care to residents of 59 towns in central Connecticut and the greater Waterbury area. The agency helps people live independently in their own homes by offering a full spectrum of home health care ranging from skilled nursing, hospice, rehabilitation and speech therapy to cardiac nursing. Our home care services are designed to encourage independent lifestyles through assistance from visiting nurses, private duty nurses, physical and speech therapists, homemakers, personal care attendants, home health aides, social workers, Meals on Wheels, geriatric care management, home health monitoring, Lifeline personal emergency response system (PERS) and much more. VNA Health Care’s home support services give you and your family the confidence you need to feel safe and cared for in the comfort of your own home.

Our Board of Directors

View a list of our dedicated board of directors.

A Century of Caring: The History of VNA Health Care

In 1901 the Guild of St. Barnabas in Hartford responded to the pressing need for health care in the city by forming a visiting nurse program. Child labor laws had yet to be enacted; the food and drug administration did not exist, and there were few if any means of monitoring and addressing the health needs of city residents. Of particular concern was the expanding birth rate and how best to care for new mothers and their babies.

Two years later motivated by the same health issue, the reverend Dr. John N. Lewis of Waterbury opened a dispensary in the Henry Street Settlement House. Both the Hartford and Waterbury programs began by hiring one nurse and charging between $.10 and $.50 per visit during the day and between $.50 and $2 for evenings. Those who could not afford to pay were not charged. By 1903, the visiting nurse staff that would become VNA Health Care consisted of Miss Martha Wilkinson in Hartford and Miss Beatrice Asbury in Waterbury.

Over the years the demand for visiting nurse services grew from 2,000 visits in 1905 to 20,000 visits in 1925. Today VNA Health Care employs more than 700 staff members and serves an average of 12,000 clients per year.

View our Annual Report.