From The First Visiting Nurse To Who We Are Today:
A Legacy of Dedication

As early as 1909, with the founding of the New London Visiting Nurse association, civic leaders identified the need for community nursing. One nurse, functioning with remarkable independence, was hired by each of the agencies that have come together as the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut. Black bag in hand, equipped with enema bags, dressing supplies, thermometer and little else, these pioneers visited their patients on foot, by horseback, or by bicycle.

Charged mostly with caring for the poor, new mothers and children, psychiatric and homebound tuberculosis patients, their nursing duties were combined with a large dose of social work. These intrepid clinicians set the stage for what is now one of the fastest growing segments of the health care industry.

Today's highly trained visiting nurses continue the legacy of their predecessors. The unwavering dedication of caring for patients remains unchanged. However, in the black bag of today's visiting nurses are the technological advances that make it possible to assess and treat patients, even those with the most complex illnesses, in their homes.

Putting aside individual concerns in favor of serving the greater good, four agencies (Groton Public Health Nursing Service, Waterford Public Health Nursing Service, Shoreline Visiting Nurse Association, and the Stonington Visiting Nurse Association) have become one under the banner of the Visiting nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut (VNASC). An affiliate of Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, the agency provides a full range of home nursing services in a geographical area from the Rhode Island border to the Old Saybrook.

Our Board of Directors is representative of the individual towns we serve. These are experienced and knowledgeable individuals dedicated to executing the mission of the agency.

The biggest challenge for all health care providers is to deliver quality care and services, cost effectively. As a larger organization, we are positioned to meet that challenge head on. We provide a broader range of clinical services and, because we are a non-profit agency, any profit we do enjoy will continue to flow back into the community. We scale fees and provide free service when appropriate.

As always, the patient is our first priority, we are here to serve the community. The vision that the first nurses carried with them on their rounds remains with us today. Through the provision of home care services, educational programs, and disease prevention, we improve the quality of life for residents of southeastern Connecticut.

Excerpt from the VNASC 1996 Special Report to the Community. Written by: Marilyn Kautto, Edited by: Kelly Anthony, Guided by: Public Relations Committee of the VNASC Board of Directors.