12/8/2015
Visiting Nurse Associations of America
Two leading home health care organizations launch joint effort to strengthen home health care for providers, patients, and taxpayers
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
by: Visiting Nurse Associations of America
Section: Breaking News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 8, 2015
Contact: Emily Adler
703-548-0019
WASHINGTON — Dec. 8, 2015 — The Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (the Alliance) announced today a new partnership to advance their missions for improving policymaker and public understanding of home health care and community-based care, and support the members of both organizations in their pursuit of clinical and business excellence. The new partnership aligns the research and education initiatives of both organizations, creates opportunities for operational efficiencies through sharing of resources, provides the VNAA and the Alliance members with reciprocal benefits and elevates the scope of existing programs and initiatives.
The new VNAA-Alliance partnership will begin immediately as both groups continue to identify further opportunities for collaboration and integration of existing efforts as well as new initiatives the organizations have planned for the future.
VNAA is a nonprofit, national industry organization that supports, promotes, and advances mission-driven providers of community-based health care including home health, hospice, and palliative care, and health promotion services to ensure quality care within their communities.
The Alliance is a nonprofit, national consortium of nonprofit and proprietary home health care providers and organizations. The Alliance invests in research and education about home health care and its ability to deliver quality, cost-effective, patient-centered care across the care continuum.
Their new partnership is being pursued to help both organizations successfully respond to the changing landscape of home health and community-based care due to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, and a range of other state and federal policy reforms. The combination of these changes coupled with the national challenges of caring for an aging population living with the high burdens of chronic illness, opportunities created by new care delivery models, and new health care technologies inspired VNAA and the Alliance to pursue this new path together.
“Health care is shifting toward value based care, signaling a need for greater collaboration and focus,” said Tracy Moorhead, President and CEO of VNAA. “Our new partnership with the Alliance will better connect us with leading organizations outside of our traditional membership so that we can have a stronger impact on the health care landscape. Patients, their families, clinicians, and taxpayers alike will benefit from a broad range of providers, committed to excellence, working cohesively.”
“By combining our activities in these areas we have the chance to amplify the impact of both organizations’ efforts in Washington, DC and nationwide,” added Teresa Lee, Executive Director of the Alliance. “As there is a national urgency to improve both the understanding of and resources for home and community-based care, the more we can act together, the bigger difference we will make. Now is the time to minimize fragmentation and mixed messages to gain more focus on the many shared interests and activities of our members.”
By sharing resources and knowledge, the VNAA and the Alliance will enhance their efforts to ensure the role of home health and hospice care are recognized in our nation’s health care system and appropriately utilized so that patients are receiving the right care in the right setting. Individually, both organizations have achieved significant accomplishments in strengthening the delivery of quality home health care and community-based care, and look forward to working more closely to advance the missions of each organization.
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VNAA is a national association that supports, promotes and advances nonprofit providers of home and community-based healthcare, hospice and health promotion services to ensure quality care for their communities. VNAA members share a mission to provide cost-effective and compassionate care to some of the nation’s most vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Learn more at www.vnaa.org.