The healing power of home: ChristianaCare Visiting Nurse Association changes name to ChristianaCare HomeHealth
Newly named to reflect its comprehensive services, ChristianaCare HomeHealth delivers the highest quality health care to Delawareans where they want to be – in their homes.
ChristianaCare has announced that its Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) has a new vision and a new name: ChristianaCare HomeHealth. This change reflects the health needs and goals of Delawareans who wish to remain independent at home after hospitalization, during chronic illness and as they age.
Older adults increasingly prefer health care at home, according to research from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The need for home health care is expected to increase as the U.S. Census projects the number of adults age 65 or older will outpace the number of children by 2030.
“Nationwide, we’re entering a new day in home-based health care, and ChristianaCare HomeHealth provides the right care, in the right place, at the right time,” said Ric Cuming, Ed.D., RN, chief nurse executive and interim president, ChristianaCare HomeHealth.
“ChristianaCare HomeHealth is grounded in a long history of providing exceptional care to Delawareans with love and excellence.”
Starting as the VNA in 1922, ChristianaCare HomeHealth today has more than 600 home-based caregivers making nearly 300,000 home visits annually, supported by office-based teams. With more than 8,000 patients, ChristianaCare HomeHealth is the highest-volume home health agency in Delaware and among the top 1% in volume in the U.S.
“As ChristianaCare HomeHealth, our new name is an umbrella for all that we offer to our patients and their loved ones to bring them the healing power of home,” Cuming said.
In addition to nationally recognized skilled nursing care, ChristianaCare HomeHealth provides after-hospital care, rehabilitation, pain management, infusion therapy, home health aide support, medical social work and medication management for patients of all ages.
ChristianaCare HomeHealth provides Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care in-home and through the Evergreen Center, Delaware’s only dedicated adult day program for patients with Alzheimer’s, located in Wilmington.
“We care for each according to their need, and we are centered on meeting the needs of our community,” Cuming said. “With the full array of exceptional, innovative services of ChristianaCare available to our patients and their loved ones, we are committed to go beyond delivering great health care to make a true impact on health.”
Between February 2018 and March 2019, ChristianaCare’s VNA embarked on a caregiver- and patient-informed journey to understand current status and future vision.
In this important effort, 150 VNA clinical and administrative staff members and the more than 700 VNA patients, caregivers and family members shared their insights through internal and external stakeholder workshops, interviews and surveys.
“With our caregivers and patients as partners, we conducted extensive research, said Karen Browne, ChristianaCare’s vice president for marketing and communications.
“Our research showed that the ChristianaCare brand is well-known and highly respected in the community,” she said. “It also showed that the term ‘home health’ would better represent the full range of services and diverse expertise we offer in the home to those we are privileged to serve.”
Complementing the rebrand of ChristianaCare in October, the new name and vision for ChristianaCare HomeHealth are “natural next steps in impacting the health of our community,” Browne said. “We are true to our mission, The ChristianaCare Way, and our commitment to serving together, guided by our values, love and excellence.”
ChristianaCare HomeHealth’s personalized, evidence-based care allows people to stay at home, where they want to be.
“Home health care can prevent some hospitalizations with therapies, monitoring and other clinical services right at home,” said Ann Painter, MSN, RN, senior vice president, ChristianaCare HomeHealth & Community Services.
Home health care also reduces costs of care and decreases the likelihood of hospital readmission by as much as 25% compared with patients with serious conditions such as heart attack or pneumonia who do not receive care at home after leaving the hospital.
“People feel better when they are in their own homes, surrounded by their loved ones, their own belongings and in their own living space,” Painter said.
“ChristianaCare HomeHealth supports physical health and well-being, with comfort and dignity for patients and their families. In health care, this is one of the greatest services we can offer.”
ChristianaCare HomeHealth is part of ChristianaCare’s nationally acclaimed health system, which is recognized with Magnet® designation for excellence in nursing. ChristianaCare HomeHealth is a member of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.