Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice Home Care is intermittent care – care provided several times a week or less for a short period of time – that requires special skills not ordinarily carried out by a lay person. Care may be provided more often if the medical condition of the patient requires it, but it is not private duty nursing. Care is provided by professionals and paraprofessionals.
“The hospice nurses who visited my mother from Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, gave her the very best and kindest care. They were also her advocates so she could die with dignity and according to her wishes. My mother was comforted, while remaining in familiar surroundings… Your Hospice nurses, aides, and wonderful chaplain were all gently guiding and helping me with information, listening, and suggesting ways to support my mother’s journey. I certainly miss my mother but feel that we came through together to the place she wanted and needed to be. I could not have steered this course without the steady support of the Hospice team.”
Hospice is a form of care; it is not a place. Our hospice care is available to patients who have advanced diseases that are considered incurable. Hospice care is about living each day to its fullest and helps to make a patient’s last months and days as comfortable and fulfilling as possible…making every moment count. Hospice is a philosophy, not a place. Care is provided in the familiar surroundings of home or home-like setting. Care can also be provided in a long-term care setting or a hospital.
The Visiting Nurse Palliative Care is specialized medical care that focuses on reducing symptoms, pain, and stress caused by illness. It is appropriate at any stage of serious illness and can be provided alongside curative treatment. The goal of our Palliative Care is to improve quality of life for both patient and family. It is an extra layer of support whereby the team (physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, social workers, CNAs, pharmacists, dietitians) work together to provide a plan of care and offer guidance for complex medical decisions.
The Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice Rehabilitation Team of VNS helps patients regain their independence
and achieve the goals they have set for mobility in the home. Upon returning home after
Community Health is a central part of the Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice mission. Our commitment to community health covers wellness programs, community flu clinics, adult blood pressure clinics, support groups (diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and bereavement), health research, community partnerships, and governmental lobbying for home health initiatives.
Candy Sharkey, CEO of Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, receives a check for $10,000 from a State of Rhode Island Legislative Grant to pay for telehealth monitors. Presenting were Rep. Kenneth Mendonca, Rep. John Edwards, Rep. Susan Donovan, and Rep. Marvin Abney. Thank you so much to our local legislators for making this happen!
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Charles Hackett, MD, as Medical Director and as Hospice Team Physician. Dr. Hackett will work with the West office Hospice and Palliative Care Team. With a background of 40 years in Palliative Care and Occupational Medicine, Dr. Hackett will be an experienced and invaluable member in our West service areas.
The 2018 Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice Golf Tournament was played on a sunny, cool, perfect day at Newport National. A field of 94 golfers chipped, drove, and putted their way through 18 holes. The winning Ladies’ Foursome was a team of Barbara Barrow, Sue Green, Kim Lyons, and Suzanne Kissell. The winning Mixed Foursome comprised Joe and Stephanie Mediate, Candy Sharkey, and Sheri Ferland. The winning Mens’ Foursome went to Gary Doster, Mike Karolewski, Dan Quinn, and Kevin Ulmschneider. Congratulations everyone!
Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice has been named “Best Superior Performer of 2017” by Strategic Healthcare Programs, a performance analysis data firm that the agency uses to survey all our patients on satisfaction with our services. This award places us in the top 20% of homecare agencies for patient satisfaction for the calendar year 2017.
The mission of the Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice is to provide community services that promote optimal health and quality of life for individuals and families
