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Since its inception, the purpose of VNA was to care for the sick in the comfort of their own homes and to teach families how to care for their ill loved ones.
Created for Care
Visiting Nurse Association of Central New York, Inc. was founded in 1890 by Dr. Juliet Hanchett, M.D., Laura Mills Marlow, R.N. (the first graduated nurse in the city of Syracuse), and Aria Huntington. These visionaries were part of a group of women originally known as the "In-as-much-Circle” of the Kings Daughters, which was concerned about the care of the poor and sick in their community. The group regularly visited the sick themselves and brought in trained nurses for the more serious cases.
Early Growth
In 1895, VNA's growing staff treated 119 patients. By 1912, the agency was serving 1,416 new patients. In the early 1900s, VNA also established many community health programs and clinics. These groundbreaking efforts were eventually assumed by the City of Syracuse and subsequently the Onondaga County Health Department.
Community Cooperation
In 1931, VNA began a continuing relationship with area nursing schools and Syracuse University to provide practical experience in community health nursing. In 1951, the Veteran's Administration contracted with VNA to provide home care services to its patients.
Fully Certified
In 1966, VNA became certified as a home health agency by the Social Security Administration and licensed by the New York State Department of Health. About a decade later, VNA was the first agency statewide certified to provide services to qualified county patients under the Long Term Home Health Care Program ("Nursing Home Without Walls").
Making It Work
VNA pioneered the now obvious relationship between the general medical profession and public health nursing. Our founders also developed the philosophy of family payment for service based upon ability to pay, and led the way in encouraging additional financial support of the service through community contributions.
Today, Visiting Nurse Association is proud to continue its tradition of caring in serving nearly 1,200 patients in Onondaga County.
For More Details...
As a regional health care pioneer, VNA recently relinquished its historical records to the Onondaga County Historical Association (OHA). The collection includes all materials available from 1880 through 1965. With the onset of Medicare the following year, this represented a pivotal point in the history of public health.
Among the preserved documents are a detailed history of the organization, board minutes, membership records, annual reports, subject files relating to the state and county health departments as well as professional health and nursing organizations, extensive photos, newspaper clippings and countless other materials.
These preserved documents address early efforts to decrease infant mortality, chronicle the diphtheria epidemic of the early 1920s, the recurring battles against tuberculosis, the polio epidemics and a host of other public health challenges throughout the years.
OHA has developed a finding aid for researchers to easily locate relevant materials. A bibliographic record that describes the scope of content of the collection is also mounted on the online database of the Library of Conress. For more information on the collection, visit http://www.cnyhistory.org or call OHA at 315-428-1862.
The collection is also mounted on the online database of the Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/rlinsearch.html
or http://www.nysl.nysed.gov: (Choose HDI) and enter "Visiting Nurse Association" as your search term)
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