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Hospice of Southwest Iowa Joins VNA to Provide End-of-Life Care

February 5, 2018 | VNA Staff | General, Press Releases

OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 5, 2018 – Hospice of Southwest Iowa (HSI) has provided care to patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families since 2007. HSI is now solely governed by Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) and operates as VNA Hospice of Southwest Iowa. No stranger to each other, the two organizations have partnered since HSI’s inception, and this new arrangement simply brings HSI fully into the VNA family, where there is synergy with clinical care and best practices.

“Our partnership will allow us to meet the challenges of hospice care with increased operational efficiencies and economies of scale. Our patients and families will benefit from an expanded continuum of care and enhanced programs VNA provides,” said Joanie Kush, VNA’s vice president of hospice, palliative care and pharmacy.

For more than 120 years, VNA has provided the community compassionate, expert care. VNA Hospice of Southwest Iowa will continue to provide the same high levels of care to hospice patients in Pottawattamie, Mills and Harrison counties in Iowa. In addition, Dr. Todd Sauer will remain the medical director for VNA and VNA Hospice of Southwest Iowa.

“Hospice is some of the most important work we do at VNA. It’s a privilege to be there and provide care at a most important time in our patients’ lives,” says James Summerfelt, president and CEO of VNA. “We take our job extremely seriously and personally, and will continue to achieve industry-leading outcomes for our patients served by VNA Hospice of Southwest Iowa.”

Trusted for care in the home, VNA is the community’s first choice for in-home care. Dying Matters reported in March 2017 that 70 percent of people would prefer to die at home. The VNA hospice team places emphasis on the whole person – physical, emotional, social and spiritual – wherever they call home. Additional information about hospice and palliative care can be found at vnatoday.org.

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General, Press Releases

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