Mission & History
Lydia Metz, Indiana’s first home care nurse, made nearly 2,000 visits on her bicycle every year.
As a not-for-profit, state licensed, mission-driven home care agency, VNA Plus believes that every person it serves deserves the highest quality of care and support to preserve independence, dignity and safety in the home.
In support of our mission and vision, VNA Plus is committed to the following beliefs and values that guide our decisions and actions in providing care to the communities we serve:
- Honesty and Integrity
- Respect and Concern for Others
- Quality
- Future Preparedness
- Stewardship
History
In 1888, a small group of area women who recognized a need to visit the sick in their homes founded what would eventually be named the Visiting Nurse Association of Southwestern Indiana. Fourteen years later, the group hired Lydia Metz, Indiana’s first home care nurse. Lydia brought her own special mix of professional training and personal dedication to the many patients she visited. She became a role model for all VNA Plus staff who bring that same special combination of training, technology and commitment to caring for our patients.
In 1982, Visiting Nurse Plus, also a not-for-profit agency, was created to provide private pay non-medical services that complemented the care offered by VNA and assisted patients with everyday living needs. VNP’s services expanded through the years to include professional nursing care, short-term medical staffing, care for recipients of several government funded assistance programs, and a medical alert service.
A merger in 2010 brought together these two sister agencies; under the new VNA Plus umbrella, patients and their families can now access a complete array of services from non-medical assistance such as housekeeping, companionship, personal care and family respite to skilled nursing, therapies, mental health, wound care, disease management, hospice and more. Joining these two organizations allows VNA Plus to successfully meet future health care challenges with personalized services that are cost effective, prevent or postpone the need for a long-term care facility, keep families together, and are proven to promote faster recovery and a better quality of life.