Parker Foundation Awards a $2.5M Grant to VNA Health Group for 2nd Year

Funding to Support VNAHG’s Advanced Care Institute with In-Home Primary Care and Palliative Medicine
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Press Release

Doctor visits older woman in her home

Piscataway, NEW JERSEY (February 11, 2020) – For the second year in a row, Parker Foundation, Inc. has awarded a $2.5M grant to Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNAHG) to support its Advanced Care Institute (ACI), which aims to address the healthcare needs of high-risk older adults who are often living with multiple chronic health conditions by providing high quality, compassionate care in the home and in the community. The funding will continue to be used to expand the ACI’s efforts to provide in-home primary care through its “house calls” model and palliative medicine, two essential services in New Jersey and nationwide in addressing the aging population. As with last year’s grant, funding will also enable both organizations – VNAHG and Parker – to continue to develop and support new or improved programming in these areas. Learn more about it here.
 
In-home primary care is a critical service to home-bound seniors and can improve quality of life  and reduce overall medical costs. Visiting Physician Services (VPS), a member of VNA Health Group, currently provides medical services, particularly for aging individuals with chronic conditions. With additional funding, VPS will continue to expand these services to more individuals throughout the state. 
 
Palliative medicine focuses on people with serious or life-limiting illnesses providing symptom relief with an improved quality of life and is currently mostly offered in hospital settings. With this grant, VNAHG will continue to expand the availability of palliative medicine into the community, an area that has traditionally been underserved.
 
“The numbers are staggering in how many people will need services as they age, and with Parker’s mission being to make aging part of life, we see this as the perfect partnership to provide a better quality of care and quality of life and to expand innovative and transformative programs,” says Parker President & CEO, Roberto Muñiz. “These programs are making a huge difference in how people are cared for in NJ and throughout the country.”
 
“We’re just incredibly honored to be working with Parker on the ACI. This collaboration is one of the most exciting things because it’s focusing more attention on older adults and making sure they have the care they need to remain in the community and be comfortable and independent,” says Dr. Steven Landers, President & CEO of VNAHG.
 
VNAHG’s ACI services bring physicians, advanced practice nurses to over 5,000 patients and provides more than 36,000 in-home primary care visits per year. The palliative medicine program serves almost 5,000 patients with over 2,500 community-based visits.
 
Both Parker and VNAHG are committed to developing and creating innovative solutions to allow seniors to live their lives to the fullest while staying in their homes and communities as long as possible.
 
About Parker Foundation Inc.
 
Parker Foundation Inc. is an affiliate of Parker Health Group, Inc., a nonprofit New Jersey-based aging services organization with over 112 years’ experience in residential and home and community-based services. Parker is committed to empowering older Americans. Parker affiliates serve close to 1000 residents and participants through its Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living Homes, and Adult Day, Post – Acute Services Rehabilitation and Health & Wellness Services and employ more than 850. To learn how We Make Aging Part of Life®, visit parkerlife.org.
 
About Visiting Nurse Association Health Group
 
Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Health Group is the largest independent, nonprofit provider of home-based health services in New Jersey and Mid-Central Ohio. Founded over 105 years ago with a mission to care for the community, today VNA Health Group helps individuals and families achieve their best level of health and well-being by providing high quality, compassionate home health, hospice, palliative and community-based care and offers private-pay personal care services. A full range of primary care services are available through the VNACJ Community Health Centers. Currently, VNA Health Group employs nearly 2,500 people and cares for over 150,000 individuals and families annually with a special focus on vulnerable populations such as children, older adults and those with serious and disabling chronic illness. Our unique partnership model with health systems leverages our clinical and technical resources to operate VNA of Central Jersey Home Care and Hospice, Robert Wood Johnson Visiting Nurses, VNA of Englewood, Barnabas Health Home Care and Hospice, Visiting Physician Services, and Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio.  For more information about VNA Health Group and the VNAHG Foundation please call 800.862.3330, visit www.vnahg.org and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VNAHealthGroup or @VNAHealthGroup.