Historical Information

1895 - 1899 November 25, 1895 The Instructive Visiting Nurse Association of Baltimore was organized by a small group of civic-minded citizens. January 1, 1896 The first nurse was employed. March 5, 1896 The Instructive Visiting Nurse Association of Baltimore City was Incorporated. Summer 1898 The Thomas Wilson Sanatorium contracted with the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association to “inspect” children being sent to the Sanatorium.

1900 - 1924 1900 The Rayner Home on Madison Avenue was donated to the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association. 1904 the Baltimore Fire caused The Fire Relief Committee to finance  extra nurses and caretakers. April 1904 A typhoid fever epidemic broke out in the Woodbury section. The Instructive Visiting Nurse Association took care of fifty cases in a ten-week period. 1907 The Children’s Convalescent Infirmary was placed under the supervision of the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association 1909 The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company signed a contract to provide services to their policyholders. 1913 The Ellicott Machine Corporation and Western Union Telegraph Company contracted with the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association. 1918 The Instructive Visiting Nurse Association was the headquarters for receiving all referrals during the “Flu” epidemic.

1925 - 1949 1929 The Headquarters were moved from the  Rayner home to 1601 Bolton Street. 1930`s Once every six minutes in the day some home in Baltimore was visited by an IVNA Nurse. 1943 An affiliation for the student nurses of Johns Hopkins Hospital was established.

1950`s - 1999 The Agency had grown from one nurse in 1896 to forty-two in 1955. Service to acutely ill patients decreased to 6% of caseload as compared to 55% prior to 1935; chronically ill patients comprised 40% of caseload. 1960 A Home Care Program was developed in conjunction with the Maryland Heart Association and the University Hospital to determine the advantages of total health services to cardiac patients in their homes. 1963 The office moved to 5 East Read Street. March of 1963 Home Health Aides were employed. 1966 The Instructive Visiting Nurse Association was accredited by Social Security and the National League as a Home Health Agency and a Community Nursing Organization. 1968 Ben Franklin Stores and Aetna Life Insurance contracted  services for sick employees. 1971 The Agency was granted full accreditation by the National League for Nursing. 1974 A contract was signed with Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide services to policyholders under the age of 65. 1975 The Board of Directors voted to change the name of Instructive Visiting Nurse Association to the Visiting Nurse Association of Baltimore (VNA). 1978 The VNA offered seven services for in-home health care: Nursing, Physical Therapy, Home Health Aides, Social Work, Nutrition, Speech and Occupational Therapy. April 1979 An Extended Service Unit was inaugurated  offering home services until 9 p.m. and on-call services through the night. 1982 VNA cared for its first HIV/AIDS patient and developed a specialized home program. 1986 VNA restructured the organization to meet the community needs. 1994 The VNA realized that the competition was affecting its long-term viability. The VNA was acquired by two health care providers and some large hospital organizations. The name was changed to The Visiting Nurse Association of Maryland. 1994 VNA was awarded Joint Commission Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). 1995 VNA celebrated its 100th year anniversary.

2000 – 2003

The clinical structure of the VNA was redesigned in 2000 into geographic districts to support improved clinical operations.

October 1, 2000
Medicare home care reimbursement converted from a cost-based system to a prospective payment system.

2001
Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) awarded VNA accreditation for home Care , the first in Maryland.

December 2003 to Present

Having encountered serious financial challenges in trying to operate the VNA companies in the post PPS environment, the VNA of Maryland determined that the only viable choice was to sell the companies. The VNA sought a buyer who would be committed to carry on the VNA tradition, while ensuring the financial stability of the company.

December 1, 2003
The VNA was sold to a private group from out of State, with decades of managerial and financial experience in the health care field, as well as a very keen understanding of the steps necessary to survive, prosper, and ultimately grow the home care division in the post PPS era.

The new entity immediately sold the hospice division to Seasons Hospice, and began the arduous task of re-evaluating every aspect of the business model, while making a real effort to re-vitalize the existing work force.

The company introduced state of the art software and technology that ultimately resulted in significant increased efficiencies and improved employee satisfaction.

These were but a few of the many changes that proved to be an essential component in allowing the VNA to not only meet its financial challenges while embarking on a course of growth and stability, but also provided the basis that would allow the VNA of Maryland to remain ever faithful to its mission statement as originally contemplated over 100 years ago.