Nurses gathering

							                                         News Release
                                   For release April 27, 2005

                  CONTACT: Jon Spampinato, Director of Communications
                            Tel: (617) 737-3200 ext. 230




    Nation’s Visiting Nurses Gather to Set National Agenda
 AARP panel on consumer-driven care, presentations from renowned homecare trend-spotters,
           and Medicare changes drive agenda as VNAs convene in San Diego.


(Boston) – Today, Visiting Nurse Agencies (VNAs) from across the nation gathered in San
Diego for Visiting Nurse Associations of America’s (VNAA) 23rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition,
the only conference exclusively for Visiting Nurse Agencies. With 415+ locations across the
country, VNAs are the nation’s largest providers of non-profit and community based home
healthcare.


CEOs and senior managers from the nation’s VNAs will hear from industry leaders and
homecare experts, including Lisa Remington, a leading industry watcher and publisher of
Remington Report and LeAnn Thieman, noted author of Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Sour.


In addition to keynote speeches and poster sessions, VNAA’s 23rd Annual Meeting will provide
more than 20 unique workshop opportunities for VNA managers and clinicians, including:


      AARP Panel: Jennie Chain Hansen, Chair of the AARP Foundation Board of Trustees,
       will partner with VNAA to discuss the growing consumer-directed health care trend and
       its impact on healthcare delivery systems.
      National Financial Managers Group working session for CFOs and finance managers.
      Immunization Track: New this year, several workshops on how to grow and sustain
       community immunization programs.
Continuing to be high on the group’s agenda are a myriad of complex changes reshaping the
nation’s Medicare system. “The Medicare Reform Bill, passed nearly two years ago, is still
dramatically altering America’s healthcare system, and home healthcare providers are in search
of answers,” noted Carolyn Markey, CEO and President of the VNAA. “They want to know
how to plan for the opportunities and threats that may be looming on the horizon, and we’re here
this week to chart various courses so VNAA members can Sail to Success!”


About the VNAA
The VNAA is the official national association for non-profit, community-based Visiting Nurse
Agencies, who care for and treat approximately 4 million patients each year. The nation’s
network of 415+ Visiting Nurse Associations employ nearly 150,000 health care professionals,
and share a non-profit mission to provide cost-effective and compassionate home health care to
some of the nation’s most vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly and individuals with
disabilities. The VNAA has a wide range of resources available on its award-winning website
about home health care and things to ask about when considering home health care. Click
www.vnaa.org to locate a VNA near you.
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