Two Boston Area Visiting Nurse Organizations Set To Merge
Contact: Bill Connors, CEO, GMVN&CH
(781) 396.2633
Medford, MA – February 22, 2017 – Two venerable non-profit home care agencies serving a combined 52 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts have announced their intent to merge.
The plan to combine Greater Medford VNA, founded in 1900 in Medford, and Visiting Nurse & Community Health, founded in 1898 in Arlington, is currently under review by state regulators. Leaders of the two agencies anticipate that the merger will be approved on or before February 28, 2017.
The name of the merged organization will be Greater Medford Visiting Nurse & Community Health. The merged agency will consolidate its operations and administrative staff at 37 Broadway in Arlington and will maintain its presence in Medford by opening a new satellite office there.
Bill Connors, president of GMVNA, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the new entity. The management teams and boards of both organizations will be combined to guide the new organization forward. The merger will create a staff of nearly 200 full-time and part-time employees.
“This move to join forces represents a perfect strategic fit for both agencies, and will result in an organization that is better able to compete in today’s healthcare marketplace,” said Connors. “The added size and depth of resources will allow us to bring new levels of care to the patients, their families and the communities we both serve – a mission these two agencies have always had in common.”
Connors went on to list the complementary strengths that brought the two organizations together after almost two years of exploratory discussions. GMVNA has a growing private pay practice and a robust clinical coordination system. VNCH has significant rehabilitation therapy capabilities and an established hospice program, he said.
Connors expects an expanding private pay market and greater demand for hospice services to provide most of the combined agency’s growth over the next several years.
“This merger will broaden the scope of our service menu,” said Louise A Mallette, chairwoman of GMVNA, “and will ensure better continuity of care and even more comfort to our patients and their families.”
“We are delighted to have found a merger partner with such complementary strengths,” said Jane Puffer, chairwoman of VNCH. “Together, these two organizations will continue their 100-plus year commitment to provide the very best in community-based care.”
About the merging organizations
Greater Medford VNA and Visiting Nurse & Community Health share a strong and long-standing reputation for quality homecare services in the 52 eastern Massachusetts communities they serve.
The organizations provide skilled nursing, rehabilitation, home health aide, social work, hospice and other specialty services through dedicated, professional staffs. Services are covered under programs sponsored by Medicare and Medicaid, as well as through commercial health insurance and patients’ private resources.
For further comment and analysis, contact:
- Tim Burgers, Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts
tburgers@thinkhomecare.org (617) 482-8830
- Ed Devaney, President and CEO, Visiting Nurse Associations of New England
edevaney@vnane.org (508) 480-0060
Cities and towns to be served by Greater Medford Visiting Nurse & Community Health:
Name Population
Amesbury 16,283
Andover 33,201
Arlington 42,844
Bedford 13,320
Belmont 24,729
Beverly 40,664
Billerica 40,243
Boxford 7,965
Brookline 58,732
Burlington 24,498
Cambridge 107,289
Charlestown 16,916
Chelmsford 33,802
Chelsea 37,670
Concord 17,668
Danvers 26,493
East Boston 40,508
Everett 42,935
Georgetown 8,183
Haverhill 62,088
Lawrence 77,657
Lexington 31,394
Lincoln 6,362
Lowell 108,861
Lynn 91,589
Lynnfield 11,596
Malden 60,509
Marblehead 19,808
Medford 57,170
Melrose 27,690
Middleton 8,897
North Andover 28,352
North Reading 14,892
Nahant 3,410
Newton 87,971
Peabody 52,044
Reading 24,747
Revere 53,756
Salem 42,544
Saugus 26,628
Somerville 78,804
Stoneham 21,437
Swampscott 14,722
Tewksbury 28,961
Wakefield 24,932
Waltham 62,227
Watertown 32,996
Westford 21,951
Wilmington 22,325
Winchester 21,374
Winthrop 17,497
Woburn 39,083