Everything Old Is New Again

by Colleen Gundlach

Back in 1922, the towns of Winsted, Norfolk, Barkhamsted and New Hartford and Colebrook all had their own individual visiting nurse agencies (VNA), but one by one they merged with the Winsted VNA, as it was then called. Norfolk joined in 1979. Later, in 1991, the name of the Winsted VNA was changed to Foothills Visiting Nurse & Homecare. Now the name has changed once again, this time to include two other agencies.

In January of this year, Foothills VNA brought VNA Northwest into the fold. Located in Bantam, VNA Northwest had served the residents of western Connecticut since 1928. Joining the Foothills family enabled the two agencies to better serve the greater portion of Litchfield County. Then, in September, the merged agencies welcomed the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association into the group, which meant that the newly merged agencies would be providing comprehensive home health care services to all the towns in Litchfield County. Twenty-eight towns are now served by the agency with a new name, Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Litchfield County.

Michael Caselas, executive director of Foothills VNA, has assumed the position of executive director of the new, combined agency. “Each of the three agencies has been caring for the residents of northwest Connecticut independently for a century or more,” he says. “As community-based organizations, our missions and philosophies are the same, and there has been increasing overlap in our service areas. By working together, Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Litchfield County is even better equipped to provide the local, personalized services our families, neighbors, friends and we ourselves want.” 

The combined agency will continue to provide skilled home health care, hospice and private duty resources, without interruption. Caselas says, “We intend to perpetuate the ideals that have made our individual agencies such vital contributors to our communities. That isn’t changing. People come first, and we aren’t working together to change, but rather to sustain and extend the level of care with our combined talent and resources.”

While the main office of Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Litchfield County will be located in Winsted, the existing offices and staff in Bantam and Salisbury will continue to provide care in their respective communities without interruption.