RVNA is winner of Innovator Award

The Visiting Nurse Associations of New England (VNANE) has announced that Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association (RVNA) has won the Innovator Award for 2015 for its “Memory Matters” dementia program.  RVNA’s Natalie Farrar, MSN, RN, and Theresa Santoro, RVNA president and CEO, accepted the award on behalf of the agency at the VNANE annual meeting in Sturbridge, MA on October 1, 2015.

The criteria for the Innovator Award is an improvement to, or the introduction of, a service or process that reduces patient care costs, improves patient care quality or outcomes, and improves access to appropriate to patient care services.

                RVNA developed “Memory Matters,” a specialty patient care program, in the fall of 2014, that has been implemented in collaboration with a local assisted living facility.  Additionally, RVNA has made a significant and ongoing commitment to advancing dementia education and care. RVNA invested in training so that all clinical staff are now certified by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners, and all paraprofessional staff are trained to make a difference in patient care.

                “Memory Matters” uses RVNA skilled clinicians to perform multi-disciplinary patient assessments and to develop individualized, patient-focused care plans, identifying what these patients are able to do instead of focusing on what they cannot do and determining how their care can be delivered most effectively.  These assessments are performed by RVNA registered nurses; physical, speech and occupational therapists; and medical social workers.

                RVNA President and CEO Theresa Santoro said, “Receiving this award is immensely gratifying.  Our staff, led by Natalie Farrar, have the vision and foresight to identify medical needs in our population, and the drive to meet those needs through the development of innovative programs and services.  I couldn’t be more proud of their achievement.”

                The U.S population is aging dramatically and dementia is generally an illness of older adults.  Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and currently more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease.  The number of people affected is expected to increase fourfold by 2050.  Someone develops Alzheimer’s disease every 68 seconds in the U.S., and the costs for treatment and care are currently a staggering $203 billion annually.  RVNA recognized that there needed to be greater emphasis on the care of this population by specially trained staff.

A Visit RVNA at www.ridgefieldvna.org.