NORWELL VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION
RECEIVES PAT/STAT® AWARD OF DISTINCTION

South Shore healthcare provider ranked among top 25% in nation

January 29, 2008 (NORWELL, MA) – The Norwell Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) has once again proven itself a leader in the home healthcare industry with the receipt of the Pat/Stat® Award of Distinction from Fazzi Associates, a national consulting, benchmarking and best practice research firm.

The Pat/Stat® Award of Distinction is given to agencies that exhibit superior performance in patient satisfaction. Based on an analysis of agencies involved in Fazzi Associates’ Pat/Stat® National Patient Satisfaction Benchmark System in 2007, the Norwell VNA was ranked in the top 25% of the 350 agencies in Fazzi Associates’ national database. The Pat/Stat® National Patient Satisfaction Benchmark System allows healthcare agencies to measure their agency standards and patient satisfaction surveys against similar agencies nationwide.

"We are honored as an agency to have received this award from Fazzi Associates," said Meg Doherty, executive director of the Norwell VNA. "We are continually updating and expanding upon the services we provide through the implementation of state-of-the-art technology and it is extremely satisfying to know that the good work we do is being recognized not only in the 18 South Shore communities we serve, but also nationwide."

The Norwell VNA attributes much of its success to the advancements the agency has made in technology and the increased offering of services provided. In 2007 alone through the HomMed® telemonitoring program the Norwell VNA helped more than 2,000 patients remain in their homes and have their conditions monitored on a daily basis. The Norwell VNA also welcomed "Homer Symptom" to their team. Homer is a state-of-the-art patient simulator that can be programmed to exhibit conditions that patients experience, from wounds and stroke symptoms to cardiac arrest and the flu. This hands-on training tool sharpens providers' skills and helps the agency better care for patients. The agency has also implemented the use of V-Learning, an internet-based program that provides staff members with specifically designed educational programs that they can access right from their own home computer to keep them current in the rapidly changing health care profession.