History of VNA - Hospice 

The Visiting Nurse Association-Hospice of Southern Carroll County and Vicinity, Inc. has a long and proud history of being the main provider of home care services in the region. It was originally started during World War I as an informal home care service operated by the American Red Cross.
In 1941, the Agency officially became the Red Cross Home Nursing Service and its service area included the Towns of Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro.

In 1946, the Agency was incorporated and was renamed the Public Health Nursing Association of Wolfeboro and Vicinity. It was an independent agency that followed the Public Health Guidelines. At that time, just one part-time nurse covered all of the home care nursing needs in both towns.

During the next twenty-one years the agency grew rapidly and in 1967, the agency became certified by the Health Care Financial Administration as a Medicare Provider for home health services. During the following years, services were expanded into other towns to include Alton, Brookfield, Effingham, Ossipee, Sandwich, Tuftonboro, Wakefield, and Wolfeboro. This territory incorporated over 500 square miles and served a population of over 15,000 year round residents. To meet the needs of all our clients, the services also expanded to include skilled nursing care, physical therapy, speech therapy, medical social work, occupational therapy, nutritional counseling and personal care via certified nursing assistants. The name of the agency was changed in 1977 to Visiting Nurse Association of Wolfeboro and Vicinity.

On January 1, 1994, the agency merged with Hospice of Southern Carroll County. To reflect this union the agency’s name became Visiting Nurse Association-Hospice of Southern Carroll County and Vicinity, Inc. (VNA-Hospice). On March 11, 1994 the agency was granted it’s Hospice Medicare Certified Status and because of the Hospice Program its service area once again expanded to include Moultonboro and Tamworth.

The VNA-Hospice remains an independent, not-for-profit agency that is licensed by the State of New Hampshire and is a member of the Rural Home Care Network. The agency has contracts with all of the major health care providers within the State. It receives supportive funding from each of the towns within its service area to cover the cost of providing care to those residents without insurance. The agency is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, who are elected as representatives from each town within the service area.