Merger creates Visiting Nurse, Home Care and Hospice of Ca

CONWAY – For non-profit organizations that provide community health and home care services, the health care environment is always changing. “Sometimes it makes sense to join together so that essential services can be better coordinated,” said Sandra Ruka, RN MSN, executive director of the newly created Visiting Nurse, Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County. The agency became official on Jan. 1 as the result of a merger of Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care Services of Northern Carroll County with Carroll County Health and Home Care Services.

Both local organizations have decades of service in the area. Several years ago, an opportunity arose for these two agencies with similar missions to merge into one strong organization. “For many years, both agencies provided important services for the ill, elderly and disabled in their own homes,” Ruka explained. “Both agencies were founded and nurtured by small groups of deeply committed people. Today, they are highly functioning professional businesses that operate under many regulatory and financial constraints.”

After a lengthy evaluation process over several years by the boards of both agencies, it was proposed and accepted that a merger of the two non-profit organizations take place. Staff from both places worked together to create a new internal environment and the N.H. Secretary of State’s office completed its multi-faceted review. Part of the legal process included several public meetings around Carroll County to answer questions and concerns about the merger.

“We are facing an aging population with high rates of chronic disease,” Ruka said. “More advanced medical technologies now being provided in the home. People want to remain independent and in their own homes for as long as possible. That can only happen when in-home services are integrated and focused on the individual,” she said.

A combined workforce of more than 75 professional caregivers will continue providing critical services throughout the county. Last year, 960 clients received health and home care services from both agencies. “Our staff made 31,857 visits to our clients,” Ruka said, “and we covered 265,440 miles in Carroll County to make that happen.

“Our mission is to provide exceptional home care,” she added. “We have a passionate and compassionate team who are certified, licensed and insured. Our one goal is to provide care that promotes independent living and quality of life in the home.”

The board of the newly merged agency is chaired by Jeffrey Smith and includes community representatives from both former agencies along with Memorial Hospital’s CEO Scott McKinnon. The new organization remains a member of the Memorial Development Foundation which includes the hospital, its medical practices, and White Mountain Community Health Center. Ruka said this continued affiliation is important. “It improves coordination between our staff and the medical providers,” she said, “and that benefits all of our clients in the end.”

The newly merged agency will remain at the former VNS offices on Seavey Street in North Conway. To contact by phone, call 356-7006 or 447-6766; online at www.vnsncc.org, or ask your medical provider for a referral.

The merger of Carroll County Health and Home Care Services with Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care Services of Northern Carroll County created a new home health agency as of Jan. 1 — Visiting Nurse, Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County. Pictured above from left, are: President Jeff Smith and Vice President Joan Lanoie of the newly formed board; Executive Director Sandra Ruka, MSN RN; and Scott McKinnon, CEO of Memorial Hospital. (JILL M. BURROWS PHOTO)