In 1919, the Red Cross assigned one nurse to Lansdale to make home visits to teach new moms about caring for their newborn babies. At the same time this one nurse took the opportunity to teach others about the importance of good hygiene and sanitation to prevent the spread of illness and disease. This nurse was part of an effort by the Red Cross to bring “Visiting Nurses” from urban settings into rural communities. The Lansdale community eventually came to financially support this nurse and after several years even bought her a car to make her home visits more efficient…..the rest they say is history. The North Penn Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) grew in number of staff, home visits and programs.

I had the privilege of serving as the Executive Director of the NPVNA for almost twenty years. Our Board of Directors, staff and volunteers understood the importance of mission … access to health care, health education and health promotion and always delivering high quality service to those patients and families who were entrusted to our care. Today, I serve as the President of the Board of Directors of the VNA Foundation of Greater North Penn and I can’t help but imagine that our one nurse, more than 100 years later, would be humbled to think that a health foundation has been established with many of the same principles that guided her work. Over the past several years the VNA Foundation of Greater North Penn has invested in organizations that are committed to bringing quality programs and services to our local community. Your work is essential in promoting access to health care, health education and health promotion, and we are proud to partner with you and look forward to the future.