South Shore Visiting Nurse Association
As the region’s oldest hospital-based home care agency, South Shore Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) has been bringing quality, compassionate skilled care to South Shore communities since 1911. A program of South Shore Hospital, we are one of the state’s largest providers of Medicare-certified home health care.
Our multidisciplinary team works together to identify your specific needs and then develops a customized treatment plan to meet those needs. We are able to provide a wide range of services in the comfort of your own home. Sophisticated services once requiring a hospital stay can now be performed successfully, safely, and conveniently in your home, utilizing all the latest home care methods and technologies.
Skilled Nursing
Our professional nurses are specially trained to bring advanced medical services into your home, including the most current techniques and cutting edge technologies. These experienced clinicians develop and implement a comprehensive care plan tailored to address your unique health concerns.
Our professional nursing services include, but are not limited to:
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Our professional nursing services are provided in conjunction with your physician.
Rehabilitation Services
Rehabilitation is often an essential component of a comprehensive patient care plan. Our specialized rehabilitation team – including registered physical, occupational, and speech therapists – offers you a wide range of rehabilitation services that are individually designed to meet your specific needs.
Physical Therapy
If you are experiencing a disability or loss in mobility caused by injury, illness, or surgery, our physical therapists are able to help you along the road to recovery while remaining in your own home. Our physical therapists are dedicated to getting you back to your usual activities and highest potential as quickly as possible
These specially trained professionals help you regain functional mobility and gross motor skills (functions involving the use of large muscles) through therapeutic exercise, balance activities, and ambulation training techniques. When needed, various assistive tools – such as prosthetics, adaptive tools, and devises – may also be part of a rehabilitation program.
Our physical therapy services include, but are not limited to:
- Patient assessment
- Home assessment
- Individualized therapeutic care plan
- Patient and family education
- Post-op rehabilitation
- Therapeutic exercise, including weight bearing, muscle strengthening, and endurance
- Gait training
- Transfer training
- Assistive devices or medical equipment
- Prosthetic training
- Balance training
- Safety assessment
- Joint replacement therapy
Our physical therapy team provides services in conjunction with your physician.
Occupational Therapy
Our occupational therapists help you regain the basic skills associated with daily living, allowing you to become as independent and self-sufficient as possible. This expert team works with you to help you relearn everyday activities that have been lost or diminished due to a medical condition, including tasks such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and meal preparation.
During home visits, our occupational therapists use therapeutic techniques designed to restore your physical function as well as promote strength and coordination. In certain cases, patients are introduced to some helpful adaptive tools as well.
Occupational therapy services include, but are not limited to:
- Patient assessment
- Individualized therapeutic care plan
- Home assessment and modification
- Patient and family education
- Design, production, and modification of orthotic/adaptive equipment
- Energy conservation
- Fine motor coordination therapy
- Independent daily living skills therapy
Our occupational therapy team provides services under the direction of your physician.
Speech Therapy
If you are suffering with a condition that interferes with your ability to speak, form or understand language, and/or swallow, our speech and language therapists can help. These experts utilize advanced methods to help you regain lost verbal skills, comprehend speech, and learn new communication techniques, as well as manage swallowing and related muscle disorders.
Speech therapy services include, but are not limited to:
- Patient assessment
- Patient and family education
- Individualized therapeutic care plan
- Treatment of voice and swallowing disorders
- Treatment of cognitive disorders
- Articulation and language therapy
Our speech therapy team provides services under the direction of your physician.
Social Services
There are times when non-medical issues may interfere with the recovery process. If needed, our experienced social workers are available to visit with you to assess any social, emotional, or financial needs related to your medical condition that may be getting in the way of your full recovery. These highly trained professionals offer support to you and your family and help coordinate any appropriate community resources that may be of value.
Social services include, but are not limited to:
- Assessment of social/emotional needs
- Evaluation of home environment
- Patient and family education
- Counseling services
- Crisis intervention
- Community resource planning and referral
- End-of-life support
Our medical social workers provide services under the direction of your physician.
Specialty Programs
Cardiology Program
Many people with chronic heart problems are now receiving the care they need in the comfort and familiar surroundings of their homes. Our team of experts – which includes experienced cardiac nurses, physical and occupational therapists, home infusion nurses, social workers, and certified home health aides – delivers coordinated, specialized care to patients in homes throughout the South Shore. If you or a loved one is suffering from heart disease or recovering from a heart attack or a surgical procedure, our multidisciplinary team can help you manage your illness, prevent complications, avoid hospital readmissions, reach your recovery goals, and improve your overall quality of life.
Diabetes Program
Our Diabetes Program brings education, medical care, and support to the home environment to help our patients and their families better manage and understand diabetes. Our team of diabetes specialists will design an individualized plan of care to meet your personal goals and needs. You will learn about diabetes and be given the tools you need to manage your disease and recognize the signs of complications.
Home Infusion Therapy
Our Home Infusion Therapy Program makes it possible for patients to receive intravenous medications for a full range of medical conditions without the need for hospitalization. Our certified infusion nurses work with local pharmacies to facilitate a seamless move from inpatient care to home care and to ensure the delivery of safe, effective intravenous therapy in the comfort of your home. Our infusion therapy services include everything from hydration to chemotherapy to advanced IV therapies such as immunosuppressive drugs.
Wound/Ostomy/Continence Program
Our Wound/Ostomy/Continence Program involves the assessment, treatment and management of acute and chronic wounds, including diabetic, vascular, pressure, stasis ulcers, surgical and traumatic wounds, as well as ostomy care and continence management. Our certified ostomy continence nurses (WOCN) provide specialized care to promote healing, prevent complications, and help patients with self-care issues. They work in collaboration with the physicians and staff at South Shore Hospital’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine to ensure positive outcomes.
Oncology Program
Our Oncology Program provides at-home nursing and rehabilitative care to patients with cancer diagnoses. The program is managed by an oncology clinical nurse specialist, who collaborates with patients' physicians, certified oncology nurses, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists, and others. Services include education, support, infusion therapy, and symptom management. All care is personalized, focusing on the physical, mental, and social well-being of the patient and family.
Geriatrics/Alzheimer’s Care
Our Geriatrics/Alzheimer Program is designed to help older patients remain in their homes for as long as possible. Our care team includes registered nurses with advanced training in the care and treatment of older adults. The program includes assessment, treatment, and case management for frail and at risk elders, as well as the coordination of support services and community resources, as necessary. Our goal is to keep you or your loved one as physically and cognitively active as possible, to enhance quality of life, and provide helpful instruction and understanding to caregivers.
Who Pays for VNA services?
To Contact Us
For more information about the South Shore Visiting Nurse Association, please call us at 781-849-1710. For 24-hour referrals, please call 1-800-432-9995.
South Shore Visiting Nurse Association
100 Bay State Drive
P.O. Box 859060
Braintree, MA 02185-9060
Information: 781-849-1710
Referrals: 1-800-432-9995
