CARING WITH HEART
Letter to the Editor: Each day amazes me when I meet people who live in the Keys and do not know about Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of the Florida Keys (VNA/Hospice), or the types of alternative home health and hospice care services that we provide.
As the only locally operated non-profit home health and hospice care provider for Monroe County our mission still remains a mystery, except to those in need or to the families that have experienced first-hand the compassionate and dedicated care that our clinical staff have provided for over 30 years.
Those in need; the uninsured realtor that gets diagnosed with a life altering disease, or the grieving husband whose wife lost her insurance coverage and unexpectedly receives news she has terminal cancer, or the child that needs intravenous antibiotic treatments. When it comes to providing home health and hospice care for the underinsured and uninsured residents, who do the physicians and medical facilities throughout the Keys call? They call VNA/Hospice. Our signature blue heart logo is our legacy to the community.
Through our decades of service, our dedicated nurses, physical and occupational therapists, home health aides and clinical social workers have touched many lives, from your family and friends, to your elected officials. The work we do and the charity care we provide affects everyone. Last year VNA/Hospice provided a quarter million in underfunded charity care to our community. During the past five years we have touched the lives of over 7,000 patients and their families.
Recently we held our Annual Remembrance Ceremonies to celebrate over 150 beautiful lives that we had the pleasure of caring for in 2014. As we near the Easter holiday I ask the community to pray for our physicians, chaplains, nurses, home health aides, social workers, and our wonderful volunteers.
In order for us to continue to provide charity care to residents we need the help and support from the community. So I am challenging you, If we have ever touched your life in some way, or the life of a friend, I am asking that you take a few minutes on Easter Sunday and join our Caring for Hearts campaign and donate to VNA/Hospice by texting “KEYSANGELS” to 88588 and help us to continue our mission of caring for the Keys.
Sincerely,
Kim Sovia-Crandon, Director of Development
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VNA is a great Organization with wonderful people, with one exception. These caring people supply services that are very much needed. Their charges are very reasonable for those that are not covered by insurance.
Our only complaint was with the person that claims to be a DOCTOR who thinks he knows more than the physicians that are treating someone on a regular basis!