News

Mark A. Wiles, MD joins VNA as Hospice Medical Director with over 20 years of hospice and palliative medicine experience.

Mark A. Wiles, MD joins VNA as Hospice Medical Director with over 20 years of hospice and palliative medicine experience.

On February 2, 1969, Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association, Inc. (VNA) officially opened an office in an unfinished basement at 342 Missouri St. It was a humble beginning, but a crucial moment for improving access to healthcare in Douglas County and the surrounding areas.

For Jim Householder, pain in his leg had become the norm. For more than a year, the constant pain, which he described as a 6 or 7 on the pain scale, disrupted his sleep, attitude, and much of his daily life. Jim’s knee issues date back to his time in the Navy. He underwent several knee surgeries over the years, but this particular issue with his leg started following a knee replacement. Jim spent a year traveling to Topeka for treatments, but the relief he sought remained elusive.

“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” – Fred Rogers

The heart of Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) is the desire to help, it is just what we do and who we are. Each and every one of us.
But it is the act of going above and beyond, far from any job description, that makes VNA really beat. So, when a plea was put out to assist in the rehoming of a patient’s 13 cats to improve the lives of both the humans and cats, we did what we do. We helped.

VNA’s Employee of the Year award is given to an individual who exemplifies the values and mission of the organization, and the 2024 recipient, Janice Watts, embodies these qualities perfectly.