Donors enjoy a game of craps at VNA's 3.d Casino Night Fundraiser in 2023.

VNA’s signature 3.d Casino Night Fundraiser is back! Make sure you add this fun night of philanthropy to your calendar for Friday, August 1, 2025!

Jim Householder poses with his VNA care team in the kitchen of his home. (From left to right: back row - Audrey, Dawn, Clare; front row - Kayla, Jim)

For Jim Householder, pain in his leg had become the norm. For well over 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 go all the way 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. For a year, Jim traveled to Topeka for treatments, but the pain persisted.

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.

Janice Watts, VNA's 2024 Employee of the Year, holds her award while posing with the rest of VNA's Human Resources Team (from left to right: Cynthia Colbert, Janice Watts, Janice White, JoAnna Eanes-Pettit).

VNA’s Employee of the Year is an individual who exemplifies the values and mission of the organization, and that is certainly true of the 2024 recipient of the award. “…a friend to all and an outstanding team member; is outgoing, caring, and has a genuine interest in others.” This is how VNA’s 2024 Marceil Lauppe Employee of the Year, Janice Watts, was described by one of her fellow staff members that nominated her for the award.