[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16758]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     THE VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL JERSEY--95 YEARS OF 
                          OUTSTANDING SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 20, 2007

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, today I would like to recognize the 
achievements of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey. Since 
its establishment in 1912, this nonprofit, voluntary organization has 
treated individuals of all needs and ages living in my district and the 
surrounding region. In its 95 years of service, the organization has 
undergone numerous successful expansions, helping it to become a top 
provider of hospice and in-home health care in central New Jersey.
  With an original mission to improve prison conditions and approaches 
to public assistance, the agency over the years has broadened the type 
of community care it provides. Now it is most well known for its 
outstanding in-home services. These services are critical to 
individuals who need frequent and adequate care in order to remain in 
their own homes.
  The association's team of nurses continually strive to keep up with 
in-home technological advances, ensuring that patients receive the 
latest in quality care. VNACJ looks after the aging population, 
founding a local hospice program in the 1980s and 1990s. At the other 
end of the spectrum, VNACJ also focuses its efforts on the needs of 
children. The organization has worked to expand handicap services to 
children as well as establish parenting and nutrition education 
programs, children's shelters, and well-child conferences.
  In addition to treating patients of all ages, the agency attends to 
all types of health matters. In the 1940s and 1950s, VNACJ played an 
important role in establishing Monmouth County branches of some of 
today's most important health care organizations, including the Heart 
Association, the Cancer Society, and the Cerebral Palsy Treatment 
Center. The agency also pays particular attention to providing health 
care services to migrants as well as veterans. Community immunizations 
and AIDS treatments are just a few of a comprehensive list of services 
the VNACJ provides.
  Under the leadership of its chairman and my friend, Judith Stanley 
Coleman, and with the help of over 1,000 employees treating 100,000 
patients each year, the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey 
claims a spot among the nation's largest nonprofit in-home health 
groups.
  On a personal level, almost every family in my district has, at one 
time or another, called upon the Visiting Nurses for help with a 
pressing health need. The reaction from the families I have spoken with 
over the years is uniformly positive: they deeply appreciated the 
warmth, the skill and the professionalism of the visiting nurses who 
came to their homes and helped their loved ones.
  It is with great pleasure that I ask my colleagues to join me in 
commending the 95 years of quality care the VNACJ has provided to 
residents of central New Jersey.

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