The 31^st Annual Meeting of the Vermont Assembly of Home Health Agencies, Inc. on October 11, 2001, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier was no ordinary annual meeting. Elizabeth J. Davis, RN, MPH, President and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Alliance of Vermont and New Hampshire Inc., and member of the VAHHA Board of Trustees, had announced her plans, several months ago, to retire at year’s end. Unbeknownst to her, the evening’s program was planned to recall and highlight her very influential forty years in home heath care.

Keynote speaker for the event was Lieutenant Governor Douglas Racine whose remarks on health care in Vermont included among his many acknowledgments that "maintaining a patient at home costs about half what is costs to maintain a patient in a nursing home," and that home is the place of choice as well. He noted that health care will look very different ten years from now and that today’s planning by groups like VAHHA is already shaping those changes.

VAHHA Executive Director Peter Cobb emceed the following tribute to Betsy Davis, beginning with the announcement of the Elizabeth J. Davis Scholarship Fund and a plaque presented by Lieutenant Governor Racine.

Church Hindes, CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden, Grand Isle Counties, used Betsy Davis’s passion for sailing as his metaphor for how, as the CEO of that organization in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, she "designed the ship and all its rigging." He went on to say that her design was so visionary that even today, "when things go off course, the ship responds immediately to adjustments at the helm."

Ann Mallett, past president of VAHHA, led the group in a special song thanking Betsy for her years of service (to the tune of "Oklahoma") noting that her legacy is her dedication to patients first, services for infants and the elderly, with high quality for all as the ultimate quest.

Peter Cobb then called attention to a display of historic photographs and commented that Betsy began making her rounds in Burlington in the early 1960s on a bicycle – highlighted at the event by the arrival of a very contemporary bicycle outlined in lights. A scholarship cake was presented with the announcement that the Elizabeth J. Davis Scholarship Fund was already at $50,000. Cobb noted that during Betsy’s tenure at the helm of the Visiting Nurse Alliance, that that organization had grown from $6 million in combined budgets at the time of the merger in 1992, of seven home health agencies followed three hospice organizations and two additional home health agencies. Today the Visiting Nurse Alliance is a $16 million organization that makes 160,000 home visits annually and covers 86 towns and 3,500 square miles in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Vermont Senator Janet Munt, who is also a former VNA colleague, remarked that "anyone who has ever played bridge with Betsy Davis, knows how competitive she is," and issued a clear call to the political arena. Munt suggested that Davis "grow fewer dahlias and raise more hell in the legislature."

Over the years, Davis has been very involved in Vermont State health care issues and played a major role in the mid 1970s, following the first Medicare cuts, in the collaboration of local and state funding for continuation of home health services for people dropped from Medicare coverage.

Kay Ryder, former director of public relations of the VNA, Chittenden, Grand Isle Counties, recalled Betsy’s leadership of that organization during years of incredible growth and outreach, and Betsy’s decision in 1984 to leave Burlington for New York City’s Visiting Nurse Services, then the largest non profit in the nation.

Ryder paid tribute to Davis as a visionary, commenting that "Betsy was on the ground floor when it came to incorporating marketing, fund raising, communications, newsletters, public relations and television appearances." Davis was remembered for pioneering adult day care, working to establish the Hospice benefit and developing the first on-site commercial day care center in Vermont as part of the Burlington VNA.

As a Grande Finale, the Home Care Mystery Theater Company presented "Herdswoman for Home Health," a spoof on the many challenges weathered by home health care, under the leadership of Betsy Davis, since the advent of Medicare and Medicaid.

Thanking everyone, an overwhelmed Betsy Davis recalled Senator Patrick Leahy going on home visits before he became a senator, "leaving him with a lasting impression of the fine work of the VNA." She also called the Burlington VNA’s decision to hire her as a staff nurse right out of nursing school, "a huge risk," as few agencies wanted to hire new nursing grads in the 1960s. Davis touched on some of the highlights of her career, the challenges she faced and observed, in conclusion, that not only would she continue to be involved in some capacity but that "the opportunities before us are extraordinary."

"The Scholarship was set up to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of Betsy Davis by providing scholarship funds to Vermonters who want either to extend or to pursue a career in home care." said VAHHA Director Peter Cobb.

The scholarship fund will be directed by an advisory group comprised of members of the Vermont Assembly of Home Health Agencies and will be granted to candidates from Vermont who want to learn more about home care. The Vermont Community Foundation of Middlebury will handle the administration of the scholarship for VAHHA.

To contribute to this tax deductible scholarship, please send a check to the Elizabeth J. Davis Scholarship Fund, c/o Vermont Assembly of Home Health Agencies, Inc., 10 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602.

Dr. Timothy E. Quill, author of A Midwife Through the Dying Process and Death and Dignity, will address "Quality of Life and Death: The Challenge of Hospice and Palliative Care" on Thursday, November 1 from 7:30 – 9:00 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, South Burlington. This presentation is being offered by the Madison-Deane Initiative: Resources for Quality End-of-Life Care in conjunction with the University of Vermont Forum on Aging.

For the past 15 years and especially since the publication of his first book, Death and Dignity (1993), Timothy Quill has been lecturing to audiences across North America. Through sharing stories about his patients and their end-of-life decisions, he has educated literally tens of thousands on this subject. His second book, A Midwife Through the Dying Process (1996), is comprised solely of vignettes of healing and hard choices at the end of life. Recently, Caring for Patients at the End of Life has been published. Dr. Quill was featured in last year’s Bill Moyers’ series "Moyers on Dying in America."

The Madison-Deane Initiative was created to educate the general public and medical professionals about care at the end of life. In addition to community education, such as Dr. Quill’s presentation, the Madison-Deane Initiative advocates the strengthening and coordination of quality end-of-life care through communication among related organizations, including the VNA, Hospice of the Champlain Valley, Vermont Respite House, The Vermont Ethics Network, Fletcher Allen Health Care’s Palliative Care Services, The University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, the Vermont Medical Society, Vermont CARES and the Cove of the Champlain Valley. The Madison-Deane Initiative is also compiling a centralized resource for gathering and sharing information on end-of-life care housed at the Visiting Nurse Association.

Two-hundred-seventy-five fans of Broadway songs attended the musical tribute entitled "Rosemary George Sings The Best of Broadway" which featured songs by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Kern and Stephen Sondheim. Miss George was accompanied by noted Barre musicians Richard Shadroui, piano, and Glendon Ingalls, bass. The festivities netted $7500 for the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice.

Miss George gave this one-time benefit concert for the Hospice program of Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice in appreciation for the care CVHHH provided for her father, Joseph George, in whose memory this concert was dedicated. Mr. George died under CVHHH’s Hospice care one year ago in October.

Richard "Dick" Shadroui spent many years in New York City studying piano, where he received his B.S. and M.A. degrees. A graduate of the Julliard School of Music, he enjoyed years of opera and choral work. Since returning to Vermont, where he toured for many years in The State House Steps, he continues to teach piano and has established a class of outstanding students.

Bass player Glendon Ingalls has accompanied a wide variety of artists, and plays bass with his own trio appearing regularly in the J. Morgan Lounge at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier. He plays with a number of local groups including the Dixie Six, the Onion River Jazz Band, the

Hallmark Jazz Quartet, and the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra. Earlier this year, Mr. Ingalls performed at the Yaroslavl, Russia Jazz Festival with a group from the Burlington area. The most recent recording he appears on is "Alone with You", a CD of jazz standards with the Linda

On June 4, the first four residents of Anderson Parkway in South Burlington – an innovative residential alternative for individuals with mobility impairments – came together to meet each other, see the completed two-story building, and have dinner. These individuals, all in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s, and all wheelchair-bound due to Cerebral Palsy, were joined by their parents, caregivers, and staff.

Anderson Parkway is a result of a collaborative effort to create an accessible, affordable, housing option with personal assistance services for young adults with disabilities. Selected as the health and personal care service provider for the building, the VNA joined with Cathedral Square Corporation, a local non-profit housing organization specializing in housing for elders and adults with disabilities, and the Vermont Department of Aging and Disabilities (DAD) to create an innovative place to enable young adults to live independently.

By pooling resources and sharing caregivers, the nine prospective residents will have more flexibility in how they receive care. VNA Personal Care Attendants and Licensed Nursing Assistants will be on-site 24 hours a day to provide assistance with bathing, dressing, meal preparation, laundry, household chores, and other tasks that allow these adults to live on their own. Sue Watson, Clinical Director of VNA’s long-term care program, Care Connection, notes that "this model, the only one of its kind in the state, will allow for care to be provided whenever needed as well as offering the ability for staff to respond to unscheduled care needs." Residents will work closely with the VNA to direct their care. The residents will also work closely with each other to set care priorities and design decision-making processes necessary for the success of a shared care mode.

Access to 24-hour care is what motivated Guy Salvemini to move into Anderson Parkway. Guy was looking for more reliable care when he heard about the project and he thought it was the "perfect opportunity."

In addition to VNA staff, residents will have the assistance of a resident manager and service coordinator, both employees of Cathedral Square Corporation. The resident manager will live in an apartment on-site and be responsible for overseeing the care of the facility. The resident service coordinator will coordinate any non-care-related services needed by the residents and will develop group activities.

As the residents’ first dinner concluded, it was clear that they were looking forward to making Anderson Parkway their home. Two residents were already talking about how they would share their knowledge and passion of computers and ham radios. Another recent college graduate was looking forward to finding a job. And the fourth, a guidance counselor in a local school district, was busy measuring her future apartment space and contemplating what furnishings she will need for her new home.

Over 150 amateur golfers participated in the eighth annual Rutland Health Foundation Golf Invitational, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and the Vermont health Plan. The event, which took place September 21, at the Rutland Country Club. Although the exact tally of the money earned for this year is not yet known, Bernadette Robin, Public Relations Director for the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, said she expects that the tournament raised $30,000+ for the foundation.

Established in 1994, the Rutland Health Foundation is a shared program of the Rutland Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice and the Rutland Regional Medical Center. Proceeds from past Invitationals have benefited the pediatric rehabilitation program Kids on the Move; the volunteer initiative Bridges and Beyond, Going Home and Maternal Child Health Services.

A highlight of this year’s event was a video swing analysis by golf professional Greg Norman’s company, Visual Edge. The James T. Bowse Challenge Cup, named in memory of James T. Bowse went to the Johnson & Johnson Orthopedics team of Steve Durkee, Edgar Holmes, Jeff King, Scott Spooner and Joseph Vargas.