The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sullivan retires from top seat after 30 years
TORRINGTON » William F. Sullivan, Jr., President and Chief Executive Office of Visiting Nurse Services (VNS) of Connecticut, one of the state’s largest providers of skilled home health and hospice services, will retire from his position on Aug. 31, after 30 years in the agency’s top spot.
Sullivan will be succeeded in the post by Ann M. Olson, RN, BSN, on Sept. 1.
Sullivan began his professional career at VNS as the agency’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1979, assuming the President and Chief Executive Officer position in 1987. Sullivan has been a dynamic, respected, and visionary leader in the nation’s home health care industry for decades. He has served as a board member and Chairman of the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home, appointed member of two Connecticut General Assembly Home Health Task Forces and Work Groups, a member of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission to study non-institutional health care, a past member of the Business Council of Fairfield County’s Health Care Task Force, a past board member of Home Care 100, the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and the Health Care Financial Management Association, an invited instructor and guest speaker at numerous workshops and conferences, and has been involved in a variety of community, athletic, and professional organizations.
Over the course of Sullivan’s three decades at the helm of VNS, the non-profit provider, based at 765 Fairfield Avenue with patient care offices in Trumbull, Oxford and Torrington, has grown to become a recognized state and national leader in the skilled home health care industry. VNS’ 450 staff members currently administer more than 250,000 visits a year in providing critically needed home health services to 7,800 individuals. During Sullivan’s tenure, VNS experienced unprecedented growth and expansion both in patient areas served and breath of services.
VNS expanded its reach beyond Bridgeport to include 57 communities into Litchfield, Fairfield and New Haven counties. Under his progressive leadership, the agency now offers a comprehensive scope of services from the traditional, to the high tech, to the cutting edge. Several specialty clinical programs such as IV Therapy, wound care, palliative care, Hospice at Home, and Telemonitoring were initiated during his tenure.
VNS is recognized as a center of excellence that offers patient care services utilizing state of the art and best practice protocols to ensure the highest level of excellence in caring. He completed construction, and a later renovation, of its current headquarters in Bridgeport, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1909 and, more recently, recognized its 10 millionth patient visit in 2016. VNS has consistently achieved recognition for its innovation and excellence in patient care during Sullivan’s tenure, including multiple years as a national Home Care Elite agency.
Visiting Nurse Services of Connecticut is one of the state’s largest non-profit home health care organizations, serving residents of 56 cities and towns in Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield Counties, with focus on geriatric care. VNS provides a comprehensive range of services including skilled nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work and home health aide assistance. VNS Specialty
Services include Hi-Tech Home IV Therapy, Wound Care, Psychiatric Nursing, Pain Management, Palliative Care, Nutritional Counseling, Elder Care Planning.
The VNS Hospice at Home Program provides comprehensive home care for terminally ill patients and their families. VNS affiliate, Partners in Care, offers live-in home health aide services as well as the VoiceCare personal emergency response system. For more information, visit www.vnsct.org