Our Legacy

When it comes to compassionate home health care in Kansas City, our roots run very deep.

Our story begins in the fall of 1889, when the First Congregational Church Ladies Union hired Lily Major, a trained nurse. Her job was to visit impoverished families needing medical care and basic life necessities in Kansas City. During these home visits, she provided comfort, health education and guidance.

Nurse Major’s work was very well received, and the community immediately recognized a need for more resources of this kind. By May of 1891, the Instructive Nursing Association was formed to expand the scope of homecare. Their mission was to bring in-home skilled nursing care to the sick, and teach those around them about treating and preventing disease.

Known today as Visiting Nurse Association (VNA Home Health), we have evolved into a progressive home health agency with the distinction of being the oldest locally and the sixth oldest nationally. Over the years—125 and counting—we’ve expanded everything from what we do to where we do it. We are now bringing advanced medical services and programs to the homes of patients in 17 counties around Kansas City.

We are proud to be the home of Kansas City’s original visiting nurse, and we are honored to serve in her tradition by helping the people of this community.