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About the Research Center

The Center for Home Care Policy & Research at VNS Health advances the national knowledge base underpinning home- and community-based services by conducting scientifically rigorous research and supporting informed decision-making by providers, policymakers, and consumers.

VNS Health Is a Learning Healthcare System

Research & Policy Issue Spotlight

The Center for Home Care Policy & Research at VNS Health advances the national knowledge base underpinning home- and community-based services. Our policy and issue briefs provide syntheses of research on various topics and implications that may be of interest to home care leaders and policymakers.

Advancing the Evidence Base for Infection Control and Prevention in the Home Health Care Setting

VNS Health established the Center for Home Care Policy & Research in 1993. The Research Center’s mission has been to conduct research that advances knowledge promoting the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care in the home and community. From the beginning, our goal has been to provide useful and timely information to key decision-makers — within the VNS Health and outside — on issues significant to the delivery and financing of home- and community-based health care.

A Vision for the Future

VNS Health and the Research Center were ahead of the curve in the home health industry in transforming data into information to inform action. In 2000, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began requiring all CMS-certified home health care agencies to start collecting data through the standardized Outcome Assessment and Information Set (OASIS). Not only did VNS Health set up processes to meet the requirement for collecting information and transmitting data to CMS, we also allocated resources to build a data infrastructure to support practice and research.

Mission Statement and Goals

The Research Center’s mission is to conduct objective research that advances knowledge promoting the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care in the home and community and that supports informed decision-making by policymakers, managers, practitioners, and consumers of home- and community-based services.

Goals

1. To conduct and translate scientifically rigorous research on key issues affecting the quality, cost, and outcomes of home- and community-based services

2. To provide useful and timely information to key decision-makers—within the VNS Health and outside—on issues significant to the delivery and financing of care

3. To serve as a catalyst for constructive changes in practice, policy, and research that promote physical and mental health and well-being and that support the independence of those with chronic illness or disability

Our Work

Our work at the Center for Home Care Policy & Research culminates in:

Current Research Projects

Our current research projects fall into three focus areas:

  • Improving the quality, cost-effectiveness, and outcomes of home- and community-based services
  • Analyzing and informing public policies that affect home-based care
  • Supporting communities that promote successful aging in place

Our Team Members

Dr. Kathy Bowles, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI

Vice President & Director of Research, VNS Health and vanAmeringen Chair in Nursing Excellence & Professor of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Margaret McDonald, MSW

Associate Vice President

Led by our Vice President & Director of Research, Kathy Bowles, RN, PhD, FACMI, FAAN, van Amerigen Chair in Nursing Excellence & Professor of Nursing at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and Margaret McDonald, MSW, Associate Vice President, our team includes distinguished scientists and researchers from or in collaboration with world-class research institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, , Columbia University School of Nursing, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, Rutgers University, Villanova University, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Our History

The Center for Home Care Policy & Research was established by VNS Health in 1993 under the direction of Penny Feldman, PhD.

Public Health Service & National Institutes of Health FCOI Policy

Read our Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) Policy.

Contact the Research Center.

Contact the Research Center.