The Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (VNA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Judy Peterson RN, as President and CEO of Vermont’s oldest and largest home health and hospice agency. Peterson will succeed current President and CEO
J. Churchill Hindes PhD, who steps down in mid-July.
Judy Peterson, a life-long Vermonter, received her nursing degree from the University of Vermont and is currently the President and CEO of Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice in Berlin, Vermont. She leaves Central Vermont with thirty years of service to the agency including the past five years as CEO.
"I am thrilled to have been selected as the CEO of such a fine organization. I am deeply committed to the not-for-profit VNA mission and am looking forward to working with the dedicated staff of the VNA of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties to further that mission,” says Peterson. “Health Care Reform efforts focus on improving quality while controlling costs. This is exactly what the Vermont VNA system does. Now is the time to advance these very valuable home care and hospice services. I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in this movement as the leader of an organization like the VNA of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties."
Jim Madison, VNA Board Chair says of Peterson’s appointment, “After a national search for a new CEO, the Board is delighted to appoint a native Vermonter to lead the VNA. Judy brings a depth of experience to our VNA and a strong vision for our future in this dynamic time of health care reform. Judy's positive energy will help us transition as we thank Church Hindes for the outstanding leadership he has provided the VNA for nearly 13 years.”
“Stepping away from the VNA will be a bit easier knowing that our friend and colleague, Judy Peterson, will be taking the helm,” says outgoing CEO Church Hindes. “The VNA is a community treasure and Judy will steward it well and keep it shining.”
Peterson has served on numerous professional and community Boards and presently serves as a Trustee of Central Vermont Medical Center, is secretary of the Vermont Ethics Network Board and is a member of the Advisory Board of the UVM School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Peterson is a senior member of the Board of the Vermont Assembly of Home Health and Hospice Agencies.
Voted Central Vermont Business Woman of the Year in 2008, Peterson currently resides in Barre Town and has a grown son and daughter.
The VNA is a 106-year-old non-profit home health agency caring for people of all ages – from critically ill children to vulnerable families to adults who need rehabilitation, care for chronic illness, adult day services or end-of-life care. The VNA provides medically- necessary home and community-based care to individuals and families regardless of their ability to pay. The VNA serves over 5,000 individuals and families in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties each year. For more information on VNA services and programs, please contact the VNA at (802) 658-1900 or visit www.vnacares.org.