Our History

Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) was founded in 1904 by Mrs. Alfred W. Sumner with the support of the Moorestown Women’s Club (then known as the Current Events Club). Miss Ida Croft was employed as the first visiting nurse. She lived in the Sumner home, located at 16 East Main Street, Moorestown, NJ, where the Community House now stands. Miss Croft was paid $25 per month plus free room, board and laundry. “It is to Miss Croft, a graduate of the Women’s Homeopathic Hospital of Philadelphia in 1894, that we owe the firm foundation on which the VNA in Moorestown is established and to her we should be forever grateful.” Moorestown VNA expenses were paid through the generous contributions of members of the community. Nursing visits were designated as “pay”, “friendly” and “charity”. This is consistent with our current philosophy where no patient under our care will ever be discharged into an unsafe home situation regardless of their ability to pay.

Our Timeline

1904	Mrs. Alfred W. Sumner founded Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association with the support of the Women’s Club of Moorestown.
1924	Mrs. Nathan Thorne, as board president, was the Moorestown VNA representative on the nucleus committee for the building of the Moorestown Community House.
1926	The Moorestown Community House was completed and Moorestown VNA moved in as an original tenant.
1931	Two full-time nurses were added to the staff to help mothers deliver their babies at home.
1932	The agency became legally incorporated.
1935	School nursing services were initiated at Moorestown Friends School and three rural schools in Mount Laurel Township.
1938	The Well-Baby Clinic was started with Dr. Emlen Stokes as physician.
1940	Moorestown VNA joined with the Library Association, the Recreation Commission and the Welfare Association to begin the Moorestown Community Fund.
1963	The agency assisted in the first county mass immunization program with the Sabin oral polio vaccine.
1966	Moorestown VNA merged with Visiting Nurse Service of Riverton, Cinnaminson and Palmyra.
1967	The agency became fully certified for Medicare.
1985	Moorestown VNA became a countywide agency in Burlington County.
1993	Moorestown VNA staff increases to 300 employees. Agency relocates to Mt. Laurel to accommodate growth. New flu prevention program launched.
2001	The Hospice of Moorestown VNA is initiated. Visiting nursing staff begins using laptop computers feeding into a new clinical documentation system. Agency nurses administer over 9,000 flu vaccinations.
2002	The Hospice of Moorestown VNA is certified in January and receives CHAP accreditation.
2004	Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association celebrates 100 years of service to the people of South Jersey.
2005	Sixty telemonitoring units are purchased and put into service. Tele-monitoring allows nurses to follow vital signs of patients daily, or even more frequently, from a remote location.
2006	The Hospice of Moorestown VNA holds the first Camp Firefly, a three-day camp for grieving children.
2007	Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association occupies property at 300 Harper Drive, Moorestown as permanent headquarters. The Community Counseling Center of Moorestown VNA is opened to the public. The agency serves patients and families throughout Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.