Hanover Visiting Nurse to Join Hanover Fire Department

The Town of Hanover is pleased to announce that the Hanover Visiting Nurse will be joining the Hanover Fire Department as part of a departmental reorganization unanimously approved by the Hanover Select Board on February 27, 2023. The transition will formally occur on April 3, 2023.

The success of the Town’s COVID-19 Pandemic Response was the catalyst that made this reorganization an obvious mechanism to enhance and improve the services provided by both the Hanover Fire Department and the Hanover Visiting Nurse. This initiative will link the emergency medical services provided by the Fire Department with the non-emergent and chronic care services provided by the Visiting Nurses. With this budget-neutral reorganization, the Town is taking another proactive step toward improving services to residents.

Since its inception in 1929, the Hanover Visiting Nurse has been a vital part of the community by providing, professional quality patient care in the comfort of residents’ homes. The Hanover Visiting Nurse is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of our community by providing compassionate, caring, and accessible health care. The nurses are a non-profit entity, dedicated to the prevention of disease and the care of the sick in Hanover. The current services of the Visiting Nurses will be enhanced and improved by this reorganization.

While several areas are being explored to better integrate health delivery services within the community, there are several short-term enhancements that will be implemented quickly. Patients that interact with fire department paramedics but who decline further treatment or transportation to the hospital will be offered a follow-up service by the Visiting Nurses. This service is not a requirement for emergency medical services but is an example of an innovative way the Town of Hanover will be able to provide enhanced services to our residents.

Other quickly implemented enhancements include the identification of high-utilizers of the fire department EMS system. Nurses will be able to identify and track residents who may need ambulance services more frequently than others. By interacting with these residents early, nurses will be able to offer follow-up and more appropriate tertiary resources that may prevent further escalation of a chronic medical problem.

Fire Chief Jason Cavallaro notes “we are excited to bring the nurses into the Hanover Fire family and are looking forward to the possibilities this reorganization will allow. Having our paramedics and nurses collaborating and coordinating with each other on a daily basis will greatly enhance our combined abilities to provide the best services possible to our residents - who deserve nothing less.”

This reorganization will also not impact the vital work done by the Hanover VNA Community Foundation. This all-volunteer board is a 501 (c)(3) organization that was formally known as the Hanover Visiting Nurse Association, Inc. The Hanover VNA Community Foundation relies solely on donations to support and provide assistance to residents in need throughout the year. The Foundation also provides scholarships to high school seniors entering the field of nursing and allied health.