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RVNA broke ground on the $10 million, 22,000-square-foot facility a little more than two years ago in Dec. 2014. It's located a 27 Governor St., and will provide 10,000 square feet of additional space to expand its care.
Among those in attendance was RVNA's President and CEO Theresa Santoro who was excited about what the center will do for the community and its clientele.
"It truly is the culmination of everything we've worked so hard for in delivering on and expanding upon our mission which is to provide home and health care services to 28 towns across Western Connecticut," she said.
As the RVNA approached its 100th anniversary in 2014, the organization took a hard look at its future and how it would survive and thrive as an organization for the next 100 years, Santoro said. It looked at changes in health care and also in how it could help people with preventative care. Although its known for its at-home services it provides to seniors, Santoro said the RVNA knew it had to expand in order to offer more on-site services to the ever-growing senior population.
"We knew that we not only needed a bigger and better space but also to provide more to the community," she said. "This building is a health and wellness center."
RVNA, a Medicare-certified home healthcare agency, is based in Ridgefield and serves patients in 28 towns in Western Connecticut.
The fundraising for the Campaign for Tomorrow began in Oct. 2012 with the first gift being made in Nov. 2012 The center is 100 percent donor funded.
The Center for Exceptional Care, allows the RVNA to expand its services to the community, including preventive care, on-site physical therapy, nutrition education and caregiver support services, Santoro said.
The new facility allows the organization to expand in five areas, Santoro said. They are: an out-patient physical therapy center for patients who, if they choose, can go to the center to continue therapy with their same therapist; a demonstration teaching kitchen to teach more about nutrition; HomeCare by RVNA has its own office area that can accommodate growing staff and an accessible entrance that facilitates meetings with families, clients and caregivers; a clinical competency room for nurses to practice their care techniques and a care givers support center where material will be available for people who can research medical conditions.
The center has been open since February.
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