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Visiting Nurse Services (VNS) began efforts to decrease infant mortality 100 years ago; now the organization has expanded and offers services through 36 programs.

“We are always looking for ways to improve our programs and people’s lives,” said Jen Van Liew, president and CEO of VNS.

The organization, which addresses public health needs in the community, has opened two new branches within the past several months. VNS’s East Village location, at 521 E. Locust St., Suite 202, opened in December 2007 and its Park Fair Mall location, at 100 E. Euclid Ave., Suites 129 and 4, opened in January 2008.

Park Fair is a family and parent center that provides services such as dental screenings, parent education and services for pregnant women and families. At the East Village satellite branch, VNS offers programs such as mental health services, counseling for individuals and families and perinatal depression counseling.

“We look at the whole family and how we can help them be more self-sufficient and be better parents,” Van Liew said.

Other services offered by VNS include in-home services for adults with chronic health conditions and the elderly, clinical occupational health services and flu shots for businesses across Iowa, and the HOLA Center, which focuses on Hispanic outreach and legal assistance.

Along with the expansion of its perinatal depression counseling, mental health and dental services, VNS professionals will help address the national issue of meeting the needs of the uninsured and help families find their “medical home.”

Celebrating its centennial year, VNS began in April 1908 with a group of registered nurses who met to discuss public health nursing needs. Now the organization has a diverse staff, ranging from nurses and case managers to interpreters and van drivers. Van Liew said the staff “can connect at a basic level” with members of the community. VNS has approximately 150 full-time staff members, and a total of 198 staffers including part-time registered nurses. The organization serves at least 10,000 people each year.

VNS receives funding from the federal government, the state, the county, foundations, individuals and the United Way of Central Iowa. Van Liew said she is proud that VNS still receives money to combat infant mortality in the community.

“My responsibilities are to constantly look at the needs, determine how to meet them and find funding,” Van Liew said.