News

The Lake Sunapee VNA clinicians that attended our on-site Wound Skills Days this past month enjoyed all the training and review that the educators of 3M/KCI provided. Sessions were held on three different days under tents in our parking lot to make it safe and convenient for staff to attend. These events helped equip our nurses with a new arsenal of wound dressings to optimize skills for improved patient outcomes and was an excellent review of the skills they frequently complete in the home. Thank you to our partners at 3M/KCI!

The time has come! After over a year of the program being on hold, we are excited to announce the relaunching of our Hospice Volunteer Program. Our Hospice Volunteers have served a vital role on our Hospice interdisciplinary team. They have a deep desire to give comfort, peace, and care to our patients. They do this purely out of the goodness of their hearts and their own free time. Volunteers have a significant impact on the lives of our patients, often connecting with them on a deep and personal level. This relationship benefits the patient and their loved ones, as well as the interdisciplinary team. Not only do they provide the team with particular insight into our patients’ lives, but through the volunteers' interactions, they are helping our organization maintain a high level of excellence in patient care. For more information about our volunteer programs, contact Elizabeth Gantner, Volunteer Manager, at 603-748-2225.

Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice (LSRVNA) approved its 2021 Board of Trustees at its Annual Meeting on March 3. During the meeting, Kieran Kays, Board Chair, welcomed two new trustees—Elizabeth Falicon, APRN, MSN, FNP-BC, and Christopher Martin. Falicon is the Owner and a Nurse Practitioner at Life Long Care of New London. Martin is the Owner and Administrator at Woodlawn Care Center in Newport.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust recently presented donations totaling nearly $12,000 to seven Northern New England nonprofit organizations from its employee-driven charitable giving program, Casual for a Cause. The recipients of the contributions collected in Q4 2020 are: BROC Community Action, Capstone Community Action, Friends in Action, Island Connections, Knox County Homeless Coalition, Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice, and Tedford Housing.

The New London Rotary Club has donated 1000 surgical masks to Lake Sunapee VNA for the second time since the pandemic began. The masks were made available through the Rotary Million Mask Initiative and the Rossi Foundation and distributed locally by members of the New London Rotary Club, including club president Katie Blake and club member Lou Botta. Jeana Newbern, Marketing and Community Outreach Manager, accepted the masks on behalf of Lake Sunapee VNA stating, “We are so thankful to the Rotary Club for supporting us in this way, and we will put every mask to good use.”

Lake Sunapee VNA is now offering two virtual grief support groups, since its in-person support groups are still on hold. To help anyone grieving during this pandemic and time of social distancing, a Virtual Bereavement Check-in is available on Wednesdays every three weeks from 4:00-5:00pm. In addition, a Virtual Widow to Widow group is held on the first Monday of every month from 3:30-5:00pm. Anyone interested in participating in these free groups should email their contact information to Lori O’Connor at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and a member of the bereavement team will call with further details.

Alyson Santaniello, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, has joined the palliative care team at Lake Sunapee VNA, bringing with her 22 years of nursing experience. With a BSN from the University of Rhode Island and an APRN from UMASS Lowell, Santaniello has worked in inpatient and outpatient oncology, done research in neuro-oncology, and for the last five years worked at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH.

With an ongoing commitment to find new ways to acknowledge its dedicated staff for their hard work at this challenging time and always, Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice (LSRVNA) offered “Grab & Go” remote lunches this summer at several locations throughout the agency’s 32-town service area. The goal was to thank employees with a special treat and make it as easy as possible for them to participate. Staff ordered a complimentary lunch paid for by LSRVNA and then arrived at the designated location to drive through and pick up their order, masks on for safety!

Many community members have come to rely on Lake Sunapee VNA for its regular Foot Care Clinics and annual Flu Clinics held throughout the area. Though the pandemic has created challenges to operating these clinics, things are looking up.

Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice is proud to be the recipient of this wonderful honor…the Colby-Sawyer College 2020 Community Award. Following is the college’s press release announcing their selection.

Colby-Sawyer College is pleased to announce that Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice (LSRVNA) has been selected to receive the 2020 Community Award in recognition of its many contributions, and commitment, to the college.