Celebrating 90 Years of Service

Join us in celebrating 90 years of service!

This year, 2024, marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas (VNA). A small group of volunteer nurses, led by Lillian Beckett, a public school nurse, went into the poorest sections of Dallas and the surrounding area to provide desperately needed care to the sick, infirm, and new mothers and their babies during the Great Depression.

Realizing the critical need for this care was far greater than what these few volunteer nurses could provide, 12 prominent Dallas women and 13 public nurses met on April 6, 1934, to organize the nonprofit organization we have today: the Visiting Nurse Association. The official announcement of the new organization was made on May 12, the birth date of Florence Nightingale.

Lillian Beckett

This year, 2024, marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas (VNA). A small group of volunteer nurses, led by Lillian Beckett, a public school nurse, went into the poorest sections of Dallas and the surrounding area to provide desperately needed care to the sick, infirm, and new mothers and their babies during the Great Depression.

Lillian Beckett

Realizing the critical need for this care was far greater than what these few volunteer nurses could provide, 12 prominent Dallas women and 13 public nurses met on April 6, 1934, to organize the nonprofit organization we have today: the Visiting Nurse Association. The official announcement of the new organization was made on May 12, the birth date of Florence Nightingale.


Sadie Lefkowitz

Sadie Lefkowitz, wife of Rabbi Lefkowitz of Temple Emanu-El, served as VNA’s first board chairperson. Under her leadership, VNA gained vital community support to help us grow and expand to other areas of the community.

Highland Park United Methodist Church generously chose to fund the first full-time paid nurse for VNA, and Georgia Bates was hired in 1939. She was fluent in Spanish and cared for patients in poverty-stricken sections of Dallas until her retirement in 1973.

In 1973, The Women’s Council of Dallas transferred operational management of Meals on Wheels in Dallas to VNA. What began with 125 meals then, has blossomed into more than 4,800 meals every weekday.

VNA participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pilot program that helped establish the Medicare hospice benefit still available today. As a result of this project, VNA became Texas’ first nonprofit hospice provider in 1978 and officially became a Medicare Hospice provider in 1983.

With our expert knowledge and superior care, VNA began receiving numerous requests for care outside Dallas County. Answering the call, branch offices were established in Kaufman County in 1974, in McKinney in 1979, and Fort Worth in 1981. Later, VNA expanded further north into Denton County in 1995.

Hank Yarbrough delivering Meals on Wheels circa 1995
Hank Yarbrough delivering Meals on Wheels circa 1995

In 1973, The Women’s Council of Dallas transferred operational management of Meals on Wheels in Dallas to VNA. What began with 125 meals then, has blossomed into more than 4,800 meals every weekday.

VNA participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pilot program that helped establish the Medicare hospice benefit still available today. As a result of this project, VNA became Texas’ first nonprofit hospice provider in 1978 and officially became a Medicare Hospice provider in 1983.

Hank Yarbrough delivering Meals on Wheels circa 1995
Hank Yarbrough delivering Meals on Wheels circa 1995

With our expert knowledge and superior care, VNA began receiving numerous requests for care outside Dallas County. Answering the call, branch offices were established in Kaufman County in 1974, in McKinney in 1979, and Fort Worth in 1981. Later, VNA expanded further north into Denton County in 1995.

Remaining true to our heritage, VNA went where we were needed most during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s to care for patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. With funding from the Ryan White grant, VNA established an AIDS Team of nurses to care for these patients.

VNA was selected to participate in an Innovation Model program through The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) known as the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM) in 2014. The pilot, designed to test the effectiveness and efficiency of homebased supportive palliative care, officially launched in 2018. Patient outcomes and health care savings proved to be successful for VNA as well as nationally. Our VNA Care Choices program continues to this day, offering in-home support for those suffering from serious illness.

patients suffering from HIV/AIDS

Remaining true to our heritage, VNA went where we were needed most during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s to care for patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. With funding from the Ryan White grant, VNA established an AIDS Team of nurses to care for these patients.

patients suffering from HIV/AIDS

VNA was selected to participate in an Innovation Model program through The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) known as the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM) in 2014. The pilot, designed to test the effectiveness and efficiency of homebased supportive palliative care, officially launched in 2018. Patient outcomes and health care savings proved to be successful for VNA as well as nationally. Our VNA Care Choices program continues to this day, offering in-home support for those suffering from serious illness.

VNA’s spirit of innovation continued when in 2019 we launched the VNA Meals on Wheels Volunteer Portal and VNA Meals on Wheels Delivery Mobile App to provide a better experience for volunteers via their smartphones and give VNA staff real-time feedback about client needs.

True to our history of providing unmatched clinical care serving those with the greatest need, in collaboration with area children’s hospitals, VNA launched the Children’s Haven pediatric hospice program in 2021. As one of only two pediatric hospice providers in the region, VNA continues to expand to meet the needs of this vulnerable population in North Texas.

True to our history of providing unmatched clinical care serving those with the greatest need, in collaboration with area children’s hospitals, VNA launched the Children’s Haven pediatric hospice program in 2021. As one of only two pediatric hospice providers in the region, VNA continues to expand to meet the needs of this vulnerable population in North Texas.

Our history serving the most vulnerable coupled with our innovative spirit is what propelled VNA to create an unmatched continuum of care with a robust Community Health Worker program. Ensuring all clients and patients have the resources they need, this dedicated team of professionals launched in 2023 and assesses clients for additional needs to ensure they can age safely in place.

The Visiting Nurse Association’s 90th Anniversary celebration in 2024 honors the nurses, expert staff, and caring volunteers who deliver hope to patients and clients today, as well as the many individuals and groups who gave life to the organization 90 years ago and further our mission to serve the most vulnerable today. Our mission is to provide care to our community, enhancing health and wellbeing with compassion, dignity and integrity. With your support we…

  • Feed the hungry,
  • Enable the disabled,
  • Care for the seriously ill,
  • Promote health equity in the communities we serve, and
  • Comfort patients and their families at the end of life.

Join us in celebrating this important milestone and continuing our commitment to serve those who need it most in the years to come.