Community Connections
Shining a local light on:
RVNAhealth
Proudly serving:
Bethel, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Danbury, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Southport, Stamford, Weston, Westport, Wilton
Learn more about their charity:
Community Connections
Community Connections shines a light on local charities whose compassion, service, and dedication strengthen the fabric of our community. By sharing their stories, we hope to inspire others and help the spirit of giving spread throughout our towns.
Under the spotlight today: RVNAhealth
An interview with Theresa Santoro, President & CEO, RVNAhealth
How do you brighten our community?
At RVNAhealth, we brighten our community by bringing high-quality, compassionate care directly into people’s homes and neighborhoods. We meet individuals where they are, whether recovering from illness, managing chronic conditions, or navigating the end-of-life journey, and provide skilled nursing, rehabilitation therapy, hospice care, and geriatric care management that supports dignity and independence.
Beyond clinical care, we strengthen the fabric of the community by educating families, supporting caregivers, and offering programs that promote wellness, safety, and connection. Our team helps people regain strength after hospitalization, stay safe at home longer, and feel less alone during vulnerable moments.
We also invest in prevention and wellness through community education, fall prevention programs, and outreach initiatives that empower individuals to live healthier, more confident lives. By combining clinical excellence with human connection, we help our community feel supported, informed, and cared for every step of the way.
Who do you serve in our community?
RVNAhealth serves individuals and families across all ages, with a strong focus on older adults, individuals recovering from illness or surgery, and those living with chronic or complex medical conditions.
We support patients who need skilled nursing care, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, as well as those requiring hospice and palliative care at the end of life. Our services extend to caregivers and families who need guidance, education, and emotional support as they navigate care decisions.
We also serve individuals who need help maintaining independence at home, whether through rehabilitation after a hospital stay, managing a new diagnosis, or receiving ongoing chronic disease management. In addition, our geriatric care management services help families coordinate care and access resources.
Ultimately, we serve anyone who needs trusted, compassionate healthcare at home or in the community.
What are you most proud of?
We are most proud of the difference our team makes in the lives of patients and families every single day. Whether it is helping a patient regain the ability to walk after a hospitalization, supporting someone to safely remain in their home, or guiding a family through end-of-life care with dignity and compassion, our impact is deeply personal.
We are especially proud of our interdisciplinary approach—bringing nursing, therapy, social work, and care management together to treat the whole person, not just the diagnosis. Our hospice care, in particular, reflects our commitment to comfort, respect, and honoring each individual’s journey.
We are also proud of our role as a trusted community partner, building programs, education, and outreach that strengthen health and wellbeing beyond the clinical setting. Every success story, every small recovery, and every moment of comfort reflects the dedication of our team.
What was the spark that started your organization?
RVNAhealth began in 1914, when a group of civic-minded women met at the Main Street home of Mrs. Ebenezer Keeler and resolved to bring homecare nursing to Ridgefield. Known as the District Nursing Association, our work was centered on charity, tending to the sick in their homes, feeding malnourished patients, delivering milk to needy families, and vaccinating children against Polio. Today, after more than a century of care and progressive growth, we are known as RVNAhealth, a name that reflects the depth and scale of our services, reaching far beyond Ridgefield, serving western Connecticut.
That original mission has grown over time, expanding to include rehabilitation therapy, hospice care, geriatric care management, and a wide range of community health programs. What has never changed is the core spark: a commitment to accessible, patient-centered care that meets people’s real needs outside of traditional institutional settings.
From its earliest days, RVNAhealth has been driven by compassion, independence, and the belief that everyone deserves expert care delivered with kindness and respect.
What is one of your future impact goals?
As healthcare continues to evolve, one of RVNAhealth’s most important future impact goals is strengthening and advancing our workforce to meet the growing complexity of patient care. Today’s post-hospital patients are being discharged sooner and with significantly higher levels of medical acuity, requiring more advanced care in the home than ever before.
To meet this challenge, we are committed to investing in our clinicians through advanced education, specialized training, and ongoing professional development that equips them to manage increasingly complex medical conditions safely and effectively outside of a hospital setting.
At the same time, we recognize that exceptional care also depends on innovation. Our future goals include providing our teams with cutting-edge technology and tools that support clinical decision-making, improve communication, enhance patient monitoring, and help deliver safer, more efficient care in the home and community.
By combining workforce development with innovative healthcare technology, RVNAhealth will continue to lead the way in delivering high-quality, patient-centered care that keeps individuals healthier, safer, and more independent at home. For more than 120 years, we have adapted to meet the changing needs of our community, and we remain committed to preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals for the future of care.
How did you change a life?
As a home health, hospice, and rehabilitation organization with a full continuum of care, RVNAhealth changes lives every day in deeply meaningful ways from birth through end of life.
Through our home health and rehabilitation services, we help patients recover strength, mobility, and independence after illness, surgery, or hospitalization.
Our Parkinson’s Resource Center and Dementia Resource Center provide specialized support, education, and programming that improve quality of life for individuals and caregivers navigating complex neurological conditions.
Our private caregiving services extend additional support that allows individuals to remain safe and comfortable at home.
Through our Nurse-Family Partnership program and well-child care services, we help families build strong, healthy foundations from pregnancy through early childhood, guiding parents, promoting healthy development, and improving long-term outcomes for children. These programs are designed to help families who face challenges accessing preventive healthcare services, ensuring uninsured and underinsured children and families receive the support and care they need.
And through hospice care, we provide comfort, dignity, and compassionate presence during one of life’s most profound transitions, supporting both patients and their loved ones.
At every stage of life, we meet people during moments that matter most. For more than 120 years, we have believed every healthcare encounter is an opportunity to change a life and we are honored to do that work every day.
Who are your community partners?
RVNAhealth partners with a wide network of organizations that help us extend care and support throughout the community. These partnerships allow us to better serve individuals where they live, recover, and gather.
We work closely with senior centers, libraries, and local community organizations that serve as trusted hubs for education, engagement, and wellness programming. We also collaborate with other nonprofit organizations to support shared goals around health, independence, and quality of life.
In addition, we maintain strong referral relationships with skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, rehabilitation centers, hospitals and physicians. These partners help ensure a smooth transition of care for patients moving between levels of service, so individuals receive the right support at the right time.
We also partner with local town governments to support public health initiatives, outreach programs, and community-based services that address the needs of residents across all ages.
At a broader level, RVNAhealth engages with statewide and national trade organizations that help us stay aligned with best practices, advocate for home health and hospice care, and strengthen the overall healthcare system.
Together, these partnerships create a connected care network that helps us deliver compassionate, coordinated, and community-centered care.
Local-Insta thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Community Connections series possible!
Celebrating the charities that make our community stronger.
Read about other Community Spotlights
.png)
Daily Bread Food Pantry
Daily Bread was started in 1984. However, we recognized that the Greater Danbury area needed to be served by a much more dignified and inclusive food pantry. Accordingly, just over a year ago, we opened a state-of-the-art new facility that incorporates the latest thinking in modern food pantries.
Read Spotlight
Powered by
