SACO — The John T. Gorman Foundation recently awarded a $15,000 grant to HomeHealth Visiting Nurses (HHVN) to support the development of an “Integrated Chronic Care Model,” a patient-centered, evidence-based model to improve quality of home health care to vulnerable elders at risk of hospitalization or facility placement.

Chronic diseases are among the most common, preventable and costliest of health problems. In Maine, heart disease, stroke and diabetes are, respectively, the second, fourth and seventh leading causes of death. CEO Maryanna Arsenault said, “that in today’s enviroment clinicians must gain the requisite skill sets to deliver patient-centered, evidence-based care that is coordinated across all providers and this award provides the opportunity to launch an important health care initiative.”

HHVN provides home-based skilled nursing, palliative care, rehabilitative therapies, Telehealth, and a full range of community health and wellness services to adults and children throughout York, Cumberland, and southern Oxford counties. Donations, such as that from the John T. Gorman Foundation, enable HHVN to advance its mission of providing essential health services to the most vulnerable patients throughout southern Maine.

The John T. Gorman Foundation has been making grants to Maine nonprofit organizations since 1995 with a focus on disadvantaged and underserved Maine residents. For more information on the foundation, visit www.jtgfoundation.org or call 518- 6784.