James C. Summerfelt

President & CEO

James C. (Jamie) Summerfelt is the President and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA). The VNA has been the leader in providing community/public health, home care and hospice services to the residents of Omaha and Council Bluffs since 1896. Mr. Summerfelt’s vision is for the VNA is to be the overwhelming choice as the healthcare organization which provides services wherever our clients call home and whatever their ability is to pay. The VNA and Mr. Summerfelt have been recently recognized for the VNA’s successes in areas from tele-healthcare to staff recruitment and retention from both local and national organizations. The VNA also has received industry leading reviews from its customers with a 98% recommendation rate from satisfied clients and less the 14% readmission rates to the hospitals.

With nearly 28 years of leadership experience in the home healthcare industry, Mr. Summerfelt joined the VNA team as President and CEO in June of 2004. Since that time, the VNA has undergone Board restructuring, merger of Omaha and Council Bluff’s VNAs and the creation of HomeAide (a new business for personal care for older adults which helps them stay safely in their homes). Prior to the VNA, he worked for Saint Mary’s Medical Center in Reno, Nevada as Vice President of Professional and Support Services including homecare and hospice.

Mr. Summerfelt received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Northwestern University where he also played Big Ten football. He received a Master of Science in Physical Therapy and Master of Arts in Education from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Moving back to Chicago, he established his own physical therapy business that he eventually merged with a national healthcare provider and proceeded to establish homecare businesses in nine different states. Mr. Summerfelt’s passion for home healthcare brought him to Omaha. The VNA offers him the opportunity to lead a not-for-profit, mission-driven, community-based healthcare organization in Omaha/Council Bluffs that has a 112-year history.

Mr. Summerfelt is a Board of Directors Member and Board Vice-Chair for the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and Hospice House — The Josie Harper Residents. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Hospice of Southwest Iowa. In addition, he is a member of Building Bright Futures Steering and Policy Committee, Chamber of Commerce Destination North Omaha Project, Partnerships in Aging, Our Healthy Community Partnership, United Way of the Midlands Vision Council, Downtown Rotary, National Association for Home Care, American College of Health Care Executives, and American Physical Therapy Association.

Mr. Summerfelt and his wife, Maggie, have three children.

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Eric Rein

Vice President of Finance/CFO

Eric Rein is the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Visiting Nurse Association. Eric started with the VNA in 1997 and has more than 10 years of experience in the home healthcare and hospice industry.

Eric has a bachelor of science in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and is a Certified Nonprofit Accountant. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and also a member of the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association.

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Bridget Caniglia, RN, CRRN

Vice President of Home Care

Bridget Caniglia is the Vice President of Home Care for the Visiting Nurse Association. With more than 14 years of nursing experience in rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and acute care settings, she joined the VNA and assumed this role in 2005.

Bridget is responsible for the overall operations and delivery of clinical services provided by our home care team. Home Health Care has a priority focus of assisting clients in remaining safe and independent in their own home through a multidisciplinary team approach, individualized specialty care and case management.

Bridget received her BSN from Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing in 1993. In addition, she became a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse in 1998. In 2008, Bridget and the VNA home care management team participated as a pilot agency in the Visiting Nurse Association of America’s improvement program, CHAMP (Curricula for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice). This program assists home health agencies in establishing and implementing best practices in geriatric care with a quality improvement focus for front line managers.

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Joanie Kush, RN, MS, CHA

Vice President of Hospice & Pharmacy

Joanie Kush is the Vice President of Hospice and Pharmacy for the Visiting Nurse Association. She has been a member of the Hospice Team in various direct care and management roles since 1983. She assumed the role of Vice President in 2000.

Joanie is responsible for overall operations of the VNA Medicare Certified Hospice program and VNA pharmacy. She has also functioned as a consultant assisting two home care agencies with the start-up of a Medicare Certified Hospice program.

Joanie received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in 1982 and her master’s degree in nursing Administration in 1997, both from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She received certification as a Hospice Administrator in 2005. The certification program focuses on strategic management principles, quality management and outcomes based hospice service delivery, hospice financial management and compliance and legal issues in hospice.

Joanie is on the Board of Directors for Hospice House — the Josie Harper Residents, which is a licensed inpatient hospice facility. In addition, she currently serves as the president of the Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership.

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Betty Cernech, MA, RN

Vice President of Community/Public Health

Betty is Vice President of Community Health and, since 1983, has served VNA in a variety of staff and management positions.

Betty is an RN, with a bachelor’s degree from Quincy University and a Masters degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has 40 years of nursing and management experience in hospitals, local public health departments, and the VNA.

The VNA mission reflects Betty’s passion for working in the field of public health nursing, especially with vulnerable and at-risk men, women and children of all ages, races and ethnicity.

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Bridget Young, RN, BSN, MBA

Vice President of Quality & Accreditation

Bridget Young is Vice President of Quality and Accreditation for the Visiting Nurse Association. She is a member of the leadership team with more than 30 years of home care experience. Bridget is responsible for agency accreditation, clinical regulatory issues, and overall agency quality programs with a strong focus on staff competency and outcomes management.

Bridget has held a variety of direct care and management positions at VNA, including Vice President of Home Care and Vice President of Business Services. She assumed the role of Vice President of Quality & Accreditation in 2004.

Bridget received her BSN from Creighton University in 1975. She received an MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1995. In 2006, Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) named Bridget the recipient of its annual home care award, Administrative Manager of the Year.

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Mary Lou Brasee

Vice President of Marketing & Development

Mary Lou Brasee is the Vice President of Marketing and Development for the Visiting Nurse Association and has been with the organization since 2001.

Mary Lou has a bachelor of science in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She has more than 16 years of experience in fund development and marketing. In her career, she ran a capital campaign, raising more than $1 million for an endowment supporting parochial elementary education, and as division director with United Way of the Midlands, was responsible for raising $2.5 million annually during the campaign drive.

Mary Lou’s responsibilities are directed at branding VNA as the industry leader in expert quality care, cutting-edge technology and superior customer service. She is responsible for the development and implementation of a broad range of marketing programs, as well as public relations. In addition, she is responsible for all fundraising programs, including special events, annual giving, major gifts and planned giving.

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