President & CEO
VP of Finance/CFO
VP of Quality and Accreditation
VP of Home Care
VP of Hospice and Pharmacy
VP of Community Health
VP of Marketing & Development
President and CEO
James C. Summerfelt
jsummerfelt@vnaomaha.org
James Summerfelt is the President and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association. He moved to Omaha from Reno, Nevada in June 2004, where he was Vice President of Professional and Support Services for Saint Mary's Medical Center.
Jamie grew up in the Chicago area and 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 home care businesses in nine different states. His passion for home care has brought him to Omaha, and he feels VNA is his dream position. The VNA offers him the opportunity to lead a non-profit, freestanding, mission-driven, community health care organization in a community that has more than a 100-year history of supporting the VNA programs and services.
Vice President of Finance/CFO
Eric Rein
erein@vnaomaha.org
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 nine years of experience in the home health care 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 Non-Profit Accountant. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and also a member of the Home Care and Hospice Financial Managers Association.
Vice President of Quality & Accreditation
Bridget Young, RN, BSN, MBA
byoung@vnaomaha.org
Bridget Young is Vice President of Quality and Accreditation for the Visiting Nurse Association. 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 and Accreditation in 2004.
Bridget received her BSN from Creighton University in 1975. She received an MBA from University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1995. She serves on the Home Health Quality Initiatives Partners Group at CIMRO of Nebraska, the state's Quality Improvement Organization.
Vice President of Home Care
Bridget Caniglia, RN, CRRN
bcaniglia@vnaomaha.org
Bridget Caniglia is the Vice President of Home Care for the Visiting Nurse Association. Prior to holding this position, she was a Nursing Manger for Creighton University Medical Center where she was responsible for the skilled nursing unit. She later transitioned to the acute medical surgical trauma unit.
Previously, Bridget was the Assistant Director of Nursing for the active rehabilitation campus at Quality Living, Inc., an agency that serves individuals with acquired brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, degenerative illnesses and/or physical disabilities.
Bridget assumed the role of Vice President of Home Care in March of 2005. A leader with over 13 years experience in varied health care environments, Bridget is responsible for the overall operations of home care for VNA.
Bridget received her BSN from Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing in 1993. In addition, she became a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse in 1998.
Vice President of Hospice & Pharmacy
Joanie Kush, RN, MS, CHA
jkush@vnaomaha.org
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 startup of a Medicare Certified Hospice program.
Joanie received her Bachelors degree in Nursing in 1982 and her Masters 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.
Vice President of Community Health
Betty Cernech, MA, RN
bcernech@vnaomaha.org
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, has a Bachelors degree in Health Sciences from Quincy University and a Masters degree in Health Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has 40 years of nursing and management experience in hospitals, local public health departments, and 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. Services are provided wherever the individual or family resides--homeless shelters, homes, women's correctional facilities and community agencies. Social workers, public health nurses, home health aides, homemaker companions and community advocates work as an interdisciplinary team to meet individual and family health and social service needs.
Vice President of Marketing & Development
Mary Lou Brasee
mbrasee@vnaomaha.org
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 15 years 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 and sales collateral support, as well as public relations. In addition, she is responsible for all fundraising programs including special events, annual giving, major gifts and endowment.
