VNH Rebrands as Dartmouth Health Home Care After Century of Service

The organization that has sent nurses into Upper Valley homes since the early 1900s formally shed its name last week. Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire, known to generations of patients and families as VNH, officially became Dartmouth Health Home Care on March 25, absorbing nearly 120 years of community nursing tradition into one of the region's largest health systems.

The change affects home-health, hospice, rehabilitation and personal-care services across more than 140 towns in New Hampshire and Vermont, including communities throughout Sullivan County that have long relied on VNH nurses for post-hospital care, end-of-life support and daily living assistance.

Tammy L. Tarsa, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health Home Care, said the rebrand was not a sudden pivot but the product of deliberate planning. "This announcement is the culmination of VNH's strategic plan, launched in fall of 2024, to recreate who we are, what we offer, and how we do it," Tarsa said. The aim, according to Dartmouth Health, is to better align its mission with the system's vision to set the standard for rural healthcare across the region.

For Sullivan County patients, the rebrand carries concrete implications. Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont regularly coordinates care with home-health agencies when patients are discharged, and tighter administrative alignment between the renamed agency and Dartmouth Health could reshape how those referrals flow. Patient-facing materials, billing processes and point-of-service procedures are all expected to reflect the new branding going forward.

Dartmouth Health's job listings for the renamed entity signal that workforce investment is a near-term priority. The system is offering sign-on bonuses and relocation assistance to attract clinical staff, a direct response to the staffing shortages that have persistently strained rural home health and hospice providers across the region.

VNH traces its roots to early 20th-century community nursing programs centered in the Windsor and Upper Valley area. The organizational announcement frames the rebrand as the agency's next phase rather than a break from its past. Whether the integration delivers on promises of expanded access and continuity will be measured by hiring numbers, visit availability in outlying towns, and how smoothly new administrative systems take hold across all 140-plus communities the agency serves.