December 19, 2025

Media Contact: Lundy Fields, President and CEO

VNA of the Treasure Coast

772-567-5551 | vnatc.com

 

Vero Beach, Fla. — The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of the Treasure Coast is responding to today’s announcement by the State of Florida approving a for-profit hospice provider to begin serving Indian River County in early 2026. The newly authorized provider will join a community that VNA has exclusively served with nonprofit hospice care for nearly 40 years.

The approval follows a statewide Florida Need Projections review conducted by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which analyzes population trends, mortality data, and hospice utilization to determine future need. Indian River County is one of seven counties where additional hospice capacity has been approved.

VNA has long met—and continues to meet—the hospice needs of residents across Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere. VNA employs approximately 450 staff members, including about 100 hospice professionals, and provides compassionate hospice care to roughly 2,000 patients each year. This depth of experience and community connection uniquely position VNA as the trusted hospice provider for local families.

“Hospice choices made by families have a ripple effect,” said Lundy Fields, VNA President and CEO. “When you choose VNA, you’re supporting a 50-year community mission—and programs that only exist because we’ve spent decades listening to, caring for, and growing with the people of Indian River County.”

Hospice care represents 52% of VNA’s total revenue, and as a nonprofit, VNA reinvests hospice revenues to fund vital community programs that extend far beyond standard hospice services. These include grief counseling for adults and children, Camp Chrysalis, the mobile health clinic serving uninsured neighborhoods, community health screenings, vaccine outreach, music therapy, and culturally informed outreach to vulnerable and minority populations.

Guided by VNA’s Life Journey philosophy of supporting families through life’s most complex moments, VNA Hospice delivers interdisciplinary care through nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains, bereavement counselors and music therapists. Patients receive care wherever they live, with the option of 24/7 support at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach when symptoms can no longer be managed at home.

As this for-profit provider enters the market, VNA encourages families, healthcare professionals and community partners to continue choosing VNA—the nonprofit organization with the deepest roots, broadest programs, and strongest commitment to Indian River County’s long-term wellbeing.

For more information, visit vnatc.com or call 772-567-5551.