The Michigan Visiting Nurses (MVN) records cover over 100 years of public health nursing in Washtenaw County, documenting the changing nature of this service and its associated agencies over the course of the twentieth century. The MVN records are organized into four series: Ann Arbor Visiting Nurse Association, Ypsilanti Visiting Nurse Agency, Visiting Nurse Association of Huron Valley, and Michigan Visiting Nurses.
Michigan Visiting Nurses (MVN) is a home care provider of skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. It was formed when the Visiting Nurse Association of Huron Valley integrated into the University of Michigan Health System by becoming wholly owned by the Michigan Health Corporation (MHC) in December 1997. Michigan Health Corporation is the legal entity that allows the U-M Health System to enter into partnerships, affiliations, joint ventures and other business activities. It is a non-profit membership corporations wholly owned by the Regents. MHC transferred the Michigan Visiting Nurses to the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in 2007. In 2014 it was a department in the University of Michigan Home Care Services Division of Patient Care and Nursing Services. MVN services 13 counties in Southeastern Michigan.
In the early twentieth century, infections and epidemics like tuberculosis, diphtheria and influenza accounted for much of the nursing activity. Pre- and post-natal care were also emphasized. Gradually, as antibiotics and vaccines brought many illnesses under control, the focus shifted to home health care for the terminally ill and the elderly, hospital follow-up care and physical therapy, and children's health. This is reflected in the shift from charitable funding and independent operation of local nursing agencies to government (local and federal) and grant funding and consolidation of services at the county level to form a unified social service agency.
The Visiting Nurse Association of Huron Valley came into existence in April of 1980 with merger of the Ann Arbor Visiting Nurse Association and the Ypsilanti Visiting Nurse Agency. The Ann Arbor association traces its origins to the University Hospital Circle of King's Daughters and Sons, a charitable organization established in 1896 to help needy hospital patients. At first a private agency, in 1910 the organization began to receive some funding from the Ann Arbor City Council for its work. In 1913, the organization became an independent public agency associated with the National Organization for Public Health Nursing and called itself the Visiting Nurse Association. In 1918 the name was changed to the Ann Arbor Public Health Nursing Association (AAPHNA).
Through the early-to-mid 1900s the association developed more formal ties with the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, and as a result received more funding from these sources. In 1954 the AAPHNA became the Ann Arbor Visiting Nurse Association, and evolved into a social service agency funded by local government, grants, the United Way, and fees from private and governmental agencies such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross. The association functioned independently until it merged in 1980 with the Ypsilanti Visiting Nurse Agency. At that time a new board was established with ten representatives from each city and four from Washtenaw County.
The Ypsilanti Visiting Nurse Agency began in 1941 with the employment of a half-time nurse whose salary was paid by the Community Fund Board. Service gradually expanded to cover more areas of the county, and by the 1950s three nurses were employed. Major funding by the Community Chest continued, while other sources, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross contributed to the budget. Physical therapy and psychiatric follow-up services were added during the 1960s. While operating independently, the Ypsilanti Visiting Nurse Agency was under the supervision of the Washtenaw County Health Department, who hired its personnel. The YVNA was dissolved when it merged in 1980 with the Ann Arbor Visiting Nurse Association.
