Welcome to the VNA Health Links Library!
On this page, you will find a variety of reference links separated into the following categories:

Eldercare Resources
Government/Regulatory Agencies
Health Care Databases and Search Engines
Home Care and Hospice
Outcomes and Quality Improvement


Eldercare Resources
AARP Webplace -This advertisement-free site provides information and encourages elder advocacy.
http://www.aarp.com
www.aarp.org/families/caregiving/guide_to_longterm_care.html

Aging Parents: The Family Survival Guide
Consisting of a booklet and two videotapes, this guide is designed to help family members respond to eldercare crises and to plan ahead for long-term care giving. To order, call 1-888-777-5585 or order online at http://www.agingparents.com

Aging Parents and Elder Care - Articles, comprehensive checklists, and links to key resources.  The site is designed to make it easier for family caregivers to quickly find the information they need. http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.com/

AGIS - Provides caregivers with free access to a wide range of worthwhile eldercare information.  http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.com/

ElderWeb: An Online Eldercare Sourcebook
Designed to assist older Americans, professionals and family members, this web site covers eldercare and related issues with an extensive array of links. http://www.elderweb.com

Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
1604 North Country Club Road
Tucson, AZ 85716
Tel: 520-881-4005
Fax: 520-325-7925
Web site: http://www.naela.org

Alzheimer's Association, Inc.
919 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1000
Chicago IL 60611
Tel: 1-800-272-3900
Web site: http://www.alz.org

American Association of Homes for the Aging
901 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
Tel: 202-783-2242
Fax: 202-783-2255
Web site: http://www.aahsa.org

American Association of Retired Persons
601 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20049
Tel: 202-434-2277
Web site: http://www.aarp.org
Provides the following free pamphlets: Miles Away and Still Caring (D-12748); A Handbook About Care in the Home (D-955); A Path For Caregivers (D-12957)

Guide to Retirement Living
Douglas Publishing Company, Inc.
9302 Lee Highway, Suite 750
Fairfax, VA 22031
Tel: 703-536-5150 or 1-800-394-9990
E-mail: proaging@retirement-living.com
Web site: http://www.retirement-living.com
Call for a free single copy of this magazine.

Health Insurance Association of America
555 13th Street NW, Suite 600 East
Washington, DC 20004
Tel: 202-824-1600
Fax: 202-824-1722
Web site: http://www.hiaa.org
Publishes A Consumer's Guide to Long-Term Care.

National Association of Private Geriatric Care Managers
1604 North Country Club Road
Tucson, AZ 85715
Tel: 520-881-8008
Fax: 520-325-7925
Web site: http://www.caremanager.org
Provides free referrals nationwide and sells a directory of members and managers.

National Council on the Aging, Inc.
409 3rd Street SW
Washington, DC 20061-5087
Tel: 202-479-1200
Web site: http://www.ncoa.org
Publishes Perspective on Aging, a bimonthly magazine, and Family Home Caring Guides.

National Guardianship Association
1604 N. Country Club Rd
Tucson, AZ 85716
Tel: 520-881-6561
Web site: http://www.guardianship.org

National Institute on Aging
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892
Tel: 301-496-1752
Web site: http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov

National Association of State Units on Aging
Suite 304, 2033 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 785-0707
This association of state agencies on aging provides a directory of State Units on aging plus all State 800 numbers for Information and Referral, Nursing Home Complaints and Elder Abuse.

National Caucus and Center on the Black Aged
Suite 500, 1424 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 637-8400
This organization promotes the quality of life for older black Americans. It advises community groups and conducts seminar on subjects of interest to blacks, and sponsors employment, housing and transportation programs.

National Hospice Organization (NHO)
Suite 901, 1901 North Moore Street
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 243-5900
NHO promotes care for the terminally ill and provides information about hospice services in the United States. Hospices provide medical care for dying patients, as well as counseling and supportive services for the patient and family members.

National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information
Provides information and resources to help you and your family plan for future long-term care (LTC) needs.
http://www.longtermcare.gov/LTC/Main_Site/index.aspx

Social Security Administration
Office of Public Inquiries
6401 Security Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21235
(301) 594-1234
This agency pays benefits to retired or disabled workers and their eligible dependents, as well as to eligible survivors of deceased workers. Supplemental Security Income payments are made to persons who are blind, persons with disabilities, and needy people 65 years of age and older. Local offices are listed under "Social Security Administration" or "U.S. Government."

Long-Term Care Link
A comprehensive web site with links to eldercare services and insurance information. Updated web site addresses for all State Agencies on Aging:
http://www.longtermcarelink.net/state_programs3.html
For general resource information: http://www.longtermcarelink.net/index.html

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Government/Regulatory Agencies
Centers for Disease Control

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Health and Human Services: Department of U.S. government

HIMSS: The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

Internet Healthcare Coalition

JCAHO: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Medicare

Michigan Government Home Page

Michigan In Brief

Michigan Legislature

NCQA: The National Committee for Quality Assurance

UGS Medicare: United Government Services

US National Library of Medicine

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Health Care Databases and Search Engines
Behavorial Health World for Professionals: the on-line service that is designed and developed exclusively for you the behavioral health professional and your clients/patients. The site encourages fellowship and sharing of experiences.

Combined Health Information Database (CHID): Produced by health-related agencies of the Federal Government: titles, abstracts, and availability information for health information and health education resources

Healthfinder: U.S. government's effort to help sort out health-related sites. Contains the latest medical data from government agencies and dozens of university and nonprofit health organizations. It offers many links, carries data medically reviewed for accuracy, and lets users search by letter of the alphabet and by subject, or take a guided tour of available information on a specific illness.

MEDLINEplus Health Information: a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Mental Health. Site contains health topics, drug information, directories, dictionaries and current health news.

National Institute of Health

National Library of Medicine

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Home Care and Hospice
Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Michigan

VNA Hospice

Finding Our Way--Living with Dying in America: This is an on-line class offering people an opportunity to learn from 15 articles created by a distinguished group of authors and editors nationwide.

Michigan Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

NAHC (National Association for Home Care): This is the virtual headquarters of the National Association for Home Care

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA)


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Outcomes and Quality Improvement
Home Health Compare

NCQA: The National Committee for Quality Assurance

Outcomes: Medical Outcomes Trust's list describing current outcomes measurement/benchmarking initiatives

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If you would like to suggest another health-related Web site to add to our list, please e-mail your ideas to vna@vna.org. Be sure to include the name of the site and the Web address. Also, as much as we try to keep this list current, organizations may change their Web addresses without our knowledge. If you find a link that does not work, please let us know.
Note: We cannot accept links to "for profit" organizations.