RVNAhealth is pleased to announce that Ridgefielder John Apinis, RN, BSN, has joined the staff as the agency’s new Director of Nursing Services.  In that role, Apinis oversees a staff of 30 nurses, as well as CNAs, and office staff helping to deliver health care in the home for RVNAhealth’s more than 1,500 patients.  He will also collaborate with the directors of the agency’s other service areas  – HomeCare by RVNAhealth, Rehab by RVNAhealth, and the currently developing Hospice by RVNAhealth – to integrate all of RVNAhealth’s offerings and ensure that patients’ needs can be met throughout the continuum of care.

Apinis says that changes in the healthcare industry have meant an increasing focus on the critical role of home care.  “With a general trend toward shorter hospital stays, the need for homecare is growing,” he says.  “And, it can result in better, more cost-effective outcomes than a lengthy hospital stay.”

Apinis, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Fairfield University, entered the nursing field after a successful career in publishing.  He began his nursing career at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, caring primarily for Vietnam and Korean War veterans, where he gained a profound respect for those who served our country.  From there, he moved on the Western Connecticut Health Network, working as an RN case manager in home health care.

Apinis calls his work in nursing gratifying.  “I love what I do. It has made me a better person,” he says. In his new role, he hopes to help ensure that RVNAhealth’s clinicians have the same positive experience delivering care in the field that he had.   “People don’t always know what home health care is until they need it,” he adds.  “But the work we do can have such a positive impact on our patients’ lives.”

A resident of Ridgefield for more than 20 years, Apinis and his wife, Wendy, have three children.