Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, a non-profit home health agency that has been serving Aquidneck Island for over 70 years, has announced that they are selling their Portsmouth, Rhode Island headquarters. The 21,858 square foot building has been placed on the market with Kirby Properties for $3.2 million.

According to Jennifer Fairbank, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer, the contemporary model for home health requires a much smaller footprint than it did twenty-eight years ago when they bought the building. She noted that a lot of their space was once used for medical supply storage and housing thousands of paper medical records, but today, most supplies are shipped directly to patients and all of their records are electronic. Hence, they simply don’t need to be heating and maintaining a building of this size.

As part of the agency’s comprehensive strategic plan, the VNH&H Board of Directors has voted to sell their building and seek more appropriately sized office space on Aquidneck Island. The agency will seek new leased space on Aquidneck Island after the sale is complete as well as keeping their small branch office in North Kingstown and a supply station in Swansea, Massachusetts.

The agency provides home healthcare and hospice services as well as offering community health and wellness services like flu clinics and maternal child health visits. VNH&H began on Newport’s Clarke Street in 1950 when a public health crisis of tuberculosis and polio was raging. The agency has grown from six nurses to employing over 200 people and serving patients in most of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Interested parties are encouraged to contact Steve Kirby of Kirby Properties to learn more about the sale. The 1184 East Main Road building is situated on one and a half acres within a larger industrial park. It was originally built for an electronics company and the property includes two parking lots and a large lawn with East Main Road frontage. Listing agent, Steve Kirby, said that it is very rare for a light industrial zoned property of this size to come open on Aquidneck Island, especially in Portsmouth. He added that with a building like this, there are many possibilities for customization.

The agency’s mission and vision have not changed, and patient care will not be impacted during this transition. The Aquidneck Island community has always supported VNH&H’s mission, and Jennifer Fairbank expressed her gratitude for the support over the past 73 years. She is confident that the community will continue to support their mission for years to come.

See the full listing, here – https://kirbyprop.com/property/1184-east-main-road-portsmouth/

Full Statement

VISITING NURSE HOME & HOSPICE TO SELL PORTSMOUTH BUILDING

AND SEEK NEW SPACE ON AQUIDNECK ISLAND

PORTSMOUTH, RI.  Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice, a non-profit home health agency with over 70 years serving Aquidneck Island, has placed their 21,858 square foot Portsmouth, RI headquarters on the market with Kirby Properties.

“The contemporary model for home health requires a much smaller footprint than it did twenty-eight years ago when we bought this building,” said Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Fairbank. “For example, a lot of our space was once used for medical supply storage and housing thousands of paper medical records. Today, most supplies are shipped directly to patients and all of our records are electronic. We simply don’t need to be heating and maintaining a building of this size.”

As part of the agency’s comprehensive strategic plan, the VNH&H Board of Directors voted to sell their building and seek more appropriately sized office space on Aquidneck Island. Board Chair, Mark Hough, said, “To continue our legacy of serving all who need us, we are focusing on strategic growth within a challenging healthcare environment.” The agency will seek new leased space on Aquidneck Island after the sale is complete as well as keeping their small branch office in North Kingstown and a supply station in Swansea, Massachusetts.

The agency provides home healthcare and hospice services as well as offering community health and wellness services like flu clinics and maternal child health visits. VNH&H began on Newport’s Clarke Street in 1950 when a public health crisis of tuberculosis and polio was raging. That year, local citizens banded together to form The Newport Public Health Nursing Association that would send nurses into patient’s homes. What started as six nurses has grown into an agency that employs in excess of 200 people and serves patients in most of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Jennifer Fairbank noted that the Aquidneck Island community has always supported VNH&H’s mission. “We are so grateful to serve this island. For the past 73 years, you have welcomed us into your homes at some of the most difficult times imaginable. We want to assure everyone that our mission and vision have not changed, and patient care will not be impacted during this exciting transition. We are confident that our community will continue to support our mission for years to come,” she said.

The 1184 East Main Road building is situated on one and a half acres within a larger industrial park. It was originally built for an electronics company and the property includes two parking lots and a large lawn with East Main Road frontage. Listing agent, Steve Kirby of Kirby Properties, said, “it is very rare for a light industrial zoned property of this size to come open on Aquidneck Island, especially in Portsmouth.”  He added that with a building like this, there are many possibilities for customization.

Interested parties are encouraged to contact Steve Kirby at steve@kirbyprop.com at 401 862 6761 or, Sharyn Harrington sharyn@kirbyprop.com at  401-862-6826.  The listing is available at https://kirbyprop.com/.

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Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...