NoteWorthy is your weekly news roundup of happenings, movers and shakers, and community events in the Merrimack Valley.

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AROUND THE VALLEY

Home Health VNA Recognized Nationally for Patient Satisfaction

Home Health VNA was recently ranked as one of the country’s highest-performing home care agencies in the area of patient satisfaction by scoring in the top 25 percent of Fazzi Associates’ 2016 National Patient Satisfaction survey, titled the Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HHCAHPS.

This survey is one of home care’s oldest, largest and most respected patient satisfaction benchmarking systems. Agencies in the top 25 percent are recognized as proven leaders that have excelled in one of the most important measures of an agency’s quality program.

“Home Health VNA has more than a 120-year history of excellence in patient care outcomes and in satisfaction with care,” said President and CEO John G. Albert. “It’s a privilege to care for patients and families in our communities. We honor that privilege with our commitment to patient satisfaction.”

Home Health VNA is a not-for-profit agency affiliated with HomeCare, Inc. and Merrimack Valley Hospice. Together, the three agencies serve more than 110 communities throughout Northeastern Massachusetts, the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire.

Greater Newburyport Chamber Celebrates Opening of Piper & Chloe

The Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated the opening of one of the newest businesses in the port city, Piper & Chloe on Water Street. Piper & Chloe is a children’s, home & women’s lifestyle boutique store with a warm and cozy environment. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, visit the store’s website at PiperAndChloe.com.

Essex County Community Foundation Given $18 Million Bequest

Essex County Community Foundation announced that it is the beneficiary of an approximately $18 million bequest – the largest gift ever received by the Foundation – from the estate of the late R. Kingman “King” Webster, a former Lawrence businessman and philanthropist.

Webster, who passed away late last year, left behind a legacy of giving, which was largely focused on providing Lawrence youth with educational opportunities.

“For King, it was about so much more than writing a check,” said Julie Bishop, ECCF’s vice president for philanthropy. “He wanted to know about these kids. He took them on field trips to broaden their experiences. He guided and mentored them and sometimes even helped with homework.”

While the gift to the Foundation is unrestricted, ECCF’s Board of Trustees will honor King Webster’s intent to provide scholarships for graduates of the Community Day Charter School in Lawrence, and to support other nonprofits in the Greater Lawrence area that work to improve the lives of young people, said ECCF’s President and CEO Dave Edwards.

Essex County Community Foundation now manages 180 charitable funds and since its inception in 1998, has awarded over $38 million to support philanthropic activities focusing on improving the lives of all people who live, work and raise their families in our region.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kathy Sousa is the most recent addition to the team of insurance account brokers at Santo Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. Sousa, a Certified Insurance Counselor, comes to the Santo agency with over three decades of property and casualty experience. She will be focused on developing insurance programs designed to meet the individual needs of businesses and residents in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Mary E. Emerick has been named executive director of human resources at Middlesex Community College. Most recently, Emerick served as a Human Resources Leader for FirstEnergy, an Akron, Ohio utility company with 15,000 employees and $15 billion in annual revenues. She has also worked in HR for Barnes Group Inc., Cummins and Coca-Cola Enterprises. Emerick earned a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University.