VNHCH Ranks Among Top 5% in the Nation for Caregiver and Family Experience

September 10, 2026

Visiting Nurse Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County and Western Maine has been recognized by Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) as a “Premier Performer” for achieving an overall caregiver and family experience score that ranked in the top 5% of all eligible SHP clients for the 2025 calendar year.

The annual SHPBest™ award program was created to acknowledge hospice providers that consistently provide high quality service to families and caregivers of patients receiving hospice care. The 2025 award recipients were determined by reviewing and ranking the overall CAHPS Hospice caregiver experience score for more than 1,800 hospice providers. With one of the largest CAHPS Hospice benchmarks in the nation, SHP is in a unique position to identify and recognize organizations that have made the family and caregiver experience a priority and have been rewarded for their efforts with high marks on the CAHPS Hospice survey.

VNHCH Executive Director Jessalynn Geerdes stated, “This recognition belongs entirely to the nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers who show up for families during the hardest days of their lives. To rank in the top 5% nationally — among more than 1,800 hospice providers — is a reflection of their skill, their compassion, and their unwavering commitment to the people we serve in the Mt. Washington Valley and Western Maine. I’m incredibly proud of this team.”

Jason Ballet, President of SHP, added, “Providing excellent patient care takes relentless effort, and our SHPBest award winners embody that every year. This program lets us recognize the organizations that never settle, that keep improving the patient and caregiver experience even when they’re already performing at a high level. That kind of commitment deserves to be celebrated.”

Read more about the SHPBest awards program, including methodology and award recipient lists at https://www.shpdata.com/hospice/shpbest-cahps-hospice/.

About Visiting Nurse Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County and Western Maine

Founded in 1974, Visiting Nurse Home Care & Hospice of Carroll County and Western Maine is the region’s only non-profit home health and hospice provider, serving families across the Mt. Washington Valley and Western Maine. Each year, the agency’s nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers make nearly 19,000 visits to patients in their homes — delivering skilled nursing, hospice and support, and community health services where people need them most. For more information, visit www.vnhch.org.