Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut President to retire

New London, CT (June 8, 2020) – Following a health care career spanning more than five decades, Mary Lenzini, president of the Southeastern Connecticut VNA, will retire at the end of 2020. Lenzini leads the VNA's home health care, school health and community services divisions, which serve thousands of eastern Connecticut residents, including new mothers, the elderly and the homeless. She oversees a staff of more than 240. The VNA, an affiliate of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, provides more than 100,000 home care visits annually to patients in the region.

“Mary has dedicated her life’s work to caring for others and in doing so she has enriched our families and our communities,” said Patrick Green, president and CEO, L+M. “She has been a remarkable leader and her commitment and engagement have made a profound difference that will have a lasting impact on us all.”

That extraordinary commitment and leadership was recognized in 2017 when the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut honored Lenzini as its 67th Citizen of the Year. During the course of her career, Lenzini has seen numerous changes in health care including advanced treatments and technology that require a higher level of skill for those working in home health.

“I’ve enjoyed watching the changes and improvements over the years,” Lenzini said. “I’ve already missed three retirement dates and now it’s time to spend more time with family and pursuing my other interests.”

Among those interests are her husband, adult children and grandchildren, her garden and the opportunity to be more active with the volunteer organizations that are near and dear to her. Lenzini is active in many community organizations and co-founded the soup kitchen at the Second Congregational Church in New London in 1987, and still oversees it. Since 2006, she has served on the board of directors of the New London Homeless Hospitality Center.

Lenzini was an integral part of the team that pushed for a coordinated approach to community nursing, an effort that led to the formation of what is now the VNA of Southeastern Connecticut. She assumed the position of president of the VNA in 1996 when the agency was created with the merger of several home care agencies. After graduating from nursing school in Missouri, Lenzini began her health care career in the Navy. She served in active duty during the Vietnam War and worked as a nurse at the US Naval Hospital in Bethesda for three years. After leaving the Navy, she became a home care and school nurse for the Groton Public Health Nursing Service.

As she transitioned into management, Lenzini pursued a Master’s in Gerontology from the University of New Haven. She also took on academic roles at Mitchell College in New London. She is certified by the National Association of Homecare as a home and hospice care executive.

Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, a member of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit, 308-bed general and acute care hospital providing patient care to medical, surgical, pediatric, psychiatric and obstetrical patients in southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island since 1912. Lawrence + Memorial offers cardiac acute, step-down and rehabilitation programs and is the only eastern Connecticut hospital that performs emergency and elective angioplasty. www.lmhospital.org

Westerly Hospital, a member of Yale New Haven Health, is a 125-bed hospital that has been providing residents of southern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut with a full range of inpatient and outpatient services in a community hospital setting for more than 90 years. Westerly Hospital patients receive the finest quality treatment in the following areas of care: emergency, medical, surgical, radiology, laboratory and rehabilitative services. The hospital also offers heart and vascular care, interventional pain management, wound care, pulmonary rehabilitation services, inpatient geriatric psychiatric care and comprehensive cancer care provided through the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center. All inpatient rooms are private. westerlyhospital.org