A New Gig For Harmon | Agency founder moves to nonprofit
File Photo
Kimberly Harmon.
Kimberly Harmon, the founder of Harmon Home Health in Worcester, was recently hired as the new president and CEO of the Auburn Visiting Nurse Association (AVNA).
Harmon, a registered nurse who started the private home health agency in 2006, said she’s worked for nonprofit groups in the past and is happy to be doing so again.
“It’s really where my heart is,” she said.
Harmon said Harmon Home Health will remain open for now, although that could change “somewhere down the road.” She is still the agency’s owner, but other staff, led by Brett Salmonson, will take charge of the day-to-day operations.
David Bellerose, the immediate past chairman of the AVNA’s board of directors, said Harmon was chosen for both her knowledge of the health-care industry and her understanding of the Auburn community. She is involved in a number of local organizations, including the Auburn Chamber of Commerce.
Harmon said some of her duties in the new position will be familiar, like overseeing a certified home care program. Some will be new, like running an adult-day program and, especially, doing the fundraising and grant writing that nonprofits depend on.
Harmon said that even before the opportunity with the VNA came up she had begun preparing for a possible career change.
“It can be challenging being a business owner,” she said. “Moving forward with this new role is allowing me to open up my creativity again.”
Both the private home health agency and the AVNA have faced some economic hardships in recent years. Bellerose said the nonprofit worked hard to turn itself around and has had stable finances for the past three years.
“We’re certainly meeting all the financial expectations of what is going to be needed to survive in this atmosphere of changing health care,” he said.
Harmon said Harmon Home Health had a difficult 2009 but is now “trending back to 2008 numbers.”
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments