After 11 years leading Cornerstone VNA and 30 years with the organization, CEO Julie Reynolds will be retiring at the start of the new year. “It’s very sad for me; I’m having a hard time with that,” Reynolds says of her retirement. “I love what I do.” But at 66, Reynolds also wants more time to spend with her family and grandchildren. “I need to figure out what the next chapter will be.”
But what fascinating chapters she has already written. Reynolds started as a nurse’s aid, progressing to an LPN and an RN and was 50 when she earned her master’s degree. Under her leadership, the 111-year-old Rochester-based organization, which provides home, health and hospice services, has grown to serve more than 40 communities in NH and Maine. And Reynolds did it all while raising four children.
During her tenure as CEO, Cornerstone VNA more than tripled revenue from $6.9 million to $22 million this past fiscal year, serving 5,000 to 6,000 clients annually with more than 200 staff members. In 2020, Cornerstone doubled the size of its service territory. “When I became CEO, I knew we needed to grow, we needed volume,” Reynolds says.
The VNA has evolved over the years, adding palliative, hospice and heavy-duty nursing care among other services during the past 30 years. And it continues to grow. In October, Cornerstone expanded its services to Exeter and Epping. Reynolds says demand has only increased as Cornerstone’s service area has the oldest population in the country.
“Growth has insured our sustainability. It is important to me and Jennifer [my successor] that we remain independent,” Reynolds says. When Reynolds retires, she leaves knowing the organization is in good hands as she passes the baton to Cornerstone’s Vice President of Operations Jennifer Ufkin.
The organization has faced many challenges in the last few years and come out the other side stronger, Reynolds says, explaining the pandemic, industrywide staffing shortages and declining reimbursement rates have all demonstrated that Cornerstone VNA, “is still able to serve the community no matter what the challenge is put in front of us.”
“If you do the right thing for the right reason, it will turn out positive in the long run,” Reynolds says.
Current Issue - December 2024