Founded in 1893 by nursing pioneer Lillian D. Wald and Mary M. Brewster, VNS Health is one of the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organizations in the United States, serving the five boroughs of New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties; and parts of upstate New York.

Lillian Wald, the founder of public health nursing, began her mission on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

In 1895, banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff purchased the Federal style townhouse at 265 Henry Street for the new organization to use, and expansion continued to adjacent buildings over the next few years.

The VNS Health workforce[8] consists of licensed practical and registered nurses; physical, occupational, and speech-language therapists; social workers; home health aides and home attendants, physicians, registered dietitians, and psychologists.

[9] Its IT innovations have been the subject of research[10] VNS Health acts as a liaison between patient and government bodies such as the state and federal legislatures, as well as regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the New York State Department of Health and the Department of Insurance.