About Us
The International Home Care Nurses Organization (IHCNO) is a nonprofit member organization dedicated to celebrating and improving home-based professional nursing care around the world. We recognize home-based care as a specialty area of practice that requires a unique skillset and knowledge. Through our programs, events, and fellowship, we empower clinical nurses, educators, and leaders worldwide to care for individuals in their homes, support families, and interact with communities.
IHCNO Annual Membership Meeting March 19, 2026
IHCNO held the annual membership meeting on March 19, 2026. All members are invited to attend the annual meeting. It was an interactive meeting where we heard about what is important to members and shared IHCNO accomplishments with them.
Nelly Nzingo-Kaingu was elected to the IHCNO Board of Directors. Nelly is the founder and lead nurse of Royal Heights Home Based Care in Kenya. Nelly has been active in the IHCNO task force developing the scope and standards of home healthcare nursing. We welcome her to the Board of Directors. Read more about Nelly in the April newsletter Member Spotlight.
Member Honors include:
• Two 2026 recipients were awarded the Marilyn D. Harris Research Grant:
o Dr. Laeton Nima from Indonesia, Study aims are to provide an in-depth understanding of patients’ experiences with Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD), the barriers they encounter, and the types of support they require.
o Erin Donnelly from the United States, will examine how dependence in medication management relates to healthcare utilization among homebound older adults.
• 3 2025 DAISY Awards were presented
o Sarah Lee PhD RN, Pro Health in California USA, DAISY clinical nurse award
o Marina P. Ibasco BSN RN, DAISY clinical nurse award
o Caroline Sirewu, RGN, Midwife, DCN, MNS, National AIDS Council, Zimbabwe, DAISY Nurse Leader Award
• 2026 DAISY Award
o Artur Jorge Dias Carvalhinho RN, Portugal, is the 2026 DAISY Nurse Leader award recipient.
IHCNO organizational partnerships include:
• International Council of Nurses (ICN). IHCNO became a member association.
• Nursing Now. IHCNO became a member organization. Go to www.nursingnow.org to access free education and activities.
• National Healthcare at Home 2025 Best Practices and Future Insight Study Steering Committee. IHCNO Director Mary Narayan represents IHCNO on the committee.
• International Collaboration for Community Health Nurse Researchers (ICCHNR). IHCNO has developed a partnership for future activities. Visit www.icchnr.org to explore their resources and scholarship awards.
• EBSCO Dynamic Health. IHCNO members to serve as subject matter experts for their point-of-care education products. EBSCO provides an annual contribution to IHCNO for research scholarships and member education projects.
IHCNO accomplishments in the past year include:
• The Board of Directors increased international board representation with 15 directors representing 7 countries.
• The international scope and standards project for home health nursing has been completed after two and a half years of work involving 330 global participants. The project achieved over 80% agreement on standards for practice among respondents within the topics of education, evidence-base quality care, research, leadership and advocacy. The standards are now ready for publication as an open access document.
• A book titled the International Evidence-Based Framework for Professional Home Health Nursing Care, co-edited by Marilyn Harris and Susan Hinck, is in preparation with Springer Nature Publishing.
• IHCNO's fifth Global Conference, in collaboration with the Association of District Nurse and Community Nurse Educators (ADNE) will take place June 17-19 at City St. George's University of London.
• IHCNO has returned to board-managed operations after leaving a management organization.
• Jo Stuttle was hired as a part-time executive administrator.
• The Membership Committee conducted a survey among members. Survey results indicated that networking opportunities were highly valued by members, with most respondents being registered nurses with over 20 years of experience.
• A Member Subsidy Program was implemented to assist individuals from low-income countries to become members.
• Three webinars were presented in 2025, and are available on the IHCNO, at no cost to IHCNO members.
IHCNO projects in development in committees include:
• Curriculum development aligned with new scope and standards of home healthcare professional nursing practice
• Development of a certification pathway for home healthcare nursing.
Volunteer hours are tracked to demonstrate the organization's value, with 8 people reporting in 2025 with 4,512 hours worth $156,972 based on an hourly rate of $34.79.
All members are invited to submit references to recent publications related to home healthcare nursing. IHCNO will permanently post the references on the IHCNO website. The reference should be emailed to [email protected]. IHCNO can post links to the full published manuscript only if the author submits an open access article.
2025 IHCNO Committees
The work of IHCNO is conducted in committees. We heartily thank committee Chairs and members for their time, knowledge, creativity, and leadership.
• Advocacy Committee
Chair: Patricia Grimes (USA)
Members: Barbara Piskor (USA), Mary Narayan (USA), Feng Ping Lee (USA-Tawain), Marie Blessington (USA)
Purpose: To disseminate and promote the professional image of home-base nursing, empower home-based nurse to strengthen their voices as advocates for excellent patient care, the Sustainable Development Goals, and healthy work environments.
• Communications Committee
Chair: Olga Jarrin (USA)
Purpose: Maintain the IHCNO website in both context and content, utilize social media platforms, and provide newsletters and messages in digital format with a goal to encourage home care nurses around the world to benefit from the information and exchange of ideas.
• DAISY Award Committee
Chair: Marilyn Harris (USA)
Members: Joan Yuan, Carol Parente, and Denise McEnroe-Pettite (USA), Susie Lum (Hong Kong), Gail Goddard (UK).
• Education Committee
Chair: Susan Breakwell (USA)
Members: Kathleen Cervasio-Marsala (USA), Pat Grimes (USA), Gary Hicks (USA), Mary Narayan (USA), Jannipher Mateega (Uganda), Barbara Piskor (USA), Stacey Rosenberg (USA), Alice Tso (Hong Kong), Fong Yoke Hiong (Singapore)
Purpose: Foster growth in home care nursing knowledge, understanding, and practice through conference and webinar planning, provide information and resources on our website, and conduct educational and collaborative activities for home care nurses and their patients.
• Finance Committee
Chair: Marilyn Harris
Members: Matt Seiver Assistant Treasurer (USA), Thiana Gaspert (Croatia), Rick Ingber (USA), Crystal Oldman (UK)
Purpose: Fiscal responsibility of the organization.
• Membership Outreach Committee
Chair: Kathy Duckett (USA)
Members: Alice TSO (Hong Kong), Barbara Piskor (USA), Samba Boye (Gambia)
Purpose: Grow and expand the IHCNO global network and membership through outreach efforts and member benefits.
• Research Committee
Chair: Jingjing Shang
Members: Khairul Dzakirin Bin Rusli (Singapore), Carol Long (USA), Mary Narayan (USA), Baarbara Polivka (USA), Rebecca Sharp (Australia), Joanne Tay (Canada)
Purpose: Distribute the annual Marilyn D. Harris Research Grant, design and facilitate research on the International Guidelines for Home Healthcare Nursing, help nurse researchers find research colleagues interested in international collaboration, and mentoring nurses new to research.
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