JoAnne Ruden is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Visiting Nurse Association of Mercer County. She began her career as a visiting nurse in Buffalo New York in 1971 and has more than 38 years experience in the home health and hospice fields. Prior to joining VNA in 1994, JoAnne served as a senior consultant and site visitor at the National League for Nursing's Community Health Accreditation Program. She has worked extensively on the development of performance improvement systems and client focused outcome indicators within the industry.

JoAnne is the current Board of Directors Chair for the Home Care Association of New Jersey. In 2009 she was appointed as a member of the Board of Review for the Community Health Accreditation Program which determines national accreditation and Medicare certification status for home health and hospice organizations. Her community volunteer activities include the Zonta Club of Trenton, an international service organization working to improve the status of women and children.

JoAnne received a Bachelor Degree in Nursing from Niagara University and a Master of Public Administration in Health Care from Long Island University.