Lynda S. Tanner, RN, MSN
Lynda Tanner is the President and CEO of VNA Health, an organization of 250 employees providing hospice, home health and palliative care service programs to more than 12,000 people annually across Santa Barbara County.
After successfully pressing for legislation to increase end-of-life inpatient beds, in 2011 Ms. Tanner oversaw VNA Health’s opening of a new state-of-the-art inpatient hospice facility, Serenity House. She also directed the acquisition of Community Home Health, which increased VNA Health’s delivery of home health services by 35%, and successfully obtained branch status for a satellite location in Santa Ynez. In 2012, Ms. Tanner oversaw a move to a new location in downtown Santa Barbara with more space to house the growing organization. Since 2014, Ms. Tanner has participated in VNA Health’s annual PHorum: Perspectives in Healthcare, providing leadership on key healthcare priorities in Santa Barbara. In late 2017, after five years of diligent work, Ms. Tanner announced that VNA Health had achieved Level 4 of the We Honor Veterans; a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs. VNA Health is the only hospice organization in the Tri-County area (Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo) to have achieved this level. In 2019, Ms. Tanner led the company’s rebranding efforts and name change to VNA Health.
Ms. Tanner graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and later earned a Master’s degree in Nursing Administration. She has more than 35 years of experience working in homecare, including working as a consultant and a surveyor for The Joint Commission and as Chief Clinical Executive at Sutter VNA and Hospice.
Ms. Tanner is active in many professional, service, business and community organizations and currently serves on the Board of Directors for California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH), CenCal Health where she is also Vice Chair and Finance Committee Chair, and nationally on VNAA. In 2017, the Pacific Coast Business Times named Ms. Tanner the “Grand Champion of Healthcare.” The publication also distinguished VNA Health as one of the Best Places to Work for three consecutive years; and the Santa Barbara News Press awarded VNA Health the “Reader’s Choice Award for Senior At Home Services.” In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding, quilting, and spending time with family.