BUTLER TWP — Liz Powell has been named chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurses of Western Pennsylvania.

She is taking the place of Kristy Wright, who has been CEO of the organization for more than 10 years and is leaving for a position with Simione Consulting, a national home care and hospice consulting firm.

The change was announced today.

Powell, who has been with the VNA for more than 25 years, has been its chief operating officer for the past 16 years.

Under her direction, the VNA has developed several new programs, notably remote telemonitoring and chronic disease management. She also was instrumental in opening the VNA Inpatient Hospice in 2010.

Powell is a certified registered nurse and a member of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, the Pennsylvania Hospice Network, the Butler County Community College Nursing Advisory Board and the Rx Home Health Care Credentialing Board.