We Asked Field Clinicians: “How Have You Made a Difference in Someone’s Life?”
September 19, 2023–In this latest episode of “Ask VNS Health,” Home Care team members tell how they are living the mission. Click here below to see what that said. To view more Ask VNS Health videos like this, click here.
Team Highlights
McKnight’s Features Cutting-Edge Research Project from VNS Health and Columbia School of Nursing
September 8, 2023–
From HHA to RN: Donna Wilson’s Inspiring Journey
August 15, 2023–When Clinical Care Manager Donna Wilson started working as a home health aide (HHA) at VNS Health, she had a vision that she would one day become a registered nurse (RN). As a child growing up in Guyana, health care became her passion thanks to her paternal grandmother, who was a nurse. Her grandmother would often take Donna with her to work, where she mostly cared for elderly patients. “That’s where my love for the geriatric population began,” says Donna. “That feeling continues today. I have a love for seniors, and the sentiment seems to be mutual.” From HHA to RN Donna served as a teacher and an assistant tax inspector in Guyana prior to moving to the United States in 1989. In the U.S., she worked in insurance and banking before becoming an HHA in Personal Care (then known as Partners in Care). Donna was drawn to the position
A Shining Example of Teams Working Together for Nursing Home Hospice Patients
July 19, 2023–Teams Featured: Business Development, Personal Care and Hospice Care For VNS Health home health aide Delores Yearwood Pile, her job providing care to VNS Health Hospice patients at a large skilled nursing facility in the Bronx keeps her on her toes—literally. “I might begin my shift by giving one patient a bath and then dressing her in a set of fresh clothes and feeding her,” she says. “Then I’ll walk a short distance and do the same with another patient. An hour later, I’m on to a third patient. And in between these visits, I’ll circle back to check on the others. Every minute I’m there, I’m providing important help to someone—plus, it gives variety to my day!” When Delores’s shift is done, another VNS Health aide will follow a similar routine with the same patients. This rotating care is a hallmark of VNS Health’s new “Cluster Care” hospice model.
NY1 Segment on Teen Suicide Prevention Features Expertise from Alex Karydi, Director, Behavioral Health Product Development
August 21, 2023–Young adults can face insecurity, loneliness and depression. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that suicide rates for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 are the highest they have been in years. For LGBTQ teenagers and Black, Indigenous and people of color, those numbers are even higher. In the city, the Department of Health reports suicide is the second leading cause of death among people in this age group. Alex Karydi, a clinical psychologist and a certified drug and alcohol counselor, joined anchor Shannan Ferry Saturday morning on NY1 to offer some guidance to parents about how to identify a child in crisis and communicate with them. She is also a director of the Safe Pathways Program, which is led by the nonprofit and community-based health care organization VNS Health.
NYN Media Features Alex Karydi in Story on Safe Pathway Suicide Prevention Program
June 29, 2023–
Alex Karydi Director, BH Product Development, and Peer Specialist, Siobhan Kelly, Speak to the Importance of “Safe Pathway” Suicide Prevention Program
June 26, 2023–
Our VNS Health Experts Testify … Bills Get Passed, Programs Get Funded!
August 22, 2023–Vulnerable New Yorkers, including those living with mental illness as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community, will have more support and better access to care in New York City, thanks in part to the recent testimony of VNS Health experts and the mission-driven advocacy of our Government Affairs team. The Need: Improve access to community-based behavioral health services throughout New York City. VNS Health Expert: Jessica Fear, Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health Jessica’s Testimony: In May, Jessica testified to the City Council’s Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions to advocate for the people VNS Health serves every day. “The individuals and families we serve are no different from you and me, except they exhibit a higher incidence of trauma, anxiety, and depression,” Jessica told the committee. “They often need assistance accessing benefits and basic necessities such as housing, food, and medication.” As Jessica noted in her testimony,
Neighborhood Spotlight: Our Mission Is Alive and Well in New York’s Chinese American Communities!
August 9, 2023–Through the streets of Chinatown, Sunset Park and Flushing, this video celebrates some of New York’s most distinctive cultural treasures—and the care that VNS Health team members have been providing to the Chinese American community for nearly two decades. Watch our Community Center teams in action here below! A special thank you to team members Barbara Yau and John Wong for providing the English voices for Mrs. Leong and Mr. Mo.
Contessa Officer, Director of Veterans Programs Joins BronxNet to Speak to the Importance of Supporting Veterans and Their Families
June 14, 2023–
McKnight’s Features Cutting-Edge Research Project from VNS Health and Columbia School of Nursing
September 8, 2023–
Crain’s Health Pulse Highlights VNS Health Collaboration with Columbia School of Nursing on Alzheimer’s Study
September 7, 2023–
American Health Care Leader Profiles Nausheen Rokerya, VP, Associate General Counsel
August 22, 2023–
Manhattan Voice Features Constance Washington in Story on Staying Safe in the Summer
August 15, 2023–
Constance Washington, Care Coordinator, VNS Health Plans, Provides Tips and Advice for Staying Safe During the Summer in Patch
August 15, 2023–
LGBTQ+ Program Manager Arthur Fitting Interviews Hondo Martinez, SelectHealth Community Outreach Manager on the Future of HIV/AIDS Care
June 6, 2023–
We Asked Field Clinicians: “How Have You Made a Difference in Someone’s Life?”
September 19, 2023–In this latest episode of “Ask VNS Health,” Home Care team members tell how they are living the mission. Click here below to see what that said. To view more Ask VNS Health videos like this, click here.
Arthur Fitting, LGBTQ+ Program Manager Reflects in Daily Nurse on the Lessons Learned from Caring for HIV/AIDS patients
September 18, 2023–
Living the Mission: A Day in the Life of RN, Emperatriz Rivas
July 12, 2023–Welcome to “A Day in the Life”—the Frontline series that follows team members from different parts of VNS Health as they go about a typical day fulfilling our organization’s mission—to improve the health and well-being of people through high-quality, cost-effective health care in the home and community. When Emperatriz Rivas joined VNS Health last year as a Home Care nurse in Staten Island, she brought a wealth of nursing experience with her, having spent seven years working as an ICU nurse in her native Colombia and then as a visiting nurse after she emigrated to the U.S. in 2016. For Emperatriz—or “Em,” as her patients call her—nursing is all about the patient. “To see a patient improving under my care, and know that I’ve helped them, is incredibly satisfying to me,” she says. Here is how Emperatriz describes a typical day on the job: 5:00 a.m. I like to
New York Business Journal Spolights Sherl Brand’s New Role as SVP, Hospice Care
July 19, 2023–
A Shining Example of Teams Working Together for Nursing Home Hospice Patients
July 19, 2023–Teams Featured: Business Development, Personal Care and Hospice Care For VNS Health home health aide Delores Yearwood Pile, her job providing care to VNS Health Hospice patients at a large skilled nursing facility in the Bronx keeps her on her toes—literally. “I might begin my shift by giving one patient a bath and then dressing her in a set of fresh clothes and feeding her,” she says. “Then I’ll walk a short distance and do the same with another patient. An hour later, I’m on to a third patient. And in between these visits, I’ll circle back to check on the others. Every minute I’m there, I’m providing important help to someone—plus, it gives variety to my day!” When Delores’s shift is done, another VNS Health aide will follow a similar routine with the same patients. This rotating care is a hallmark of VNS Health’s new “Cluster Care” hospice model.
Sherl Brand, SVP Hospice Care, Featured in Crain’s NY Business
July 18, 2023–
Jim Rolla, SVP, Personal Care, Featured in PIX11 Story on the Need for Work Authorization for New Americans
August 25, 2023–
From HHA to RN: Donna Wilson’s Inspiring Journey
August 15, 2023–When Clinical Care Manager Donna Wilson started working as a home health aide (HHA) at VNS Health, she had a vision that she would one day become a registered nurse (RN). As a child growing up in Guyana, health care became her passion thanks to her paternal grandmother, who was a nurse. Her grandmother would often take Donna with her to work, where she mostly cared for elderly patients. “That’s where my love for the geriatric population began,” says Donna. “That feeling continues today. I have a love for seniors, and the sentiment seems to be mutual.” From HHA to RN Donna served as a teacher and an assistant tax inspector in Guyana prior to moving to the United States in 1989. In the U.S., she worked in insurance and banking before becoming an HHA in Personal Care (then known as Partners in Care). Donna was drawn to the position
A Shining Example of Teams Working Together for Nursing Home Hospice Patients
July 19, 2023–Teams Featured: Business Development, Personal Care and Hospice Care For VNS Health home health aide Delores Yearwood Pile, her job providing care to VNS Health Hospice patients at a large skilled nursing facility in the Bronx keeps her on her toes—literally. “I might begin my shift by giving one patient a bath and then dressing her in a set of fresh clothes and feeding her,” she says. “Then I’ll walk a short distance and do the same with another patient. An hour later, I’m on to a third patient. And in between these visits, I’ll circle back to check on the others. Every minute I’m there, I’m providing important help to someone—plus, it gives variety to my day!” When Delores’s shift is done, another VNS Health aide will follow a similar routine with the same patients. This rotating care is a hallmark of VNS Health’s new “Cluster Care” hospice model.
From HHA to RN: Donna Wilson’s Inspiring Journey
August 15, 2023–When Clinical Care Manager Donna Wilson started working as a home health aide (HHA) at VNS Health, she had a vision that she would one day become a registered nurse (RN). As a child growing up in Guyana, health care became her passion thanks to her paternal grandmother, who was a nurse. Her grandmother would often take Donna with her to work, where she mostly cared for elderly patients. “That’s where my love for the geriatric population began,” says Donna. “That feeling continues today. I have a love for seniors, and the sentiment seems to be mutual.” From HHA to RN Donna served as a teacher and an assistant tax inspector in Guyana prior to moving to the United States in 1989. In the U.S., she worked in insurance and banking before becoming an HHA in Personal Care (then known as Partners in Care). Donna was drawn to the position
Josie Aquino Shares How the VBID Model Transforms EOL Care in Latest Edition of Healthcare Business Review
June 15, 2023–
Josie Aquino, Director of Product Management Featured in Hospice News on Exciting New Collaboration Between VNS Health and Compassus
June 7, 2023–
