Announcing Our 2024 VNS Health Award Winners! 

Read Their Stories and See the Full List of Nominees!

Last night, on Monday, October 28, team members from across the organization were recognized and celebrated as the very best of the best in exemplifying VNS Health’s Mission and Core Values of Empathy, Integrity and Agility! The event included those who had received awards earlier in the year, as well as new awards for presentation to the winners of the Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award and the ESPRIT Awards. To see all the team members who were nominated for these awards, click here.

Congratulations to all 16 of this year’s award winners! Click on their names here below to read more about them and their award.

Meet Our 2024 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award Finalists!

It says a lot about VNS Health that so many team members qualify to be Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award nominees. In fact, 24 team members were nominated this year. It wasn’t easy, but these nominees were narrowed down to 10 finalists.

Here are the nine 2024 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award finalists in addition to this year’s winner. Their names appear in alphabetical order.

Risikat Amolegbe

The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on New York’s vulnerable populations, perhaps none more profoundly than people in need of behavioral health care. A leader known for demonstrating great agility, empathy and integrity at all times, Risikat Amolegbe, Director of Case Management programs for Behavioral Health, rose to this challenge (among many others), to ensure that all the programs in her purview adapted quickly and effectively.

Joyce Henry

Almost anyone who has been or benefited from the care of a VNS Health Home Care nurse in Brooklyn has been touched by the work of Joyce Henry. A field nurse for more than 28 years, Joyce is also a nurse preceptor responsible for training more than 80% of our RNs going into the field in this giant borough. Through the snows of winter, the heat of summer and everything in between, Joyce is on the job training the next generation of nurses to make a difference in people’s lives.

Naseebah Khan

Passionate about VNS Health and its core values, Director of Business Development Naseebah Khan is known for her friendly and welcoming willingness to help anyone in the organization, no matter their department or position. She may be small in stature, but her team members find her to be an outsize leader and motivator, inspiring them to realize their full potential.

Tameka McCabe

In her 18 years at VNS Health, Tameka McCabe has moved from the grants department to Director of Quality for the Wound Management Program, along the way going to nursing school, working as a field nurse, and pursing a Master’s degree in Nursing. Tameka has revitalized how VNS Health cares for patients with wounds, maximizing the potential of our wound specialists, implementing AI-driven wound image capture technology, revising treatment protocols and organizing clinical education experiences for clinicians.

Margaret McDonald

An integral part of VNS Health’s Research Center since its inception and described as one of “the brains behind what we do,” Margaret McDonald, Associate Vice President of the Center for Home Care Policy & Research, has made invaluable contributions to the field of home care. She has deepened our understanding of the home health aide workforce (including how they fared during the COVID pandemic); caring for stroke patients; and many other pivotal topics. A trained social worker, Margaret always ensures the Center’s research is focused on patients and their overall health and well-being.

Carol Odnoha

Since steering the launch of the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program at VNS Health 18 years ago, Director Carol Odnoha has made an indelible impact on the trajectory of almost 8,000 new mothers and their families in the Bronx and Nassau County. Inspiring her team with leadership, tenacity, and grit, Carol is a stickler for meaningful data, a proponent of best practices, and a true collaborator. Thanks to Carol’s leadership, other citywide NFP programs often seek out the input of VNS Health’s NFP program.

Helen (Hing Lin) Sit

As manager of the Chinatown Neighborhood NORC, Helen (Hing Lin) Sit gracefully navigates the myriad needs—and dialects—of Chinatown’s elders. She oversees the program’s healthcare and care management services on site and networks with other community providers and politicians to expand opportunities for her clients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Helen created virtual programming to make sure isolated seniors could still connect to culture, care, vital resources, and one another.

Anne Walsh

A driving force behind the Hospice WOCN NP (wound care) program as Clinical Support Manager, Nurse Practitioner Anne Walsh helps transform the lives of patients—and the field of palliative wound care. Over her 17 years with VNS Health, Anne’s patient-centered approach, groundbreaking initiatives and influential articles have set a high standard for care and education.

Shannon Whittington

Trailblazer, mentor, author, motivator. Advocate, pillar of strength, Wonder Woman.  Shannon Whittington has been described as all these things (and more superlatives!) in her 25-plus years at VNS Health, the last decade of which she’s dedicated to directing and growing our innovative Gender Affirmation Program, or GAP. Shannon cares for, educates, and advocates for an underserved and often ostracized population with great dignity and compassion, and she inspires and empowers clinicians across VNS Health to do the same.