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Having a “Ripple Effect”—Meet Our 2026 CCSS Agent of the Year
July 8, 2026–For Stacie Rivera, who was recently named VNS Health’s 2026 Contact Center Shared Service Agent (CCSS) Agent of the Year, teamwork is everything. “Teamwork is central to everything we do,” she says. “I emphasize to our team that our work on the authorization team has a ripple effect across each member’s care. If there’s an incomplete notation, for example, it can leave a colleague without the answers they need.” Stacie also tells her team that every day is a new day… You need to put yourself in the caller’s shoes … Don’t take challenging calls personally. This philosophy sums up how Stacie has approached her job during her 20 years at VNS Health. In her position as Senior Authorization Coordinator on CCSS’s Medicare Authorization team, Stacie assists providers who are seeking authorizations for plan members’ Medicare procedures. She also spends considerable time supporting her fellow team members—training new hires, answering
“Connecting on a Personal Level”—Meet Our Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year!
May 16, 2026–May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, and today we’re pleased to announce that Charlene Cano has been named our 2026 Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year! Charlene, who has been with VNS Health for 14 years, is a Senior Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) with Queens Home Care Branch 2. She found her way to speech-language pathology through a love of linguistics. After she realized that teaching wasn’t the right fit for her, a professor’s suggestion set her on the path to becoming a speech therapist. She began her career in a skilled nursing facility before moving to home care, where she feels she can have the greatest impact on patients’ lives. Today, Charlene helps people regain activities that many of us take for granted, such as communicating or simply to be able to eat or swallow. Many people associate speech-language pathology with childhood speech and language development, Charlene says, “but the field
Staying Flexible, Whatever the Challenge—Meet Our 2026 Nurse of the Year!
May 5, 2026–As part of this year’s Nurses Month celebration, we are delighted to announce that the 2026 VNS Health Nurse of the Year is… Jane Reilly, Clinical Care Manager in Personal Care! This year, there were 47 nurses nominated for the Nurse of the Year Award, from which 8 finalists were selected. Please click here to see a list of all the nominees. The finalists are: With over forty years’ experience in home care nursing—the last seven of them at VNS Health—Jane Reilly combines the skills of active listening, agile problem-solving, and deep collaboration as she manages the care of vulnerable New Yorkers who want to live safely and independently in their homes. In her role as Clinical Care Manager, Jane is responsible for Queens and Long Island Personal Care clients as well as for approving all of the agency’s Private Care cases that involve clients receiving skilled nursing services. While
Seeing Life Through Others’ Eyes: Meet Our 2026 OT of the Year
April 21, 2026–In celebration of Occupational Therapy Month—when VNS Health recognizes our amazing Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants—we are delighted to announce Stacey Mislavsky as VNS Health’s 2026 Occupational Therapist of the Year. To see a list of all of the VNS Health Occupational Therapists that were nominated this year, please click here. An empathetic problem-solver who always seeks the input of others, Stacey finds success for her patients by seeing things from their point of view—literally. “When I first visit a patient, I’ll sit right next to them and look where they’re looking,” explains Stacey. “Once I take in things from their viewpoint, I realize, ah, now I can see that trouble spot. Then I can come up with a better solution—move the end table, shift the nightlight, pick up the rug.” Just recently, a patient was having trouble navigating from his new recliner to his wheelchair, which left him
Meet Our 2026 Social Services Professional of the Year!
March 17, 2026–March is National Social Work Month—when we honor our amazing social services team members, including the winner of our second-ever Social Services Professional of the Year Award. This year there were many outstanding nominees for the award, with 37 team members nominated. To see the full list of nominees, click here. VNS Health is proud to announce that our 2026 Social Services Professional of the Year is… Asha Lyons! As a Licensed Social Worker in our Gender Affirmation Program (GAP), Asha provides services to transgender and nonbinary patients who are healing at home after gender-affirming surgery. This is a physically and emotionally demanding recovery that patients often navigate with little or no support from family and friends. Through her own personal experience and her skilled, empathetic care, Asha becomes that support for her patients. One recent GAP patient was having difficulty following surgery. He called Asha and started telling her how he
See the Photos, a Video, and a Recording of the 2025 VNS Health Annual Awards Ceremony!
November 4, 2025–On Monday, October 27, team members from across the organization gathered for a very special evening to celebrate 38 team members who were honored at our 2025 VNS Health Annual Awards Ceremony. Over 400 people also watched the celebration simultaneously through a live-stream link. Now you can see the celebration photos, watch a video about the event, and watch a recording of the full celebration. Congratulations to all the team members who were honored! Here is a video highlighting the event with Charity Shubert reporting! Here is a recording of the awards ceremony: To see our 2025 VNS Health Award winners and read their stories, click here! To see a complete list of all the nominees, click here!
Announcing Our 2025 VNS Health Award Winners!
October 27, 2025–Read Their Stories and See the Full List of Nominees! Last night, on Monday, October 27, 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 presentations to the newly announced winners of the Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award, the ESPRIT Awards, and the VNS Health Outstanding Team Performance Award. To see all the team members who were nominated for these awards, click here. Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners! Click on their names here below to read more about them and their award. Home Care Nurse Preceptor Team 2025 Outstanding Team Performance Award Teresa Lin 2025 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award (Click here for the finalists.) Michael Alcantara 2025 ESPRIT Award Jonelle
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Dr. Eugene Perlov
October 27, 2025–A VNS Health Hospice Team Physician, Dr. Eugene Perlov leads two interdisciplinary hospice teams in the Bronx. In his more than two decades of dedicated service at the organization, Eugene has helped guide adult and pediatric patients and their families through some of life’s most challenging moments. “Hospice builds a safe space during a vulnerable time,” he says. “We work to bring comfort, transforming stress into growth, and offer steady presence and support to both patients and their loved ones.” Eugene blends clinical expertise with a profound sensitivity to the emotional and spiritual dimensions of end-of-life work. In conversations with families, he sets clear expectations while honoring their experience. “We remind the family that they’re doing an incredible job in a very hard time,” he says. “My goal is to help them find peace and move toward acceptance.” Colleagues describe Eugene as a thoughtful listener and a creative problem-solver, especially
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Piotr Kapela
October 27, 2025–Little things matter to Piotr Kapela. As a Statistical Programmer/Analyst at VNS Health’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research, he often goes over things twice just to make sure nothing is missing. “A compulsive personality is good for my profession, because it’s all about the details,” he explains. For nearly four years, Piotr has helped to make life-changing research possible. He builds custom solutions—data pipelines, security protocols, privacy protections—for the Research Center’s unique needs. “We’re very grateful that we’re able to use patient data, because it is so instrumental in the research,” he says. “At the same time, with health care data, we are very mindful of protecting privacy, and a lot of effort goes into this.” Piotr’s meticulous approach extends to his collaborations. When implementing a new database system, Piotr sets up regular meetings with project managers and analysts, gathering input and redesigning entire forms. He’s also created