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Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Michael Alcantara
October 27, 2025–Michael Alcantara has only been a Behavioral Health Counselor with VNS Health’s Children’s Mobil Crisis Team for a year and four months, but he’s already had a huge positive effect—both on the children and families in crisis that he serves, and on the colleagues who work alongside him. “The most rewarding part of my job is the impact we have on the children and families,” Michael says. “Being able to help these kids in crisis is incredible. We provide them with the tools they need to live a better life.” One client who made a particular impression on Michael was a teenage boy who was grieving his stepfather’s death. He was suddenly left without a father figure. The boy was masking his pain, but Michael helped him tap into his emotions so he could begin learning how to cope with his raw feelings. “It felt great to have him trust
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Lorraine Nicolo
October 27, 2025–For Lorraine Nicolo, Director and HR Business Partner at VNS Health, the most rewarding part of her job is “when I make someone’s day.” That might happen when a colleague comes to her with a complex problem and she helps them think it through, offering a new perspective that leads to a solution. It can also happen when a person she’s helped, regardless of outcome, says, “thank you for listening, and for allowing me to be heard.” Those moments reflect the deep trust Lorraine has built over her three-plus years at VNS Health. “In the past, concerns were often raised anonymously by team members,” Lorraine explains. “Now, people feel comfortable coming directly to me. They trust that I’ll keep our conversation confidential and that I’m listening.” When Lorraine arrived at VNS Health, her supervisor challenged her, noting that the people she’d be supporting needed to feel listened to in order
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Joslene Catnott
October 27, 2025–For Joslene Catnott, handling difficult situations is all in a day’s work. As a Supervisor in Contact Center Shared Services (CCSS), Joslene, who’s been with VNS Health for 18 years, has built a reputation as someone who is there for her colleagues—even when she’s off the clock. Here’s an example: One evening, while out with her daughter, a CCSS agent who reports up to Joslene reached out to her urgently with an angry Health Plans member on the line. Joslene didn’t hesitate—she used our Core Value of Empathy to help defuse the member’s anger. Joslene’s colleagues praise her for her empathy, integrity and authenticity, describing her as patient, caring, fair, and “most of all, genuine.” For Joslene, being approachable is a key part of her job. “I listen to my team,” she says. “They trust me enough to come to me and ask questions, which I take pride in as
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Jonelle Anderson
October 27, 2025–Jonelle Anderson, a Clinical Field Manager for our Long Island Home Care team, calls herself a problem solver—and she’s proven it again and again. If a discharge plan hits a snag, causing stress for those involved, Jonelle, who has been with VNS Health for 22 years, picks up the phone and talks directly with patients and families. She wants to understand exactly what’s happening. She then follows up with our clinicians to find a solution, whether that’s connecting them to other resources or identifying needs the team can accommodate—whatever it takes. “I always try to go the extra step to see what can be done,” she says. Her team has learned they can count on her when things get complicated, whether it involves a complex case, difficult family dynamics, or an unexpected crisis. “Jonelle always makes us feel like our situation is top priority, no matter what other duties she
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Rosa Marcus
October 27, 2025–When a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak hit Harlem over the summer, Rosa Marcus, Director of Support Services for VNS Health Personal Care, moved fast. She pulled together a list of Home Health Aide team members who were working in the affected community and coordinated with her team to quickly get critical safety information out to them. This is the kind of rapid response that Rosa has become known for over her 45 years at VNS Health. Her skills were honed even more sharply during the pandemic: When our offices were closed due to COVID, she helped keep over 6,000 HHA team members regularly updated and feeling engaged, a task she describes as “gargantuan.” What makes Rosa extraordinary isn’t just her longevity—it’s her ability to see both sides of the health care equation. “I deal a lot with patients’ complaints and concerns, and I also deal with the HHAs’ concerns,” she explains.
Meet Our 2025 Physical Therapist of the Year!
October 1, 2025–The following profile of Michael Dolton, the winner of VNS Health’s Physical Therapist of the Year Award, is being published to coincide with October’s National Physical Therapy Month. A total of 17 team members were nominated for this award, and to see a full list of the nominees, please click here. When it comes to rising to a challenge, VNS Health physical therapist Michael Dolton doesn’t look very far for inspiration. “Our patients are such a great role model for us,” he says. “You see how much they overcome and accomplish.” Michael has been named VNS Health’s Physical Therapist of the Year, an honor that recognizes his dedication in helping New Yorkers reclaim their independence. “It’s so rewarding to help patients do the subway stairs or get on the bus when they thought they’d never do that again,” he said. “I love to see them get back their independence, because New
2025 Personal Care Honor Awards: Here’s the Full List – and Photos!
September 30, 2025–The 42nd Annual Personal Care Honor Awards Ceremony was held on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 in midtown Manhattan. Here below are photos of the festive event as well as a complete list of all the Personal Care team members who received Honor Awards. Congratulations to all the winners! Sally Kirton, HHA Supervisor, received the VNS Health Rewards Supervisor Superstar Award. Sally has some of the most challenging cases to fill, yet she and her team achieve remarkable results. She’s also a champion of VNS Health Rewards, recognizing her team often and ensuring that VNS Health’s Home Health Aides know their work matters. She is often praised for her kindness, patience, and compassion — she is truly a caregiver to caregivers. Diana Isabel Cuero Marroquin, HHA, won the VNS Health Rewards Hiring Wizard Award for being, quite simply, a hiring hero! Diana has referred seven new aides to VNS Health —
Meet Our First-Ever Advanced Practice Clinician of the Year!
September 30, 2025–The following profile of Caroline Williams, the winner of VNS Health’s inaugural Rose Madden-Baer Advanced Practice Clinician of the Year Award, is being published to coincide with September’s National Advanced Practice Provider Week that takes place annually during the 4th week in September. A total of 14 team members were nominated for this first-time Advanced Practice Clinician of the Year Award. To see a full list of the nominees, please click here. Over her 18-year career advancing community psychiatry and mental health, Caroline Williams, MD, Chief Psychiatrist and Associate Clinical and Education Director for VNS Health’s Behavioral Health team, has held various leadership roles overseeing teams and training new clinicians. But her first love is frontline care, working directly with individuals who are dealing with behavioral health conditions and related issues. “Seeing patients, trying to take care of them—that is absolutely the most satisfying part of the job for me,” says Caroline,
“When My Clients Are Happy, I’m Happy.” Meet Our 2025 Home Health Aide of the Year Winner!
September 30, 2025–For Karen Williams, being a Personal Care Home Health Aide means showing up every day with a smile—and never giving up. When she tells her clients “I’m not leaving,” she means it. Karen joined VNS Health in 2009 and has provided care and companionship to dozens of clients since then. Currently, she cares for an older couple with dementia, seeing to their groceries, cooking meals, doing laundry, going with them to doctor’s appointments—everything they need so they can continue to live in their home. Although the couple speaks primarily Greek and Karen does not, they understand one another, communicating seamlessly through gestures and intuition. And over the years, she’s also mastered their Greek-style food preferences. Even on her days off, Karen answers her clients’ phone calls and has been known to come in if she can help the care team navigate a complex issue. “They need me,” she says of