Employee Awards
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Meet Our 2025 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award Winner: Teresa Lin
October 27, 2025–Teresa Lin was waiting for a subway at Times Square not long ago when a police officer approached and asked, “Are you Teresa Lin?” The officer explained that 25 years earlier, he’d been a teenage hospital volunteer. His grandmother had been a co-worker where Teresa worked, and he remembered her. He thanked her, saying his grandmother had always spoken fondly of her. “I was speechless,” Teresa recalls. “It reminded me that every interaction matters. You never know the impact you’ll have. That experience reaffirmed for me the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect, regardless of title or circumstance.” This philosophy, along with her religious faith, has guided Teresa’s nearly 30 years in health care and her 16-plus years at VNS Health—a career that she’s now being honored for with the 2025 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award. The award recognizes a team member with at least a decade of
Meet the Winner of Our New Outstanding Team Performance Award
October 27, 2025–Every year, VNS Health honors individual team members from across the organization for their dedication and commitment to our mission and core values. This year, for the very first time, we are also giving out an award for Outstanding Team Performance. This brand-new award salutes a team that has gone above and beyond and worked collaboratively with each other and/or other departments, demonstrating commitment to innovation and/or success of the organization. In all, 26 teams from all parts of our organization were nominated for the award. A committee of team members then reviewed the nominations. While it wasn’t easy, after much discussion, the committee came up with a list of finalists that they then narrowed down to one winner. To view the full list of nominated teams and finalists, click here. And now we’re excited to share that this year’s inaugural award goes to… Home Care’s Nurse Preceptor team! This
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Cheryl Tang
October 27, 2025–In her role as Associate Director of Membership Eligibility and Analytics for our Health Plans, Cheryl knows that behind every eligibility file is a recently discharged patient who needs their medications and requires home care. “I work with a lot of data,” she says. “But what really matters is making sure the member’s eligibility is correct and everything goes smoothly for them, so they’re able to get what they need.” For nearly 16 years, Cheryl has made it her mission to ensure that the data she handles translates into care that VNS Health’s plan members can count on. When it comes to supporting members, she says, what she values most is that “we’re helping the community, especially the elderly.” Cheryl’s Health Plans colleagues value her hands-on leadership, which encompasses three teams: Disenrollment, Specialists, and Placement. As one of her nominators puts it, “She answers my questions, jumps on calls when
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Tracey Egbo
October 27, 2025–“When you lead with our Core Values of Empathy and Integrity,” says ESPRIT Award winner Tracey Egbo, “you can accomplish so much, even transform a team’s culture.” Tracey, who is a Cost Containment Analyst in Claims for our Health Plans, uses this Core Values approach to support her colleagues, creating an environment where people feel safe and understood. And while it’s not a Core Value, she’s also very committed to doing things right. For example, when collaborating on a major project with a looming deadline, Tracey discovered a critical flaw that could have compromised quality and safety. She reported it and promptly began working to fix the issue. “I believe in being proactive and trying to come up with solutions, rather than simply being reactive,” she explains. When challenges arise, Tracey is also quick to adapt. During a recent strategic shift, rather than simply tinker with existing frameworks, she convened
Meet Our 2025 ESPRIT Award Winner: Sara Shah
October 27, 2025–The call came in from a wound care patient who was frustrated about their medical condition. By the time the call was escalated to Sara Shah, a Manager with VNS Health’s Contact Center Shared Services (CCSS), the patient was more upset than ever. Sara did what she’s so good at: she listened and understood. The call was from a plan member who had been active in their community but was now homebound and dependent on others for basic needs like dressing a wound. Their frustration was actually an expression of grief—grief over lost independence. “I assured them that this is the time in their life when they need to be open to help,” Sara recalls, “and that the community you’ve been working so hard to support is now coming together to do the same for you.” For Sara, now 12-plus years into her VNS Health career, understanding people’s health care
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