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Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Monica Mercado
October 11, 2026–Monica Mercado describes herself as detail-oriented and proactive, a person who likes to solve problems. As a Supervisor in Membership Operations for our Health Plans, she puts those qualities to work for plan members, helping make sure their records are accurate and that they are receiving the home care they need. Monica oversees two Health Plan teams: Membership and Eligibility and Placement. The Membership and Eligibility team keeps each member’s eligibility status current in VNS Health’s systems—work that involves a steady stream of data gathering, reports, and follow-ups. Meanwhile, the Placement team ensures that members receive services without interruption, which can be a challenge in hard-to-serve areas such as Upstate New York. “It’s very rewarding when we place a difficult case,” says Monica. “The member is happy because they have services, and we’re happy because we’ve connected them to care.” Monica’s proactive problem-solving begins with ensuring lines of communication with
Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Miniely Valdez
October 11, 2026–As a Unit Manager in Personal Care, Miniely Valdez leads a team that works with clients served by the New York City Department of the Aging, connecting them with home health aide services. Miniely excels at listening, as a recent phone call from one of her clients demonstrates. The client called with concerns about his schedule and his permanent home health aide, so Miniely looked into his authorization and schedule to see how she could help. “At the end of our conversation, he thanked me simply for listening to him instead of rushing him off the phone,” she recalls. “Sometimes, people need to know that they’ve been heard and that someone genuinely cares about what they’re going through.” Another client, who was transitioning to hospice care, was thinking about ending her home health services. She worried that her growing needs and frequent appointments made her too difficult to care for,
Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Jackie Davis
October 11, 2026–For patients and families facing the stresses of end-of-life care, Jackie Davis, a Hospice Operations Manager at VNS Health, knows the value of a supportive voice on the other end of the line. “They’re nervous and scared,” she says, “and they just want somebody to say, ‘It’s okay. What you’re going through is normal, and we’ll get through this.’” Jackie is devoted to being that support, whether that means making sure a family member has the medical gloves they need to care for a loved one, or simply being there as someone to talk to. One family member was anxious about his mother, who was on hospice, and talked to Jackie about how his mother had supported him in difficult times. “That’s my mom, and I’m her number one,” her son told Jackie. Jackie remained on the phone with him for as long as he needed, offering support and reassurance
Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Felicia Dorsey
October 11, 2026–In her nearly 20 years with VNS Health, Felicia Dorsey has dedicated herself to helping people living with serious mental illness hold on to a stable life. As a Care Manager in Behavioral Health’s Health Home Program, she works with some of the program’s most complex, vulnerable clients. These individuals are often wary of offers of help, so Felicia’s first goal is to earn their trust. “I meet people where they are,” she says. “I listen, I treat people with respect, and I advocate for them.” Felicia recalls one client who had become disconnected from services and was about to lose their place in a housing program. “This client was very difficult to work with,” she says, “but I was able to build a rapport.” Once she had won the client over, Felicia was able to complete a housing application for them and find them a new home. Another client,
Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Crystal Laikhram
October 11, 2026–Children and teenagers in a behavioral health crisis often keep whatever is troubling them to themselves. But Crystal Laikhram, a Psychiatric Social Worker with our Bronx Children’s Mobile Crisis Program, has a gift for helping them express what’s bothering them. “I go into every situation with an open mind,” she says, “and I’m glad I can give them a sense that they are safe with me.” As a frontline Behavioral Health clinician, Crystal visits the homes of young people up to age 20 who are dealing with urgent behavioral health concerns. She assesses their mental state, including their risk of suicide, and then connects them to the right level of care, whether that means hospitalization or outpatient services. “The most rewarding part of my job is when a child or teen in crisis opens up about what is bothering them, so I can help,” she says. Sometimes what’s shared may
Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Jon Fan
October 11, 2026–As a Lead Data Scientist on the Health Economics team within BI & Analytics, Jon Fan spends his days steeped in data—but he never loses sight of the lives it reflects. He looks closely at what is driving the trends in the data, and how we can use that understanding to better serve our health plan members. “We always tie the data back to how it affects the people,” he says. “How can we make that data actionable?” The Health Economics team is VNS Health’s trusted internal source of advanced analytics on medical expense and utilization. Jon and his colleagues use data to identify cost trends and drivers, assess the impact of health care policy and payment changes, and evaluate opportunities to improve care and clinical outcomes for our members. In addition to producing regular reports that keep our Health Plan teams apprised of trends in claims and medical expenses,
Meet Maricel Bumanlag — Our 2026 Physical Therapist of the Year!
September 30, 2026–October is National Physical Therapy Month, and today we’re pleased to announce that Maricel Bumanlag has been named our 2026 Physical Therapist of the Year! Maricel was one of 20 nominees for this year’s award. To see a list of all of the nominees, please click here. Maricel has been a PT with VNS Health for nearly 15 years and has worked in the South Bronx since 2023. Always guided by her patients’ individual goals, she values home care for its one-on-one connection. “Home care does more than allow me to help patients restore their strength, mobility and flexibility,” says Maricel, “It allows me to restore their confidence, motivation and independence.” Ask Maricel about her most memorable patient and she is quick to talk about Sarah*, who’d sunk into a depression after a fall and a fracture. Unable to walk, Sarah couldn’t get to her job as a teacher, and
Meet Indira Ortiz — Our 2026 Home Health Aide of the Year!
September 26, 2026–Congratulations to Indira Ortiz, winner of VNS Health’s 2026 James R. Withrow Home Health Aide of the Year Award! Indira received the award for her exceptional dedication and commitment to VNS Health, her unwavering advocacy for her clients, and the outstanding care she provides as a health coach to older adults at the Stanley Isaacs Senior Center, a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC), as well as through special programs. Whether Indira is catching a health problem early, working with colleagues to find a solution, or helping a client get back on the path to health, she brings the same determination and aim to her work: Make sure people get the help they need. It’s an approach Indira learned 15 years ago, while training to become a VNS Health home health aide. An instructor told her something she has never forgotten: With your training and skills, it’s up to you to
Meet This Year’s Rose Madden-Baer Advanced Practice Clinician of the Year!
September 16, 2026–Congratulations to Hospice Care Physician Mary Victoria Kopke on winning the 2026 Rose Madden-Baer Advanced Practice Clinician of the Year award. This award honors a medical provider who makes a profound difference in how community care is delivered. It is named for the late SVP Rose Madden-Baer, a true innovator in community health and founder of VNS Health’s Care Management Organization. This year, there were 12 nominations for this award. To see the list of those nominees, please click here. Ask Dr. Mary Victoria (Tory) Kopke about winning this year’s Rose Madden-Baer Advanced Practice Clinician of the Year Award, and she’s likely to change the subject. She prefers to talk about the Manhattan Lower West Side Hospice team she’s part of, or how it’s a privilege to be welcomed into a stranger’s home in the final weeks of that person’s life. “My entire job is to support my team,” she