Employee Awards
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Meet Our 2024 ESPRIT Award Winner: Ilona Furman
October 29, 2024–Colleagues praise Ilona Furman, a Systems Analyst and Programmer on the IT team, for both her unmatched technical skills and her responsive, empathetic people skills. “Ilona is a ‘yes’ person—you’ll rarely, if ever, hear her say ‘no’ to a team member’s request for assistance,” said one of the colleagues who nominated her for a ESPRIT award. “She understands the struggles and pain points of our end-users, and she always provides solutions for the business user.” If a solution proves elusive, she’ll find the appropriate person to connect to—or she’ll build a solution herself. “I always try to put myself into my colleagues’ shoes and think about what I can do to make their life easier,” says Ilona, who’s been with VNS Health for more than 13 years—starting in 2011 as a consultant before becoming a full-time employee in 2021. “Ilona makes the extra effort to accommodate busy schedules while maintaining
Meet Our 2024 ESPRIT Award Winner: Habeebah Haqq
October 29, 2024–It’s widely understood that people with behavioral health needs are all too often underserved. “So to be part of a team that serves this population is extremely rewarding,” says Habeebah Haqq, Revenue Cycle Manager. “I try to make the clinicians’ lives easier with visit reconciliation and other back-end issues so they can focus on patient care.” Habeebah makes it a point to troubleshoot billing issues on her end first and works hard to reduce the number of cases that clinicians have to review—allowing them to focus their time on patient care instead of administrative concerns. “I want to make sure VNS Health is actually getting reimbursed for the services we’re providing,” says Habeebah, who’s been with the VNS Health for 19 years. “I have a personal mission to make sure that the Behavioral Health team succeeds. With the challenging work they do, they need someone on the back end who’s
Meet Our ESPRIT Award Winner: Ellen Percoco-Pilutis
October 29, 2024–Ellen Percoco-Pilutis, Clinical Case Manager for VNS Health Personal Care, is a great listener. In fact, that act of listening is responsible for her entry into a career that demands deep and active listening. She had worked as an owner of a Carvel Ice Cream franchise for 21 years when one day her daughter said to her, “You like being with older people—why don’t you try working for VNS Health Personal Care?” Ellen listened—and pivoted to work as a home health aide for the agency. Sometime later, she had her ears open once again when she had a conversation in a Target with a nursing school student—and got to thinking. She asked if there were any age limits to becoming a nurse, then registered for nursing school at age 56. “VNS Health supported me through nursing school,” Ellen says, expressing deep gratitude. Gale Storm-Bryant, Senior Nurse Instructor, Personal Care, told
Meet Our 2024 ESPRIT Award Winner: Constance Washington
October 29, 2024–Her favorite part of being a Care Coordinator, says Constance Washington, is resolving challenges for plan members—which she does every day. Constance, who is a Care Coordinator as well as a Registered Nurse on the Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) Care Management team, believes her personality is a perfect fit for the position. “I have a lot of patience, even when people are frustrated,” she says, adding that she knows nothing is personal. “I listen and let them vent, so together we can walk through the problem. If you listen hard enough to people’s needs, you can come up with a solution.” Three years ago, Constance was selected to manage escalations from members, caregivers and providers, thanks to both her deep knowledge of benefits and regulations and her ability to problem-solve. “Constance makes members feel heard,” said one nominator, adding that If she can’t find the solution right away, she
Meet Our 2024 ESPRIT Winner: Asha Lyons
October 29, 2024–“Gender affirmative care is a form of suicide prevention,” says Asha Lyons, Licensed Social Worker in the VNS Health Home Care Gender Affirmation Program (GAP). “Patients tend to be afraid, and I have the opportunity to save lives.” A 2024 ESPRIT Award winner for Home Care, Asha makes sure her clients get the care they need to feel better after gender affirming surgery, connects them to the information and resources they need to navigate next steps and get emergency care if needed, and ensures they have a safe space to heal. “I feel lucky to be the voice for my patients and demonstrate the VNS Health values honored by this award—Empathy, Integrity and Agility,” she says. “As a trans woman, it’s my mission that patients have affirmative and supportive care.” The work Asha does day in and day out is grounded in empathy, a deep compassion, and a first-hand understanding
Meet Our 2024 ESPRIT Award Winner: Arna Brammer
October 29, 2024–As a mother of three and grandmother of two, Arna Brammer has a long track record of exercising patience, empathy, understanding needs, and giving to others—qualities she exemplifies each day on the job as a CHHA Branch Director for Queens and Long Island. One of Arna’s most vivid VNS Health memories was while working as a field clinician, when she walked into a patient’s home and assessed right away that the patient was having a heart attack. “I understood the urgent need to respond, and I got the ambulance there immediately to help her get the care she needed,” Arna recalls. “Later that day, I got a call from the ER doctor saying that I had saved that patient’s life. That made me feel so purposeful, that I really made a difference.” VNS Health’s ability to make a difference in the lives of so many people over so many years lies
Meet Our 2204 ESPRIT Award Winner: Anna Jenkins
October 29, 2024–As Lead Spiritual Care Counselor for VNS Health Hospice Care, Anna Jenkins is highly attuned to what spiritual care means to each patient and how she can help them realize it. Often, it’s not about religion. One patient she counseled was an architect, she explains, and he wanted to be the architect for his dying process through spiritual care. “He was able to make all the decisions and transition the way he wanted to, and it was beautiful,” she recalls. Anna’s spiritual care work entails creating rituals to honor and begin the memorial process right at the patient’s bedside. For one young woman, Anna helped the family use rosewater to honor different parts of her body, thanking the young woman’s feet for all the hikes they took together, her hands for the carrot cakes she made and shared. Research shows most people would prefer to spend their final days at
Celebrating Excellence: Patricia Vieira Is VNS Health’s 2024 Physical Therapist of the Year!
October 17, 2024–Physical therapist Patricia “Patty” Vieira has been a dedicated member of the VNS Health PT team for an impressive 21 years, providing exceptional care to patients across Long Island. And now, in recognition of her outstanding work, Patty has been named our organization’s 2024 Physical Therapist of the Year! Patty’s enthusiasm and energy are evident to anyone who meets her. “She is simply the best physical therapist. I would want her to be mine if I ever needed one!” wrote VNS Health occupational therapist Jennifer McCaffrey in her letter nominating Patty for the award. “She always goes above and beyond, which makes her patients smile. Most of all, she is a team player, and always coordinates care with all team members, patients, and caregivers.” Patty got her first glimpse of her future career path in high school, when she volunteered at a PT clinic. After graduating from SUNY Buffalo in
Whitney Thomas Receives Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year Award!
May 17, 2024–Whitney Thomas, a speech-language pathologist with our Home Care team in Queens, has been named VNS Health’s 2024 Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year! Whitney was presented with her award today at our SLP celebration event. For Whitney, who joined VNS Health in March 2021, helping people is her favorite part of the job. In particular, she finds great fulfillment in working with patients with swallowing disorders and helping them transition from receiving nutrition through a feeding tube to being able to enjoy their favorite meals again. “It’s isolating for the patient to not be able to join their family for a meal, especially during holidays, so it’s wonderful to help them along that journey back to the table,” says Whitney. Whitney credits her success to the support she receives from her Home Care team members. “I work across different teams, and everyone has been very supportive, from nurses to other