VNSNY Hosts Veterans Day Breakfast to Honor Staff and Volunteers for Their Military Service

November 16, 2017–In recognition of Veterans Day, VNSNY hosted a breakfast event on November 15th honoring staff members and volunteers who are military veterans or are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. Joseph Vitti, Supervisor of the VNSNY Hospice Veterans Program, was master of ceremonies for the event, which was held at VNSNY’s 70th Street headquarters. The honorees in attendance were joined by a number of VNSNY senior leaders, including Rosemary Baughn, Senior Vice President of VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care, who gave the welcoming address. The morning’s keynote speaker (shown above, addressing the group) was Erik Langhoff, MD, PhD, Director of the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, who spoke on “The Quest for Quality of Care, The VA and Non-VA Experience.” The event concluded with the playing of Taps—a solemn reminder of those veterans who are no longer with us, and their colleagues who never made

The VNSNY Nurse-Family Partnership: Celebrating More than a Decade of Life-Changing Relationships

November 9, 2017–Bronx NFP program recognizes 105 mothers at 2017 fall graduation ceremony On November 2nd, friends, family and VNSNY staff gathered at the Metro Café on Waters Place in the Bronx to honor 105 young first-time mothers—this year’s graduating cohort from two of the four nursing teams in VNSNY’s Bronx Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). Each mother had spent the past two and a half years, starting in pregnancy and continuing through their child’s second birthday, working closely with one of the Bronx NFP’s 32 nurses to develop and refine their parenting skills and advance their own education and career. “The relationships these young mothers build with their NFP nurses are truly life-changing,” says Carol Odnoha, director of VNSNY’s NFP program. At the ceremony, attendees were welcomed by Carol and Marki Flannery, VNSNY’s Executive Vice President and Chief of Provider Operations. Roberta Holder-Mosley, NFP Director for the City of New York, then addressed

Philanthropic Foundations Boost Funding for VNSNY Community Support Programs

November 9, 2017–In 2018, VNSNY’s community programs will continue their innovative work to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable New Yorkers, thanks to sustained, new and expanded funding from a number of New York-based philanthropic foundations—including a $1 million grant from Robin Hood to support VNSNY’s Nurse-Family Partnership in the Bronx. VNSNY’s NFP program, which serves Nassau County in addition to the Bronx, pairs young, first-time mothers with specially trained nurses, starting in pregnancy. Headed by director Carol Odnoha, the program has proven consistently effective at setting participants and their children on a healthier and more secure life path, and its outcomes are among the best in the national NFP program. “Robin Hood, which is dedicated to fighting poverty, has been a leading funder of our Bronx NFP for years,” says Jacqueline “Jackie” Halpern, VNSNY’s Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations. “We and our clients are immensely grateful that they’ve agreed

VNSNY Launches Eighth Cohort of Its ACE Leadership Program

November 2, 2017–After a three-year hiatus, VNSNY’s Achieving a Culture of Excellence (ACE) Leadership Program resumed on October 5th with a kick-off meeting at 1250 Broadway. This year’s cohort, the eighth since the program’s launch in 2004, has 28 staff members from various departments across the organization. The participants will attend full-day workshops every two weeks over a period of seven months, during which they’ll learn a wide range of leadership skills. “Each year, ACE builds on the strengths of the previous cohort,” says Amanda Weiner, who manages the program for VNSNY Organizational Development. “We continually fine-tune the specifics to meet the needs of both the participants and VNSNY.” This year’s innovations include an increased focus on the workings of the healthcare industry, including its financial aspects, as well as a greater emphasis on personal counseling, insight assessment, and development planning. In another new program element, the Action Learning Project, participants will

Meet the 2017 ESPRIT Winners

October 12, 2017–

New Clinical Protocols Are Helping to Guard Against Opioid Overuse

September 6, 2017–With opioid addiction surging across the nation, VNSNY is implementing a series of cutting-edge programs across its business units to encourage alternative approaches to pain management, and to flag and address any cases among patients or health plan members involving potential overuse of opioid medications. “For home care patients who are referred to us following surgical procedures like hip or knee replacements, we’re now urging their prescribing physicians to use non-opioid medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen whenever possible, along with other modalities such as heat and ice, exercise therapy, meditation and massage,” says Angela Barody, Vice President for Quality and Customer Experience. “When patients are prescribed an opioid, we’re advising their doctor to switch to a milder medication once the initial prescription is finished, so that no one is on opioids for longer than two weeks.” VNSNY has established an opioid reduction workgroup that is working with the Home Care

Preventing Problems Before They Occur: How QAPI Helps Avoid Hospitalizations

August 31, 2017–When Iyabode “Yabo” Alfred recently reviewed the hospitalization rates for VNSNY’s home care patients, she noticed that the rates were especially high among those being treated for cancer. Looking more closely, she found that the reason for this didn’t have to do with their cancer directly, but rather to falls in the home related to the pain medications the patients were taking, which can impair a person’s sense of balance. “Based on this discovery, we’re now focusing more intently on educating patients and their family caregivers about the need for safety precautions when taking these medications,” says Yabo. As Director of Quality Management Services for Home Care—a position she left recently to become an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Long Island University, though she also still serves as a per diem nurse in Central Intake—Yabo was responsible for implementing the new QAPI (Quality Assurance Performance Improvement) program from the Centers for

The making of VNSNY’s 125th anniversary photo. Watch the video.

August 31, 2017–On August 20th, staff members representing the diverse services, programs and divisions of VNSNY in 2017 gathered in the Oculus at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, for a group photograph commemorating VNSNY’s 125th anniversary. For more information about VNSNY’s 125th anniversary, click here.

VNSNY’s Family Ties

August 31, 2017–For a number of our staff members, working at VNSNY is a family affair. Click through this slide show to view photos and profiles of four families that have multiple generations providing care or office support to VNSNY’s patients, clients and plan members. We think you’ll find their stories—and their enthusiasm—inspiring. KATHLEEN AND AMANDA WENDT For home care nurses Kathleen and Amanda Wendt, the phrase “like mother, like daughter” is especially apt. After her three children were born, Kathleen returned to school to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing. “I saw nursing as a way of giving back to the community,” she explains. In 2001, after serving in various roles at South Nassau Communities Hospital (SNCU), Kathleen fulfilled her wish for longer-term engagement with her patients when she joined VNSNY. The fact that her daughter followed Kathleen to VNSNY is no surprise. “I was in the third grade when my

Enterprise

Check Out the Latest “VNSNY in the News” Media Highlights!

Related Articles