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National Nurses Month Special: Saluting Years of Dedicated Service
May 11, 2022–This year, in celebration of National Nurses Month, VNSNY honors—and thanks— all of the nurses whose hard work and dedication make such a vital and colossal contribution, and difference, to the lives of our patients, clients and members across the organization. As a special highlight, Frontline spoke to the longest-serving nurses in each part of the organization. Click on their names to go directly to their stories or just scroll here to read them all! Myrna Agosto Susan Banner Myra Cohen Eloise Goldberg Lisa Miller Elisabeth Regis Karen Terry Betty Velez Nancy Washburn Deborah Wilson Myrna Agosto, Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Queens/Brooklyn Mobile Crisis Unit, Behavioral Health — 33 years at VNSNY “I see the possibilities.” As a psychiatric nurse practitioner in the Queens/Brooklyn Mobile Crisis Unit, Myrna Agosto spends her days working with vulnerable patients at very difficult times in their lives. “Typically, we’ll get a referral
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Legendary Nurse Marilyn Liota Looks Back—Part 2: The 1960s
April 11, 2018–To celebrate VNSNY’s 125th anniversary, Frontline VNSNY is publishing a four-part reminiscence by legendary former VNSNY nurse, Marilyn Liota. During her six decades at VNSNY, from 1952 to 2012, Marilyn rose from a field nurse to become the Regional Administrator and Vice President for Home Care in Queens. During this time, she saw incredible changes, both in New York City’s patient population and at VNSNY. As you read these installments, we invite you to submit any questions you might have for Marilyn. Her replies will be posted as a special feature during National Nurses Week. Your questions can be emailed to Michael Delaney. Last week, Marilyn looked back on the 1950s. In this week’s installment, Marilyn describes the impact of the turbulent 1960s on VNSNY and the home care profession. VNSNY in the 1960s: A Decade of Change Like the U.S. as a whole, American health care underwent significant changes during
Legendary Nurse Marilyn Liota Looks Back on Six Decades at VNSNY—Part 1: The 1950s
April 4, 2018–To celebrate VNSNY’s 125th anniversary, Frontline VNSNY recently spoke to legendary former VNSNY nurse, Marilyn Liota. For those of you who may not know Marilyn, she was an amazing nurse who started her career with VNSNY in 1952. Over the next decades, Marilyn, who retired in 2012, rose from a field nurse to become the Regional Administrator and Vice President for Home Care in Queens. During this time, Marilyn saw incredible changes, both in New York City’s patient population and at VNSNY. Over the next few weeks, Frontline VNSNY will be publishing a four-part reminiscence by Marilyn of her fascinating time at VNSNY. And now… let Marilyn walk you through the first decade of her six decades working as a nurse and nurse manager, proudly wearing the logo of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. VNSNY in the 1950s: A Neighborhood Organization Focused on Basic Care Today, at
At Chair Fair, Staffers Cast Votes to Select the Office Chair in VNSNY’s New 220 East 42nd Street Workspace
March 21, 2018–The words “take a seat” took on a whole new meaning at the VNSNY Chair Fair this past Friday and Monday, when hundreds of VNSNY employees visited the seventh-floor conference rooms at 1250 Broadway to test five different, ergonomically designed office chairs. All five models had been officially approved for possible use in VNSNY’s new workspace at 220 East 42nd Street, and it was now up to the VNSNY staff to decide which model would actually be featured in the new office. And staff members did exactly that—personally trying out all the various candidates, and then voting on their favorite chair. “I like this one!” a fairgoer exclaimed, reclining thoughtfully in one of the chair models. “I’m really glad we’re doing this,” added another attendee. “Having the right office chair is very important for my back.” In addition to sampling
Happy National Social Work Month! 10 Interesting Facts About VNSNY’s Social Workers
March 8, 2018–1) Social workers are essential to the care management of our patients and members. VNSNY social workers are an invaluable part of numerous programs across Provider Services as well as within all of the plans offered by VNSNY CHOICE, providing counseling, access to resources and other critically important services to patients and members in each of New York City’s five boroughs as well as Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. “In bringing their special skills and expertise and experience to their care teams, social workers provide a perspective that really focuses on psychosocial factors and how those are impacting the individuals we’re working with,” notes Jeri Goodman, Social Work Manager for VNSNY Home Care, which has approximately 45 social workers. 2) Altogether, VNSNY has over 320 social workers. The large majority of these social workers work for VNSNY full time, while the rest are employed on a per diem or part-time
The Fastest (and Easiest) Ways to Reach 220 East 42nd Street
March 8, 2018–You Can Get There from Here! (Wherever “Here” May Be for You.) For staff at 1250 Broadway who’ll be making the move to 220 East 42nd Street later this year, public transportation offers many options for commuting to the new location. To help you figure out which option works best for you, here are some popular routes into the city from different starting points in the New York metro area. From Westchester or Connecticut: Metro-North Railroad’s Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven rail lines all come into Grand Central Terminal (GCT). From there, it’s about a two-block walk to our new office at 220 42nd Street between Third and Second Avenues. From Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx: By subway. Connect with the Lexington Ave. 4 or 5 express or 6 local trains; they serve the east side of Manhattan and take you directly to GCT. From the west side, use
See What’s on Our Soon-to-Be New Block and Around the Corner
February 13, 2018–The week before last, Frontline VNSNY featured 10 interesting things about our soon-to-be new 220 East 42nd Street neighborhood. This week, we’d like to share with you some of the businesses and restaurants that are on the same block or just around the corner from our new offices. To see more move-related information, click here.
Eight Cool Things About 220 East 42nd Street
January 11, 2018–In 8 Months, Staff at 1250 Broadway Will Start Moving to 220 East 42nd Street. Here are 8 pretty cool things about the new building. Beginning this August and continuing through September and October, the staff at 1250 Broadway will be moving to 220 East 42nd Street, a historic building between Third and Second Avenues—just a block and a half from Grand Central Terminal. In the weeks to come, Frontline will be posting updates on the move, in addition to direct communications that staff will be receiving from the project move team. In the meantime, here are 8 fun facts about the new building: 1) It’s the Superman building! The original movie Superman—the first in the series of four Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, which was released in 1978—used both the interior and exterior of the building as locations for the fictional Daily Planet newspaper that Clark
Good Morning America Gives a VNSNY Hospice Shout-Out
December 24, 2017–On December 24th, the VNSNY Hospice team received a special salute on ABC’s national TV program Good Morning America for “embracing the Christmas spirit all year round.” The segment, coordinated by ABC correspondent and VNSNY Hospice volunteer Dan Harris, featured a photo of VNSNY Hospice team members, Cynthia McGill, Claudia Paul, Betty Splunge and Ginger Glover plus an image of patient Ronnie Getter.
CHOICE SelectHealth Is Now Offering Coverage to Transgender New Yorkers, Regardless of HIV Status
November 30, 2017–As a New York State-sponsored HIV Special Needs Plan (SNP), VNSNY CHOICE SelectHealth is best known for providing specialized Medicaid coverage and care management to HIV-positive residents of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. But the New York State Department of Health (DOH) also has the option of adding coverage for other special populations to its SNPs as needed. Earlier this year, DOH exercised this option by extending SNP coverage to transgender Medicaid-eligible individuals, regardless of their HIV status. The new enrollment rules took effect on November 1st. “Any Medicaid-eligible person in the four covered boroughs who identifies as transgender or gender non-conforming is now eligible for enrollment in SelectHealth,” says Lauren Benyola, one of two SelectHealth product managers along with Candia Richards-Clarke. “To qualify, members either need to obtain a letter from a healthcare provider indicating their transition or an official document reflecting the change in gender designation.” The