VNSNY Heroes of 2020
Related Articles
A Special Package from VNSNY Hospice Sends a Message of Caring to U.S. Veterans for Memorial Day
May 27, 2020–Observed on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who died while serving our country. May is also National Military Appreciation Month, a time set aside by Congress to honor the important role the U.S. Armed Forces have played in the history of our country. “One way to honor the memory of fallen heroes who have served our country is to support those veterans and military families walking among us today, and help them live well and be all that they can be, each and every day,” notes Joe Vitti, Supervisor of the VNSNY Hospice Veterans Program. A U.S. Army veteran himself, Joe and his colleagues, VNSNY Hospice Veterans Liaisons Erica Wigley and Sung Yoon, know firsthand how challenging this Memorial Day is for many of the servicemen and servicewomen they engage with in their community outreach activities. With social distancing mandates in place, many veterans find themselves more isolated than usual—a difficult situation, especially for those veterans who
During the Pandemic, Partners in Care Home Health Aides Continue Providing Vital Care to Their Clients
May 26, 2020–Each morning, 101-year-old Evelyn* received a radiant greeting: “Hello gorgeous, hello beautiful.” That’s because Shaunae Phaire, her Partners in Care Home Health Aide, was there to rouse her client from bed and help her face the day. “Once your feet hit the floor, you sit up and think, ‘thank God, I got up this morning and I can move,’” Shaunae says. When she first started caring for Evelyn last November, she notes, her client was in bed all day. But with Shaunae’s help, Evelyn soon found her days full of light and life. Even after the COVID-19 coronavirus came to the nursing home where Evelyn lived, Shaunae continued to visit her daily, suiting up in an N95 respirator and gown and putting on so much Purell that “you never realize you’re putting it on anymore.” And though Evelyn was now isolated in her room, Shaunae still made sure her client
New York’s NORCs: A “Lifeline” Connecting At-Risk Seniors to Care
May 21, 2020–Imagine being a senior living alone during the coronavirus pandemic, in your 80s, 90s, or even older, mostly homebound, needing medication refills or perhaps battling symptoms of illness—all while trying to reach a primary care physician whose office may be closed, or seeking healthcare information in your own language about COVID-19 or chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. This is where VNSNY/Partners in Care nurses and other clinicians in the NORC program (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) come in. This program identifies communities with large senior populations, then provides them with clinicians who attend to these seniors’ needs. The NORC teams connect vulnerable, often isolated seniors to the care they need, speaking with their physicians, advocating for their health and safety, helping them access needed medications, and bringing them trusted information on the coronavirus and other health conditions that they live with every day. Embedded in building complexes or neighborhoods
The Brooklyn West VNSNY Hospice Team: ‘We’re All in This Together!’
May 21, 2020–With the large number of patients dying from COVID-19 in New York City and community resources stretched thin by the coronavirus pandemic, the teamwork at the heart of interdisciplinary hospice care has never been more important. For VNSNY’s close-knit Brooklyn West Hospice Team, this collaborative approach is helping them provide care and comfort to distraught families under even the most difficult circumstances. When a young woman’s grandmother recently died of COVID-19 and she had to wait for the funeral home to remove the body from the home, VNSNY Hospice Social Worker Carolyn Gartner and Spiritual Care Counselor Anna Jenkins took turns checking in on the granddaughter regularly by telephone to ensure that she didn’t feel alone. Remaining present in this way for families in dire need “can be exhausting,” Carolyn says. “That’s why we work as a team. It’s invaluable.” This hospice teamwork is essential in order to support patients
The Man in the CHOICE Van — Going the Extra Mile for His VNSNY Colleagues
May 14, 2020–When the alarm goes off at 4:00 a.m. for VNSNY CHOICE Community Event Officer Igor Kebadze, it’s the beginning of a long but very fulfilling—and never boring—day. Like so many VNSNY staff members, Igor has seen his duties change considerably in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, not only is Igor adapting and going the “extra mile,” but he’s doing it in the VNSNY CHOICE Community Outreach van! “We always make the CHOICE van available for the organization’s needs,” explains Diane DeFerrari, VNSNY CHOICE Community Outreach Manager. “It was clear the van would be a big help during the pandemic, and Igor volunteered right away to drive it.” As New York businesses began to shutter in mid-March and VNSNY’s employees transitioned to home offices, Igor’s first job was bringing laptops, phones and printers to employees working remotely, as well as transporting mail from VNSNY’s Manhattan and Brooklyn offices to be scanned.
Thank You, VNSNY Nurses — A Special Nurses Month Photo Salute!
May 12, 2020–As we battle the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have never been more important to our own organization or to America’s health. In honor of National Nurses Month, employees from across VNSNY have crafted their own special “thank you” messages to our amazing nursing staff. To see these shout-outs, watch the slideshow immediately below. Also for Nurses Month: View a special Happy Nurses Month video below the photo slideshow! If you haven’t already submitted a photo in celebration of nurses month, but you would like to, please email us your photo here and we’ll add it to the slideshow. And watch the Happy Nurses Month video here!
Overcoming COVID-19 to Bring Families Together at the VNSNY Goodman Brown Hospice Residence
May 7, 2020–The VNSNY Shirley Goodman and Himan Brown Hospice Residence on Second Avenue in Manhattan is a rare oasis of calm in the storm of the coronavirus pandemic. As they care for a reduced patient census due to room renovations—the residence now has three residents rather than the usual eight—VNSNY Hospice nurse Cynthia McGill and her Goodman Brown colleagues are fulfilling VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care’s mission to the utmost, increasing quality of life at the end of life. “It’s much more than custodial care,” says Cynthia. “We can really spend time with patients, getting to know them and building a deeper relationship.” Besides tending to symptoms and other physical needs, the VNSNY Goodman Brown Hospice staff’s days include sharing patients’ memories of lives fully lived and helping them connect with loved ones. With no visitors allowed because of the coronavirus, this means connecting by FaceTime, which brings great joy to
Helping a Queens Family Survive a Multi-Generational Impact of COVID-19
May 6, 2020–In East Elmhurst, Queens, one of New York City’s neighborhoods hardest-hit by the coronavirus, VNSNY Home Care nurse Cidric Trinidad has been making regular visits to the home of a multi-generational family heavily impacted by the pandemic. The family was mourning a grandmother lost to COVID-19, their grandfather had just come home from the hospital, and seven out of eight other family members were asymptomatic but testing positive for the illness. In addition to delivering much-needed clinical care for the grandfather, Cidric, a nurse with Queens Branch 1 who has been with VNSNY for 15 years, was also there to educate the family. “They were not aware of a lot of things,” he says. “In the hospital, nurses and doctors don’t have a chance to explain things to them. And while there’s a lot of information on television, it can be confusing.” The family is primarily Spanish-speaking, and while Cidric
VNSNY Hospice Liaison Nurses: Providing Vital Connections at the End of Life
May 4, 2020–As the name suggests, VNSNY’s hospice liaisons are true connectors—and never has that role been more important than today, when New York City’s hospitals are overwhelmed by patients in the final stages of COVID-19. These courageous, compassionate hospice liaisons, all of whom are nurses, are finding ways to connect families to their loved ones in hospital ICUs, even though quarantine and social distancing protocols prevent face-to-face visits. At the same time, the nurse liaisons are also connecting these patients with the palliative care they need to live their final hours comfortably, free of symptoms such as pain and distressed breathing. “There’s never been a greater need for hospice services,” says Diane Lynch, a VNSNY hospice liaison who is working out of a makeshift trailer behind busy NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn. “Every little step we take to give comfort, reduce symptoms, and give families emotional support is so important. It’s what we