Provider Services
May 2022 Patient Letters
April 28, 2022–Our VNSNY colleagues continue to prove how resilient, dedicated and just plain amazing the entire VNSNY organization is! The following are excerpts from a few of the many recent letters, phone calls, and emails we’ve received from grateful patients and clients as well as family members that reflect an outstanding consumer experience. Bronx Thank You for the Wonderful Care! “I am writing to thank you for the wonderful care I received from your nurse, Sultana Alibasic,” wrote one Bronx home care patient. “My primary care physician connected me to VNSNY to care for a huge open wound that did not heal properly from abdominal surgery. Sultana treated me almost daily for over a month and would not discharge me until the wound was 100% healed.” The patient described Sultana as kind, caring and professional. “I am very grateful to Sultana and always looked forward to her visits. She wasn’t just
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Nassau NFP graduates 17 first-time mothers
September 6, 2017–
VNSNY Partners with Mount Sinai to Provide Community Paramedicine
September 5, 2017–When VNSNY call center nurse Wanda Lopez recently got an alert that a heart failure patient, newly discharged from Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) to home care, was complaining of weakness and a severe headache, Wanda contacted Mount Sinai to arrange for a community paramedic to visit the patient’s home. Finding the patient badly dehydrated, the paramedic used a special app to immediately set up a three-way video conference with the VNSNY call center nurse and a physician from Mount Sinai who is specially trained and certified in online medical control. During the encounter, the paramedic performed clinical and diagnostic assessments, including EKG and blood glucose monitoring, and administered aspirin and intravenous saline solution under standing orders, resulting in symptom relief. The physician proceeded to complete a physical exam using the virtual technology and recommended the patient not be transferred to an emergency department (ED). Because the patient’s pacemaker responded
VNSNY Announces Shift to HomeCare HomeBase EHR Platform
August 31, 2017–After an extensive review process, VNSNY has announced that its home care and hospice operations will be transitioning to a new electronic health records (EHR) platform, HomeCare HomeBase, starting later this year. Considered the industry leader, the cloud-based platform is currently used by 7 of the 10 largest U.S. home health and hospice providers. Its features include a flexible, intuitive interface that lets field clinicians, office staff, and physicians securely view and transmit real-time medical and scheduling information on their laptops, tablets or mobile devices. “HomeCare HomeBase will replace a number of applications that we currently support in-house, and serve as the host for a much easier-to-manage system,” says Robert Plaszcz, VNSNY’s Chief Information Officer, whose team will implement and maintain all the regulatory and functional enhancements to the system. Among other benefits, the software’s integrated workflow processes will support in-depth note taking and management reporting and result in streamlined
Partners in Care Home Health Aides Receive LGBT Cultural Sensitivity Training
August 31, 2017–As part of VNSNY’s ongoing LGBT educational initiative, the nearly 10,000 home health aides in VNSNY Partners in Care are each attending a specialized training session designed to raise their awareness of cultural issues and sensitivities around sexual orientation and gender identification. The training program, based on a curriculum developed by the SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) organization, covers topics such as confidentiality, the need to avoid making assumptions about a client’s partnership or marital status, an overview of LGBT history, and the use of gender-appropriate terminology with transgender patients and clients. “The sensitivity training is being given as part of the aides’ annual in-service training, and they report they’re finding it engaging and informative,” says Barbara Maccaro, Director of Quality Assurance and Education for Partners in Care. “We’re currently conducting two training sessions a day. Our aim is to have 90 percent of our aides trained by
Preventing Rehospitalizations through Comprehensive Care Management
August 31, 2017–With a surprise blizzard threatening to paralyze New York City last March, VNSNY’s value-based care management team moved into high gear. “We had 900 patients under value-based care arrangements at the time, and our staff phoned each of them to make sure they had all their medications and sufficient food in the house,” recalls Marki Flannery, Executive Vice President and Chief of Provider Services. Several patients reported they were nearly out of essential medications, and the VNSNY team was able to get same-day resupplies delivered to them—preventing what could have been a medical emergency requiring a trip to the hospital. The blizzard outreach is just one example of the attention given to patients admitted to VNSNY’s care under value-based models. These patients fall into two categories—those in Medicare bundled payment models, which cover all medical expenses incurred during the 90 days following hospitalization, and those in private insurance case rate
September 2017 Patient Letters
August 31, 2017–The following are excerpts from a few of the many recent letters, phone calls, and emails that we’ve received from grateful patients and family members. Together, they reflect the outstanding work done each and every day by VNSNY’s entire frontline staff. Manhattan—The daughter of a Manhattan patient penned a letter commending the work of physical therapist Grace Peters. “Grace was incredibly helpful and patient with my mother. She is a consummate professional—always making sure to confirm appointments and accommodate us as needed. Grace was also very understanding during times when my mother expressed frustration and helped her by focusing on positive measures.” As her mother’s primary caregiver, the daughter added that she “felt very fortunate” to have Grace’s assistance as her mother recovered from surgery. Another patient wrote, “This note is to tell you that I had the most wonderful experience having Milissa Mondestin as my physical therapist over the
VNSNY Veterans Hospice Care: Saluting Those Who Served
August 29, 2017–On warm July day recently in a high-rise apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a bedridden World War II veteran and VNSNY Hospice patient received an unexpected surprise. The veteran, Edward Flanagan, had enlisted in the Navy after his beloved older brother died in combat and went on to see action in the Pacific theater. He later became a successful bank executive and active member of the community in his hometown of New Rochelle, New York—but like most war veterans, he was shadowed by memories, some more painful than others. It also saddened Edward that his Naval medals and discharge papers had gone missing. Now, VNSNY Hospice veterans liaison Joe Vitti was at his bedside with duplicates of the medals he had earned, and a copy of his discharge papers as well, thanks to Joe’s hard work and determined outreach to the Department of Defense and the National Archives. In