Find Out What’s Happening… News Briefs from Around VNSNY!
Welcome to January’s “News Briefs from Around VNSNY”—a Frontline feature that provides brief updates on recent news and events across the organization. If you have a news brief you’d like to be considered for an upcoming edition, please click here.
New IT Help Desk Goes Live!
VNSNY’s IT Department launched its new IT Support Service Desk on January 16th. Managed by Unity BPO, the new Service Desk has staff available to answer phone inquiries 24 hours a day. The hotline number remains the same—212-290-3555—and now includes a dedicated phone prompt for people to reset their passwords, as well as prompts for Workday access assistance and HomeCare HomeBase support. There is also a new online Self-Service Portal for staff to enter their own IT help request tickets, which can be accessed through the existing “IT Service” link on the VNSNY Intranet Home Page. For a guide on how to use the new IT Self-Service Portal, click here. In addition, please feel free to email any feedback or suggestions to [email protected].
Marki Flannery Makes Repeat Appearance on City & State’s “HealthPower” List
VNSNY President and CEO Marki Flannery has been named to City & State’s “HealthPower 100 List” for the second year in a row. The list, which debuted last year, spotlights New York State’s most influential people in healthcare. Read Marki’s writeup by clicking here.
Strength from Within Campaign Raises Record Amount!
The final results of the 2019 Strength from Within Employee Giving Campaign are in—and they show that over 500 staff members donated a record $109,173 for VNSNY’s charitable care and community benefit programs! Thank you to everyone who contributed to this amazing effort! VNSNY’s successful employee giving campaign follows on the heels of November’s VNSNY Gala Fundraiser, which brought in $1.6 million in pledged donations—also a record!
Special fundraising events held for the campaign included a tag sale and baking contest held by VNSNY Home Care, a CHOICE Bowlathon and raffle, a CMHS Games Day fundraiser, and Partners in Care-sponsored Games Day, Denim Day, PJ Day, raffle, and bingo events.
Click on the slideshow below to see photos of some of these events.
Congratulations to VNSNY’s Latest ABCD Award Winners!
From October through January, another 330 VNSNY staff members have been presented with an ABCD Award in recognition of the outstanding job they’re doing. To view the complete list of these latest ABCD awardees, click here!
CHOICE Total Gains 1,000 Members as New York State Ends FIDA Pilot
A photo taken in late 2019 of the CHOICE FIDA Care Management team, whose hard work and dedication helped build CHOICE FIDA Complete into New York State’s largest FIDA plan before the FIDA pilot came to an end last month.
On December 31st, New York State officially ended its FIDA (Fully Integrated Duals Advantage) pilot, involving a new type of integrated health plan that combined Medicare and Medicaid benefits into a single product. The pilot’s conclusion also meant the shutdown all FIDA plans in the state, including VNSNY CHOICE FIDA Complete. The good news: Of that plan’s 1,000-plus members, almost all have switched enrollment to CHOICE Total, a Medicaid Advantage Plan (MAP) that also offers integrated services for individuals enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare. This brings CHOICE Total’s enrollment to 3,000 members, making it the second largest MAP in New York State and one of the largest integrated health plans of its kind in the U.S.
New PDGM Reimbursement Model Is Rolled Out
In addition to ringing in the New Year, January 1st was also the roll-out date for CMS’s new PDGM (Patient Driven Groupings Model) reimbursement method. In the new model, home care services are billed over a 30-day period and payment levels are no longer based on the number of therapy sessions provided. Instead, patients are placed in one of 432 categories based on admission parameters, clinical diagnosis, functional impairment level and co-morbidities. VNSNY Home Care’s billing and reimbursement processes have transitioned smoothly to the new model, reports Susan Northover, Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services. “This new model supports care delivery according to the clinical needs of the patient, which is exactly aligned with VNSNY’s approach,” adds Susan. “We also spent a full year developing new workflows and dashboards for the new model, so we were well-prepared for the shift.”
CMHS Extends Community Impact with Four New Programs
VNSNY’s Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) enters 2020 with four new programs that launched over the past year:
- Children’s Health Home, which provides care coordination services to eligible children and families served in CMHS’s Bronx children’s programs.
- Parachute, a unique in-home therapy for members with complex behavioral health and medical conditions, that was restarted with new funding after a hiatus.
- Wellness, Comprehensive Assessment, Rehabilitation and Employment (WeCARE) Wellness Program, which provides comprehensive services for clients with clinical barriers to employment.
- Pathway Home, offering intensive intervention and care coordination services for high utilizers of Harlem Hospital’s behavioral health services, in partnership with Coordinated Behavioral Care (CBC) IPA.
“We’ve also added over 100 positions to operate and manage these programs,” says Neil Pessin, Vice President for CMHS. “We’re very pleased that this expansion of CMHS is providing more opportunities for vulnerable New Yorkers with mental health issues to recover and heal.”
NHPCO and the VA Award Level 5 We Honor Veterans Status to VNSNY Hospice
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Veterans Administration (VA) have awarded VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care their new Level 5 We Honor Veterans status—making VNSNY Hospice one of the first hospice programs in the nation to achieve this designation. VNSNY’s Veterans Hospice program had previously been awarded Level 4 certification, which until now was the top We Honor Veterans rating. “To qualify for Level 5 status, we’ve further upgraded our support for our patients who are veterans, including adding a military history assessment to our EMR, enhancing our education efforts around combat and military-related trauma, and developing the capacity to serve as a mentor to other hospice agencies and community organizations,” says Joe Vitti, Supervisor of the VNSNY Hospice Veterans program. “This achievement was made possible by the hard work of many people within our department and across the VNSNY agency, led by VNSNY Hospice Veterans Liaisons Sung Yoon and Erica Wigley. We’re very grateful to everyone involved!”
VNSNY Hospice Offers Self-Care Tips for Healthcare Providers
Use your smartphone to access a calming meditation app… When you’re feeling down, strike a super-hero pose to lift your spirits… and the next time you find yourself watching your favorite Netflix show instead of catching up on work, take it as a signal that your brain is clamoring for some restful downtime—and enjoy the experience instead of feeling guilty. These helpful nuggets are contained in a new series of “Hospice Self-Care Tips for Healthcare Professionals,” created by the VNSNY Self-Care Subcommittee of the Hospice Ethics Committee, a group of VNSNY employees and volunteers who are committed to promoting self-care among their co-workers. A new set of tips is emailed in the middle of each month to all Hospice staff. If other VNSNY staff would like to receive these tips as well, please email Hospice volunteer Virginia Chang at: [email protected].
CMHS Hosts Holiday Party for Clients
For the 15th year in a row, the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Health Home programs of Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) hosted annual holiday parties in both Manhattan and the Bronx. The mid-December celebrations were attended by well over 100 clients from the two programs, as well as numerous CMHS staff members and VNSNY Board Member Mary Davidson. In addition, CMHS’s Comprehensive Care Management (CCM) program held its annual Toy Giveaway on Christmas Eve at CMHS’s 125th St office in Manhattan. At this year’s event, which included children from the Children’s Health Home program, 40 children enjoyed holiday crafts, snacks and the opportunity to select new toys, games and books based on their age and interests.
Check out the CMHS holiday party photos!
CMHS’s Bronx Office Collects Donations for Puerto Rico Earthquake Victims
Marlenne Soto, a social worker assistant with CMHS’s Geriatrics program in the Bronx, has been leading a donation drive at the Bronx CMHS office for people impacted by the recent earthquake on her home island of Puerto Rico. During the drive, which concluded last week, her CMHS colleagues contributed items such as canned food, baby wipes, toilet paper and protein bars, which are now being shipped to the earthquake victims.
GNYHA Bone Health Video Features VNSNY Chinatown Community Center
The Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) has created a short video highlighting the Asian Community Bone Health Initiative, an educational collaboration between VNSNY and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) that is helping Chinatown residents maintain healthy bones. The three-minute video features a movement class for local residents at VNSNY’s Chinatown Community Center, as well as an interview with Teresa Lin, VNSNY’s Director for Cultural Market Development. See the video!
New Search Application Helps Connect VNSNY Patients and Members with the Right Customer Support
Last September, VNSNY rolled out the new VISA (VNSNY Integrated Search Application) system for its customer service representatives. The VISA system is an organization-wide online search function that can be used to identify where a patient or member resides within VNSNY, so that customer service staff can quickly transfer callers to the correct business area. To access the system, click here and log in using your normal Network ID and Password. “VNSNY offers patients and members many services and there are different phone numbers that reach us,” notes Michael Bernstein, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. “This is even more true when a person has received services from different VNSNY lines of business over a long period of time. The VISA system provides an effective way for our contact center agents to look up where someone is currently receiving service and be able to quickly redirect their call to the right area. This helps our agents better serve our patients and therefore improves their experience with VNSNY.”
VNSNY Instagram Account is Now at 696 Followers!
Did you know that VNSNY has its own Instagram account? It’s currently up to 696 followers! To become a follower yourself and stay current on all VNSNY-related photos that have been posted, simply go to VNSNY’s Instagram account and hit the “Follow” button at the top of the VNSNY profile. If you have additional questions, please contact Cristina Melendez, Associate Director, Digital and Social Media, at: [email protected]
Water Bottle-Filling Stations at 220 East 42nd Notch Big Reductions in Plastic Use!
One of the “green” features of VNSNY’s 220 East 42nd Street office are the bottle-water filling stations—11 water-dispensing machines spread over 7 floors, where employees can fill reusable water bottles. The devices also keep score of how much water they dispense, measured in the equivalent number of plastic bottles that staff would have used instead. Here are the latest counts by floor. (We will continue to report on this in future News Briefs, so keep filling those bottles!)
Total bottles saved: 135,000 as of January 22, 2020
7th Floor – 2 Refill Stations: Station 1 – 8,009 Bottles: Station 2 – 8,440 Bottles (Both of these are in the hallway / shared with other companies on the floor)
6th Floor – 2 Refill Stations: Station 1 – 35,684 Bottles Saved; Station 2 – 8,823 Bottles Saved
5th Floor – 2 Refill Stations: Station 1 – 8,776 Bottles Saved; Station 2 – 10,657 Bottles Saved
3rd Floor – 2 Refill Stations: Station 1 – 9,832 Bottles Saved; Station 2 – 19,394 Bottles Saved
2nd Floor – 1 Refill Station: Station 1 – 10,740 Bottles Saved
1st floor Partners in Care – 1 Refill Station: Station 1 – 6,188 Bottles Saved
Concourse Partners in Care – 1 Refill Station: Station 1 – 8,447 Bottles Saved
