Find Out What’s Happening… Here Are the Latest News Briefs from Around VNSNY!
Welcome to the latest edition of “News Briefs from Around VNSNY”— featuring quick updates on recent news and happenings across the organization.If you have any news or announcements that you’d like to submit for consideration in an upcoming edition, please click here.
VNSNY’s (Virtual) Gala Raises More Than $1.4 Million!
Despite fervent hopes that the 2021 Benefit Gala would be an in-person event, VNSNY made the difficult decision not to host a large, indoor celebration quite yet this year. “Even though we had to pivot to a virtual event, we released a pre-recorded program video on November 11th that people can watch at their convenience,” says John Billeci, VNSNY’s Vice President of Special Events. “It contains many of the same elements that our in-person event usually has, including a video about VNSNY and the presentation of our Lillian D. Wald Award to this year’s honorees.” Emceed by Emmy-Award-winning PIX11 anchor Kori Chambers, the 2021 Gala has raised more than $1.4 million dollars for VNSNY Charitable Care and Community Benefit Programs and the VNSNY Coronavirus Response Fund—the event’s second-best total ever. To view the program video and to visit the VNSNY Benefit Gala website, click here.
The 2021 ESPRIT Awards
Representing departments from across the organization, the winners of the 2021 ESPRIT Awards embody VNSNY’s core values of Empathy, Integrity, and Agility. Click here to meet this year’s 10 ESPRIT Award winners and see the complete list of ESPRIT nominees! To watch the November 16th awards ceremony, click here.
Celebrating VNSNY’s Veterans
On Wednesday, November 10th, VNSNY held a special Veterans Day Zoom event to celebrate our VNSNY veterans and their service to our country. The event featured remarks by President and CEO Dan Savitt and Joe Vitti, U.S. Army veteran and Director of the Hospice Veterans Program, as well as a salute to the veterans on VNSNY’s staff. The celebration concluded with a presentation by guest speaker U.S. Navy Captain L. David Marquet, the bestselling author of Turn the Ship Around and Leadership is Language, and former commander of the submarine USS Santa Fe.
Honoring Our Partners in Care Home Health Aides
On Thursday, October 28th, VNSNY Partners in Care held its annual Service Awards celebration—a well-deserved tribute to the Partners in Care staff. The event honored 800+ HHAs who are observing milestone anniversaries, as well as staff members who received distinguished awards for going above and beyond in their job. The evening’s highlights included the presentation of the 2021 James R. Withrow Jr. Home Health Aide of the Year Award to Luisanny Taveras Bello, as well as a very inspiring video spotlighting 13 Partners in Care HHAs and their passion for the important work they do. Congratulations — and thank you — to all the honorees! To watch a video of the VNSNY Partners in Care Service Awards ceremony, click here below.
Workplace of the Future Update
Here is some welcome almost-back-to-normal news: While the official return date for hybrid staff (employees who’ll be in the office 2 to 3 days per week) and mostly remote (employees who’ll be in the office 6 days or less each month) to the 220 East 42nd Street office has been moved to January 10th, we’re pleased to report that as of November 15th, we’ve started welcoming back fully vaccinated hybrid staff to our 220 office. Welcome back! To view some photos from the return to work event on the Marki Flannery Terrace, click here.
World AIDS Day: New York State Department of Health to Honor Dr. Jay Dobkin
On World AIDS Day, Wednesday, December 1st, VNSNY’s Chief Medical Officer, Jay Dobkin, MD, will receive a Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award from the New York State Department of Health for his commitment, research, and significant contributions in the field of HIV/AIDS. Every year, this award recognizes individuals who are leaders in promoting improvements in HIV health, LGBT health, substance-user health, youth sexual health, trauma-informed care, and the prevention and treatment of Hepatitis C and STIs. Heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Dobkin for this well-deserved honor!
Kudos to Our Latest ABCD & Initiative Award Winners!
Between February 1 and October 31, 2021, 902 VNSNY staff members have been presented with ABCD or Initiative Awards in recognition of the outstanding job they’re doing. Click here to view the complete list of our latest awardees!
Roger Herr Elected APTA President
Congratulations to Roger Herr, PT, MPA and VNSNY Vice President for Queens and Long Island Home Care, on being elected president of the American Physical Therapy Association! “Every day, I live to fulfill the APTA vision and mission through my passion for creating coalitions and connecting current and potential members and APTA partners with other entities, including patient and consumer groups,” says Roger. “I thrive on integrating physical therapy into society by partnering with external initiatives and organizations, which is essential to our vision.”
CHOICE Is Enrolling Members in Two New Health Plans
Throughout Medicare’s open enrollment period—which began on October 15th and extends through December 7th—VNSNY CHOICE has been signing up members for its two new Medicare Advantage health plans that will commence in 2022: EasyCare and EasyCare Plus. Both plans are geared to lower-income New Yorkers, with a robust provider network and premiums as low as zero dollars. In addition, they’re the only Medicare Advantage HMO plans in New York City or Long Island to have a 4.5 Star quality score (out of 5 Stars), based on the strong quality ratings of the CHOICE Total MAP plan. Click here for more details!
Reminder: ARC Wants Your Recipes
An important pre-holiday reminder for all staff (and we’ll all reap the benefits)! If you haven’t already, please send us your favorite recipes for inclusion in the VNSNY Multicultural Cookbook, a healthful labor of love cooked up by the Anti-Racism Council’s Celebration Committee. Upon completion, we’ll all be receiving a copy. But don’t delay—the holidays are almost here, and we don’t want to miss out on your delicious dishes! Click here to submit your recipes.
Happy Birthday, ARC!
September marked the one-year anniversary of VNSNY’s Anti-Racism Council (ARC). Over the course of a single year, ARC’s 100+ members have made significant strides towards implementing practices and projects that combat racism and promote diversity and inclusiveness in the VNSNY workplace and in the communities we serve—and they’ve only just begun. To learn more about this important milestone, click here.
VNSNY Is Named a Designated MyWalgreens Beneficiary
We’re proud to announce that VNSNY has been chosen as a nonprofit partner for the Walgreens/Duane Reade’s Donations program. Since 1901, the program has been committed to giving back to local communities by working with its national charity partners to support local community needs. How the program works: Members can donate their Walgreens Cash rewards to make an impact on causes they care about, while earning Walgreens Cash rewards as they shop. Enrollment is free, and takes only seconds at myWalgreens.com or on the Walgreens app. Click here for details. The donations drive will start on December 1st and extend through February 28th, 2022.
Don’t Forget Your Flu Shot!
With COVID-19 still dominating the headlines, it sometimes seems as if that old seasonal standby—the flu shot—has been relegated to the back burner. But that doesn’t mean it’s not vitally important: Like every year, all VNSNY and Partners in Care employees must either get a flu shot or sign a flu shot declination form by December 1st (click here for details and specifics). Need some further inspiration? Click here to witness CEO Dan Savitt getting his annual flu vaccine.
Watch this Video and Share in the Excitement of the Impact Challenge’s Final Round
34 proposals.10 weeks. 8 teams. 5 VNSNY Impact Challenge final presentations. Share in the drama and excitement as the five finalist teams appear before a panel of experts to present their proposals addressing health disparities. Watch your colleagues present with flair—and tackle the tough questions from an esteemed panel that included a special “mystery guest”- –Marki Flannery! Watch the video here below.
Help Us Make a Difference! The 2021 Strength from Within Campaign Kicks Off
Every year, the Strength from Within Employee Giving Campaign supports VNSNY’s mission by raising funds for our charitable care and community benefit programs aimed at decreasing healthcare disparities. Click here to learn more about the initiative—and about the different ways you can contribute. “We make it as easy as possible to make a gift, and we try to keep the campaign fun,” says Michael Ambrosini, Director of Individual Giving. “Throughout the campaign, we’ll be sharing exciting news about raffle prizes for donors, and special events.”
The New Partners in Care Resource Center Is Up and Running
More exciting news: VNSNY has launched hha.vnsny.org, a dedicated website and Resource Center for VNSNY Partners in Care home health aides! Easy to access and navigate by smartphone or other device, the site offers a convenient, practical way for HHAs to connect, get critical information and updates, and communicate—all in one place. Check out the site here!
Project HOPE Welcomes Reverend Jacques DeGraff
We’re thrilled to report that esteemed activist, strategist, and community leader Rev. Jacques Andre DeGraff has been hired as faith-based lead for VNSNY Hospice’s Project HOPE, where he’ll be working directly with faith-based leaders in the Bronx and Harlem to raise awareness about the benefits of hospice in communities in which hospice is historically underutilized.
VNSNY Staff Members Are Featured in Public Service Announcement (PSA) Encouraging COVID-19 Vaccinations
Reverend DeGraff was also one of the participants, along with VNSNY colleagues Michelle Drayton, Veronica Torres, Helen McKnight-Baptiste, and Shama Barrett, in this recent “Let’s Crush this” PSA developed to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.
Catch up on the Latest “Neighborhood Spotlight” Videos
In his new “Neighborhood Spotlight” video series on Frontline, you can join VNSNY President and CEO Dan Savitt as he travels to communities throughout our service area to highlight the care that VNSNY provides. From Bayside to Bay Ridge, Chinatown to Levittown, he’ll take us to different neighborhoods in New York City and beyond, talking to staff about how VNSNY touches so many different lives. Click here to view the first video in the series, in which Dan visits a Nurse-Family Partnership RN in the Southwest Bronx.
Empowering Chinatown Seniors to Manage Their Blood Pressure
This fall, using a $20,000 Nobel Trust Grant, VNSNY’s Chinatown NNORC (Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) implemented a strategic plan to educate Chinatown seniors about monitoring their blood pressure at home. Developed in partnership with the Chinese American Nurses Association, the project started with two virtual workshops to educate seniors about hypertension and healthy lifestyle habits to help manage the condition. Next, each participant received a blood-pressure home monitoring machine. They then attended a third workshop on how to use the device daily, followed by a call from a nurse to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Designed to empower the seniors to manage their health at home, the initiative is particularly timely since many have stopped seeing their doctors regularly due to the pandemic. The participant feedback is glowing: Many who had no idea what hypertension was, or why routine blood-pressure checks mattered, emerged with a clear understanding—and the tools they need for effective, informed self-care.
Chinatown NNORC and Nassau Home Care Mark Their 15- and 20-Year Anniversaries!
It’s been 20 years since VNSNY began providing Home Care services in Nassau County, and 15 years since the opening of the Chinatown NNORC (Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community)—a program providing health, social, educational, and recreational services to seniors in a 24-block area of Chinatown, helping them age in place successfully. Here’s to many more years of making a big difference in the communities we serve!
To read previous News Briefs from Around VNSNY, click here.
