Honoring Our Colleagues Lost to COVID-19: A Salute to VNSNY Partners in Care Home Health Aide Yanick Beaubrun

The heroism shown by the staff of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York in tremendously challenging times is legendary. From the influenza epidemic of 1918 and the polio outbreaks of the mid-20th century, to the emergence of AIDS in the 1980s and the devastation of the 9/11 attacks and Superstorm Sandy, VNSNY’s courageous women and men have always been there to provide care and comfort to New Yorkers in troubled times, despite the risk to themselves.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. Over the past two months, we have been working tirelessly and with unsurpassed determination under incredibly difficult circumstances so that our patients and plan members can continue to receive the care they need. Many of our colleagues have been stricken with COVID-19 themselves. Thankfully, most of them have recovered and many have even returned to work. Sadly and tragically, however, eight of our coworkers have died. They include six home health aides with Partners in Care, a physical therapist with VNSNY Home Care, and a social worker with VNSNY Hospice.

“These VNSNY heroes dedicated their lives to caring for others, and their contributions will never be forgotten,” says VNSNY President and CEO Marki Flannery. “We will remember them, honor them, and celebrate their lives.”

As part of this remembrance, we will be publishing Frontline tributes to our fallen colleagues over the coming week.

Yanick Beaubrun

Yanick Beaubrun was a Home Health Aide with Partners in Care in Nassau County for nearly six years. “Yanick was sweet and kind and would go anywhere for you, even though she didn’t drive,” says Partners in Care HHA Supervisor Erin Swinton.

Her clients loved Yanick, as did her fellow staff members. “She was a pleasure, just so sweet,” says HHA Supervisor Maureena Lauchner. Yanick took many live-in cases, including a difficult case involving a woman in her 90s who needed a lot of support services, Maureena recalls. “She would tell me, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everybody else does what they’re supposed to do.’ She was the momma bear. I could always count on Yanick.”

Yanick lived in Hempstead, Long Island and she kept the nearby VNSNY office in Hicksville well-fed, frequently bringing them Haitian food from her favorite places. “She was always working, and at the same time, she was so thoughtful,” says Erin. “She would bring the staff huge plates of food from the best Haitian restaurant in Nassau County.” “I couldn’t believe it,” adds Maureena. “Yanick would go all the way to Queens to bring us a dozen Haitian patties!”

Yanick’s daughter, Jennifer, says that what mattered most to her mother were her religion, her children, and her job. “She came to America from Haiti in 1974, looking for the American Dream,” Jennifer explains. “She started working in nursing homes and home health care. It was her career her whole life, helping the elderly and the disabled. She’s touched the hearts of thousands of clients since she started working in 1977.”

Yanick married a fellow Haitian immigrant she knew growing up in Haiti, and they went on to have three children. “Her main thing with her children was, ‘I have some college, but I want you guys to go all the way—complete college, get married and have kids.’ We heard it every day,” says Jennifer. “She wanted to instill these values and ethics in us. She worked 12- and 16-hour shifts, and always went above and beyond her job duties because she cared about her clients so much. When it comes to work, she told us ‘Don’t follow the job description and do the bare minimum; look at your supervisors and start doing what they’re doing.’”

Yanick’s religion was a central part of her life, Jennifer notes. “She had the Bible with her at all times. Reading her Bible and going to church was very important to her.” And as a New Yorker, she also enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. “She loved subways and buses!” her daughter says. “She lived in Hempstead, but in her free time she went to Brooklyn and Queens. She loved the energy and excitement—the food, the people.”

“My mom was my best friend,” Jennifer says. “I live in Maryland and we spoke for three hours every day. All she wanted for her children was success, to have a life she didn’t have. And at her passing she had accomplished what she wanted. All three of her kids are in health care, right now in hospitals. I’m a licensed social worker, my brother does IT work, and my sister is in nursing administration. We’re all married and have children. We are living exactly what she wanted: We are living the American dream.”

Yanick is survived by a host of family and friends who miss her dearly, including Jennifer Fingado, Gregory Beaubrun, Daniella, Gabriella, Bastion and Luna.

If you would like to make a donation in Yanick’s memory, please click here to visit her GoFundMe page.  If you would like to submit a special story or remembrance about Yanick, please send it using the Contact Us page on Frontline. We will post these responses as they come in.