Going Above and Beyond: January Patient Letters and Member Commendations

As part of our regular posting of patient letters and CHOICE commendations on Frontline, we’ve been interviewing some of the VNSNY and CHOICE staff members featured in the letters and commendations to get their insights on the care they provided—care that was so outstanding that it led to a patient, family member, or physician taking the time out of their day to write a letter, an email, or making a phone call to VNSNY to praise the care that was provided. 

Here below are this month’s two featured letters, one from the daughter of a CHOICE MLTC member, and other from a Manhattan VNSNY Home Care patient.  

To read all January CHOICE Commendations, click here.

To read all January Patient Letters, click here.

 “An Extraordinary Person”

The daughter of a CHOICE MLTC member sent a letter thanking CHOICE MLTC Care Coordinator Marian Unterman for overseeing her mother’s care during the last seven weeks of her life. “My beloved mother passed in mid-December,” she wrote. “I am trying but failing to capture the right words to describe the service Ms. Unterman provided and what this meant to my mother, me, and the rest of our family. Her service exceeded our greatest expectations. Ms. Unterman treated me and my mother’s care with the utmost respect. She is highly professional and experienced, and provided calm and reassuring support which allowed me to cope and make the right decisions during my mother’s final phase of life’s journey. Ms. Unterman always inquired about my feelings and helped me to gain emotional strength as I faced my mother’s physical and cognitive decline. She was also invaluable in managing and coordinating my mother’s care among the team of healthcare practitioners VNSNY. In addition, she intervened when healthcare workers from other entities were involved to make sure there was a continuum of care and the standard of care would result in the best outcomes for my mother. Like myself, many children are caring for ailing parents and some of us do not understand the care process and are not aware of resources to help us cope during these difficult times. I will be a voice for VNSNY, ensuring that the information about your quality care reaches individuals I know. Access to quality health care is of utmost importance. Ms. Unterman allowed me and my family to have a greater appreciation of this. She is an extraordinary person. Our deepest gratitude to her!”

Read Marian’s story about why this member encounter went so well.

 “She Changed My Life”

A patient who recently underwent surgery for head and neck cancer wrote to “express my sincere appreciation for the services of my speech therapist Sherri Hughes, who has positively impacted my life in more ways than anyone will ever know.” Following his surgery and six weeks of radiation therapy, he noted, “I had a very difficult recovery and was eventually referred to home therapy with VNSNY. When I first met Sherri I could not swallow, and could barely talk or open my mouth. I was completely dependent on my feeding tube. During the ensuing sessions, we worked on various different mouth, tongue and swallowing exercises where she pushed me to reach different goals. We also tried different food textures relearning how to chew and swallow. Every session I could feel myself getting stronger. In a very short period of time we progressed rapidly to different types of solid foods. Last week I ate corned beef with mustard on rye and yesterday I ate pizza with extra cheese and meatballs. I would have never thought! Staying mentally strong is half the battle when recovering from cancer.  My mind was starting to get negative until I started working with Sherri. She changed my life.” An avid marathoner and triathlete, the patient added that he has signed up for a triathlon in the summer of 2019—“something that I did not think was a possibility. For all of that, I thank Sherri. I am truly grateful to her and your company for helping me to have this new positive outlook on my life. Thank you!!”

Read Sherri’s story about why this patient encounter went so well.