January 2019 Patient Letters
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.
Bronx—A grateful patient’s family phoned to compliment physical therapist Sherry Adjapong for her outstanding work, stating that she is “a wonderful therapist.”
The husband of another Bronx patient called to say that psychiatric nurse Yolanda Harmon was “excellent,” and that he would like to request her care again going forward.
Manhattan—A Manhattan hip replacement patient posted a note with accompanying photo on his Facebook page, expressing his gratitude for the care provided by physical therapist Linton Peixoto. “Many thanks to Linton, my Visiting Nurse Service of New York P.T.,” he wrote. “Today, we took the spiral staircase up to the roof and then went for a stroll around the block. I’m also getting to know our hallway pretty good as I walk up and down it ten times a day! Clocking close to two miles a day on my new hip.”
The sister of a hospice patient who recently passed away wrote a letter of thanks for the support provided by VNSNY Hospice bereavement counselors Janet King and Willis Partington. “Janet is a very skilled professional and gave me remarkable support and guidance through the grieving process,” she noted. “I also attended several meetings with Willis Partington and very much admire his clinical talent. The staff at VNSNY Hospice are dedicated and caring. I am most appreciative.”
The adult children of another recently deceased patient who was cared for by VNSNY Hospice sent a donation along with a note that read, “Please accept this as a token of our appreciation and gratitude for the excellent services you provided to our dad.” They went on to individually thank VNSNY Hospice nurses Rosalyn Yard and Charles Meys, physician Danielle Friedman, and spiritual counselor Rabbi Amy Bolton. “All the team members were outstanding,” the children added. “Their care, responsiveness and professionalism were of the highest quality. We want to make special mention of pastoral care counselor Rabbi Amy Bolton for her heartfelt compassion and spiritual care that she offered to our father and our family. Her gentle and warm demeanor have been so supportive and comforting. Please know that all the involved staff of your program have made this end of life journey much easier to endure. Thank you again.”
A Manhattan patient tweeted praise for her VNSNY Home Care team of physical therapists Manuel Espino and Richard Lapan and nurse Maggie Wang. “The #VisitingNurses are spectacular!” she wrote. “Superstars!!!”
Ashwini Nagole, Physical Therapist
The daughter of a Manhattan resident living with a brain injury sent a letter “to sing the praises” of the VNSNY home care team who cared for her mother following a recently hospitalization. SLP Alicia Wang, nurse Leslie Cohen, PT Ashwini Nagole, OT Dina Klein and social worker Regina Kam “provided conscientious, friendly, highly skilled, kind care for my mother, went above and beyond their duties, and provided crucial feedback and suggestions for me, my husband and my mother’s regular home health aide,” the daughter wrote. “They applied ample experience and innovative thinking to finding solutions, developed a sustainable plan of action for my mother going forward, and patiently answered all my many questions.” She went on to note: “Leslie and Regina used their networks to be sure they understood and addressed all problems I brought to them…. Dina and Ashwini are both first-rate professionals and lovely people who also work well together, as a team, and worked patiently to show Valerie and me how best to do effective range of motion exercises for my mother. Ashwini also went out of her way to talk to my mother on topics she knew an Indian woman of my mother’s generation would be likely to care about…. And Alicia is a skilled and experienced clinician (who twice came to our house through driving snowstorms) and is also highly perceptive, very compassionate, and good at finding creative solutions that can be practically effective. She is a ray of sunshine who managed to make me feel optimistic on days when I was down, tired, and dejected.”
A VNSNY patient posted a message via the VNSNY website to compliment Home Care Consultant Lavern Higgins “on her dedication and seriousness of purpose.” The patient added, “I was released from the hospital last week with ulcers and osteomelitis on my right foot. The next day, Ms. Higgins contacted me to arrange home care. She determined that Medicare would not pay for home care because I am not homebound. However, she was concerned that I could not see my podiatrist for a week. She contacted my podiatrist to see if she could get an earlier appointment. When that failed, she found another podiatrist who could see me within two days. I greatly appreciate her diligence!”
A Manhattan resident sent a letter praising the care provided by Partners in Care home health aide Lena Reid to her longtime neighbor.“Lena cared for my neighbor for many years,” she wrote. “On nearly every nice day, Lena would take my neighbor to the park where they would sit on a bench to watch and chat with passersby. As a retiree, I had time to stop to visit with them often, and got to know them quite well. Lena is the most warm and caring person, the kind of person we all want to take care of us when the time comes. She is very lively, interesting and engaging—just fun to be around. One of my fondest moments was playing my favorite Bob Marley songs on my iPhone as Lena and I sang them together and sometimes danced to them on our way back to the building. My neighbor always got a kick out of this. Lena is also an awesome cook. My neighbor raved about her Jamaican dishes and was amazed by how well she learned to make Japanese food. Just another example of Lena’s going the extra mile for her clients. We dearly miss our neighbor, but will miss Lena as well. She became a much beloved member of our community. Her next client will be so lucky to have her!”
Sherri Hughes, Speech Language Pathologist
Nassau—A patient who recently underwent surgery for head and neck cancer wrote to “express my sincere appreciation for the services of my speech pathologist 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.
A Nassau patient who is a rehabilitation nurse herself wrote to praise the care provided by clinical field manager Jonelle Anderson, nurses Dan Berg and Sang Un Ramos, and physical therapist Tom Tsouros following her recent hip replacement surgery. “All were outstanding in their compassionate and superior home care skills,” she noted. “They were on point with their assessments and assisted me in a very difficult time in my life. Due to the nature of my surgery I had the most exposure to my physical therapist. Tom’s pleasant manner, creative care planning and light sense of humor made my PT sessions something to look forward to. His encouraging words and practical knowledge helped me want to work hard. My surgical team and my outpatient therapy team are thrilled with my progress and I owe all that to Tom. I carry back to my patients the kindness and compassion that was shown to me by the VNSNY team. It was an honor to be cared for them, and I will refer my patients to VNSNY as a result.”
Queens—“I am writing to express my sincere thanks for the care that nurse Marie Gaston has shown to my husband, who is currently recovering from kidney cancer, as well as to me when I experienced a medical emergency while she was in our home,” wrote a Queens resident. “Not only is she consistently professional and highly competent, but she also shows a degree of personal compassion that is above and beyond the call of duty. Our family is currently going through a very challenging time. The presence of Nurse Gaston as a caregiver has made it easier. We are very grateful and felt you should know about her excellent work.”
Staten Island—The husband of a Staten Island patient sent a note thanking VNSNY for the services provided to his spouse by the “superb” team of nurse Vicenta “Betsy” Clemente, speech-language pathologist Jennifer Hansen, physical therapist Ibijoke “Betty” Ayetiwa, and social worker Melissa Dilorenzo. “Their knowledge and expertise has been well above what any person would want, and was delivered 100 percent,” he said. “In life you want the best, and we both received it from this group.”
