March 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.

Brooklyn—A patient recovering from hip surgery expressed her thanks to physical therapist Zarif Guirgez by creating a special handmade certificate attesting that Zarif had “greatly helped” in her recuperation.

Manhattan—The father of a patient wrote to say that his daughter, “a successful exercise trainer and yoga teacher,” had fallen and badly broken her leg. The hospital where she’d been operated on referred her to VNSNY for home nursing care and physical therapy. “Today, I received an email and a phone call from her saying that her physical therapist, Mike Dalton, and her nurse, Wanda Gonzales, both from Manhattan Branch Team 6, are superb, professional, caring, and thoughtful, and have made recovery far easier for her,” he noted. “We are thrilled that the professionals who work for the organization are of the highest caliber. On behalf of our daughter and our entire family, thanks to the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.”

A patient who recently underwent gender affirmation surgery went on to receive post-surgical home are from VNSNY’s Gender Affirmation Program. In a follow-up note, he wrote, “I was blown away by the sensitive care I received from my VNSNY nurse, Millie Moy Thompson. She knew all about my specialized surgery and what to be on the lookout for, so instead of waiting for my scheduled follow-up with my doctor, she arranged to have me seen right away. It meant everything to my recovery, and I’m so grateful.”

“I am a recently discharged patient who has been under the care of nurse Sinath Luy,” wrote a Manhattan resident. “I am writing to express how very pleased I was with the expert treatment she provided me over a period of three months. She treated me for very serious open wounds on three sides of my ankle acquired at a hospital in another country. She very expertly assessed the condition of my wounds continually and altered the treatment methods accordingly. She also successfully instructed me on the use of each of the changes in the type of dressings required, so that I could share that information with my caregivers at home on the days between Sinath’s visits. As a result, I never developed an infection in my wounds. During this three-month period I was unable to walk or bear any weight on my right foot due to two severe fractures in my ankle. Throughout this difficult period, Sinath was extremely supportive, always emphasizing the progress we were making in the wound-healing process and in my ability to care for myself. I want to express to you how fortunate I feel that Sinath was my assigned nurse.”

“For the past few weeks I have been fortunate to have had physical therapist Milissa Mondestin visiting twice a week,” a grateful patient wrote. “I feel so fortunate to have had her helping me. Her manner is bright and cheerful but serious. She encourages me to finish all my exercises. My progress in a short time has been remarkable, much of it because of her help. I think that Ms. Modestin is an exceptional young woman, superior in her intelligence and attitude. I am so pleased to know her and benefit from her skills.”

“I’m writing to highly recommend your physical therapist, Marc Goldberg,” a Manhattan resident noted. “I had a partial knee replacement three weeks ago, and Marc came to the house several time to work with me before I began outpatient therapy service. He was extremely helpful—attentive, encouraging, very knowledgeable. Always on time and generous with his input, he gave me exercises that were exactly right for where I was in my recovery. I recommend him highly, and am very grateful to the Visiting Nurse Service of New York for sending him to help me when I need assistance.”

Another Manhattan resident emailed the following message praising the performance of Clinical Field Manager Candice Gardener: “It seems that my case, which was now four days old, was not being processed due to insurance issues. Yesterday afternoon I finally received a call from a manager who wanted to help fix the problem. Candice was my proverbial ‘knight in shining armor.’ She asked to check the numbers on my insurance card. Indeed, two of the numbers had been transposed! Of course there was a problem processing me with the wrong number! The problem got solved because Candice had the presence of mind to dig and ask me questions. God bless her. She resubmitted the paperwork right away and she apologized profusely. I received a call today and I was assured that someone would call me in the morning regarding a visit from one of your highly trained nurses. I look forward to getting the call. I am sure you hear a lot of complaints. I thought you might want to hear some praise about someone on staff who truly cares about what she is doing.”

Queens—“I am writing to tell you about a wonderful experience that I had with one of your staff, social worker Karen Dockett,” stated a Queens patient’s daughter. “She was such a patient, caring and considerate professional as she walked me through the entire process of trying to get managed long-term care for my mother. Ms. Dockett was a true Godsend for me! My mom was ill at the end of last year and I enlisted the help of VNSNY to get some home care services. As fate would have it, my mother had only been entitled to short-term care due to her Medicare insurance. She desperately needed managed long-term care services through Medicaid. Ms. Dockett alleviated so much stress by educating me about the Medicare and Medicaid programs. She reviewed all of my mother’s documentation and made sure that I understood the process every step of the way. I had a million questions, and she was consistently patient, responsive and informative. She was a phenomenal resource to me and I am eternally grateful for her.”

Staten Island—“I have had a need for VNSNY several times,” a Staten Island resident wrote. “Each person who came to my home was very nice and pleasure to have. Nurse Betsy Clemente has been to my home the most because she is the coordinator. Betsy works very diligently to give me the most useful, efficient service for my needs. And please put a note in the file for occupational therapist Tom Murphy, because it should be known that he’s very dedicated, efficient, dependable, and always had me work with a large variety of exercises. Many thanks to your great staff for a job well done with kindness and efficiency!”