Meet Our 2026 ESPRIT Award Winner: Monica Mercado

Monica Mercado describes herself as detail-oriented and proactive, a person who likes to solve problems. As a Supervisor in Membership Operations for our Health Plans, she puts those qualities to work for plan members, helping make sure their records are accurate and that they are receiving the home care they need.

Monica oversees two Health Plan teams: Membership and Eligibility and Placement. The Membership and Eligibility team keeps each member’s eligibility status current in VNS Health’s systems—work that involves a steady stream of data gathering, reports, and follow-ups. Meanwhile, the Placement team ensures that members receive services without interruption, which can be a challenge in hard-to-serve areas such as Upstate New York.

“It’s very rewarding when we place a difficult case,” says Monica. “The member is happy because they have services, and we’re happy because we’ve connected them to care.”

Monica’s proactive problem-solving begins with ensuring lines of communication with team members are always open. “Communication is everything,” she says. “It’s important that everyone’s on the same page.” This includes staying on top of her emails, responding to team members in a timely way and never letting them build up.

Monica also makes a point of leading by example. “I’m hands-on with placing cases and finding aides,” she says. “Once I’ve done that, I’ll then ask one of my team members to send the authorization request, so we can get the services started ASAP.”

Her colleagues appreciate her hands-on approach. One describes an occasion when she was unsure how to handle a member’s transfer between counties and Monica made time to help her, despite carrying a full workload. “Monica patiently walked me through each step, explained the reasoning behind the process, and shared helpful tips so I could confidently manage similar cases on my own,” recalls the colleague.

Monica, who has been with VNS Health for more than 13 years, says the ESPRIT Award makes her feel that her hard work has been noticed—work on the back end that translates directly to the health, safety and well-being of vulnerable New Yorkers. “I spend a lot of time making sure our members have the services they need,” she says. “That’s really my priority.”