Miriam Martinez, Associate Director, Partners in Care, CHOICE MLTC

A Vital Bridge from Patient Assessment to Home Care

This autumn marks 31 years at VNSNY for Miriam Martinez. She worked for Family Care Services (FCS) for 27 years, then moved to Partners in Care when it took on management of FCS in 2014. Beginning this year, she and her staff of eight shifted from clinical management to focus on handling the back-end compliance work that helps keep Partners in Care nurses in the field, assessing the needs and status of CHOICE Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) health plan members and arranging for vital home health aide (HHA) services. They schedule nursing visits, monitor that the nursing visits take place in timely fashion, and review the nurses’ patient assessment documentation as well as the physician authorization forms used by the nurses to request doctors’ approval of HHA services for the patient.

In the course of their work, Miriam and her staff monitor and process paperwork for approximately a thousand patients each month. “We’re in constant communication with the doctors, the family members, and the patients to get the forms signed and make sure the home care workers can get into the home,” she says. Process and systems changes also require continuous staff education, which Miriam enjoys. While she has an office at 220 42nd Street, she says, “I’m usually out there with my staff helping them. We have so much mutual respect. They are really dedicated—they give me the strength to keep at it.”

“Miriam creates a positive environment for her staff, and encourages great habits that foster initiative, trust, motivation, and cooperation among her employees,” notes her ESPRIT nomination. “She goes above and beyond, staying after hours to ensure that reports are correct and MLTC clients’ start of care and recertification nursing visits are scheduled.”

“Working for VNSNY for 31 years, it’s like a home away from home,” adds Miriam. “The challenges I’ve faced here have made me the person I am today, both professionally and personally. And knowing that the work we do enables our clients to be safe at home and get the home care services they need makes it all worthwhile.”