Behavioral Health
Latest Behavioral Health News
One Danced. Another Delivered 3,000 Diapers. Five Volunteers Share Their Stories!
April 18, 2026–This week is National Volunteer Week (April 19-25), when we recognize and honor the incredible people who volunteer their time and services to VNS Health. In 2025, more than 345 volunteers—including 66 people who’d never volunteered for us previously—contributed over 27,600 hours of their time to teams across VNS Health, representing $961,352.07 in value to the organization. To help celebrate National Volunteer Week, in this Frontline article we spotlight five of our amazing volunteers! And to our VNS Health volunteers reading this… a big THANK YOU for all you do! To go directly to a volunteer profile, click on the links below or you can just scroll down to find them all. Protecting Chinatown Seniors Against Fraud When Yvonne, Ng Cheng retired two years ago, she was ready to give back. Encouraged by her cousin, who also volunteers for VNS Health, she quickly discovered how meaningful the experience can be.
Our Most Vulnerable Health Plan Members Need Us More Than Ever! Here’s What You Can Do.
April 14, 2026–The New York State budget is being finalized—and funding for our Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) Health Plan that allows low-income Medicaid older New Yorkers and people living with disabilities to receive care at home is at serious risk. Here’s what you can do: First, contact your elected officials. It is easy to do—just click here and put in your name and address. It will automatically populate with your elected officials and then you tap “send.” Please take a few minutes to help our vulnerable health plan members. Then tune in to Dan’s CEO Zoom on Tuesday. On Tuesday, April 21, at 8:30 a.m. Dan will cover this and other organizational updates. And finally, catch up on what’s going on. over the past few months, CEO Dan Savitt, our Government Affairs team, as well as other team members from across the organization have ramped up our VNS Health advocacy efforts in Albany.
Team Members in the Media: March Highlights!
April 13, 2026–Spring is in full bloom and so was our media presence in March, with many news stories featuring our VNS Health team members, as well as articles on innovative technologies and exciting partnerships that are transforming and supporting the care we provide to the community. Read more below! Team members and teams featured in news stories last month include: National Media Spotlights How VNS Health–Vitalic Partnership Is Advancing Seniors’ Mental Health The VNS Health–Vitalic Health partnership has received strong national attention, with widespread coverage spotlighting how the collaboration is improving behavioral health outcomes for older adults. A featured U.S. News & World Report article highlighted the partnership’s approach, which focuses on proactively identifying seniors at risk of depression and connecting them to care. The piece included insights from Robert McAlonan, Director of Behavioral Health, Health Plans, and pointed to early results of a pilot study showing reduced emergency department visits
The 2026 VNS Health Social Work Month Celebration Photos and Video Are Here!
March 31, 2026–March is National Social Work Month. On March 24th, to honor this special occasion, over 120 Social Services Professionals gathered at our 220 East 42nd Street location for a fun breakfast celebration. The morning’s proceedings included presentations by CEO Dan Savitt and SVP for Behavioral Health Jessica Fear, a salute to Gender Affirmation Program’s Asha Lyons as the 2026 winner of the VNS Health Social Services Professional of the Year Award, and a raffle. A continuing education unit (CEU) followed. For those Social Services Professionals who were unable to make the event, a similar virtual celebration occured two days later that included a presentation by Chief of Provider Services David Rosales. And don’t miss the video of Asha accepting her award below! To see photos of the in-person event, click on the slideshow below. Asha Lyons, the 2026 Social Services Professional of the Year, accepting her award.
U.S. News & World Report Highlights How VNS Health–Vitalic Partnership Is Improving Mental Health for Older Adults, with Perspective from Health Plans BH Director, Rob McAlonan
March 25, 2026–
The Associated Press Spotlights VNS Health and Vitalic’s Partnership to Improve BH Care for Our Members
March 23, 2026–
A Delivery Driver Starts Yelling at You. What Should You Do?
March 23, 2026–New York City is a place where millions of people live in close proximity to one another. With so many people, situations can sometimes arise that may threaten your safety. Here are three real-life incidents that actually happened to VNS Health team members. With that in mind, VNS Health has a team member whose job it is to help keep us all safe. Her name is Lauren Campbell, and she’s our Emergency Management and Employee Safety Director. For the past eight-plus years, Lauren has been working with teams across the organization to implement and maintain safety policies and procedures that are designed to keep both team members who work in the field and those who work in our offices as safe as possible. The following three incidents really happened to VNS Health team members. See how each team member responded. Then read Lauren’s recommended response to see how best to respond if you should
McKnight’s Spotlights New VNS Health-Vitalic Study on Providing Proactive BH Care to Older Adults
March 20, 2026–
Behavioral Health Business Features Inspiring Interview with Natalie Kovacs, Parachute Program Director
March 20, 2026–