Community Outreach
Latest Community Outreach 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.
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.
HHCN Spotlights Teresa Lin’s Trailblazing Work in Home and Community-Based Health Care
March 17, 2026–
Community Care & Health Plans in Focus: VNS Health Featured on PIX11
March 11, 2026–
Test Your Knowledge of Patient Safety. Take Our Quiz!
March 10, 2026–This week, from March 8 through March 14, is Patient Safety Awareness Week, an annual recognition week that occurs each year at this time. How much do you know about patient safety? Take this quiz created by Catherine Schaefer, Vice President, Quality, Provider Services, and Vandana Arora, Patient Safety Program Manager—and find out!
VNS Health Is Off and Running in 2026: Check Out Our Latest News Briefs!
March 3, 2026–We’re only a few months into 2026, and lots of great things are happening across VNS Health. How do you keep up with everything? One easy way is to read the latest batch of News Briefs, below. And remember, if you have any news or happenings that you’d like to share in an upcoming News Briefs, please click here. VNS Health Earns Heart Failure Certification from the American Heart Association VNS Health Home Care has earned the American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Failure Certification, a recognition that reflects excellence in delivering standardized, evidence-based treatment. With relatively few home care organizations in our service area holding this accreditation, this achievement further differentiates us as a provider of both home-based 4Ms Age-Friendly Care and expert heart failure care for patients living with heart failure. Among the steps taken to achieving the certification—and as part of VNS Health’s unwavering commitment to high-quality care—our Home
Chinatown NNORC Volunteers Share Warmth and Comfort This Winter
February 19, 2026–This winter, the spirit of community has been on full display, as VNS Health volunteers and members of the Chinatown Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NNORC) once again picked up their knitting needles to create warm, handmade items for donation to clients in our Behavioral Health team’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Program. They created 72 pieces in all, including 14 hats, 19 scarves and neck warmers, four pairs of gloves and socks, and 35 cell phone pouches. “We’re so glad these items will reach those who need them, especially during this extremely cold weather,” said Helen (Hing Lin) Sit, LCSW, Manager of the Chinatown NNORC. “The cell phone pouches are new this year, and we hope they bring a little extra comfort and joy!”
Mobile Crisis Team Provides Critical Street Outreach During Frigid Code Blue Emergency
February 10, 2026–In late January and early February, during two of this winter’s most frigid weeks, our Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) worked closely with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct overnight street outreach to unhoused individuals in Manhattan. The MCT was asked to do only one night of street outreach to homeless people in Manhattan. However, they were so effective that after the first night the Department of Health extended their deployment for an additional two weeks. Not only that but the Department of Health wrote a note of gratitude to the team, thanking them for pivoting and for their interventions, which included everything from providing warm clothing to calling an ambulance. See some photos here below.