Community Outreach
Latest Community Outreach News
Meet Our Latest ACE Leadership Program Grads!
March 9, 2021–The 10th cohort of VNSNY’s Achieving a Culture of Excellence (ACE) Leadership Program was slated to begin in March of last year—just as New York, and the majority of the world, was shutting down due to the pandemic. But the program and its participants were quick to adapt: After delaying for a few months to focus on the needs of VNSNY’s patients and staff, ACE kicked off in July 2020, entirely remote and ready to tackle the new world of COVID-19. “This year’s ACE participants came together in the midst of unprecedented challenges and stress, both in their personal and professional lives,” says ACE program director and VNSNY Organizational Development Specialist Amanda Weiner. “I believe that 2020 has changed every one of us, and I was so proud to see how the participants supported one another, stretched and pushed themselves, and showed up for VNSNY.” The group’s ACE commencement ceremony
Happy Birthday, Lillian Wald! A Special Feature on How VNS Health’s Founder Helped Lead the Women’s Suffrage Movement
March 9, 2021–Today, as part of our Women’s History Month celebration, Frontline is honored to highlight VNS Health’s founder, Lillian Wald. Born on this day, March 10th, in 1867, Lillian became one of the most influential individuals of her time. Most people are familiar with her history as a ground-breaking social worker, public health nurse and settlement leader. In addition to her tireless efforts to provide accessible, in-home nursing care to the residents of New York City, however, Lillian was also a significant figure in the women’s suffrage movement as well as causes that improved the lives of children, immigrants and laborers. As the author of multiple articles championing the rights of women, Lillian was among America’s most vocal leaders in the fight to allow women to vote. In her essay “Arguments for Woman Suffrage,” she wrote, “I believe that men and women possess inherent rights to the franchise, and that discrimination on account of
New Community Collaborations Program Aims to Strengthen VNSNY’s Connection to the Community
September 17, 2020–Teresa Lin has been “embedding VNSNY in New York’s Chinese community” for 11 years. As Director of Cultural Market Development Initiatives, Teresa oversees VNSNY Community Centers in Chinatown and Flushing. Before COVID-19, they were open to everyone and bustling with free activities, seven days a week. Bilingual staffers answered questions about VNSNY and worked closely with CHOICE, VNSNY Hospice, Partners in Care, CMHS and other VNSNY departments to host events to increase the awareness of VNSNY’s wide range of services available to the communities at large. The Centers also hosted representatives from the city government and community-based organizations (CBOs) who helped people enroll for benefits like SNAP (food stamps), reduced MTA fares for the elderly, free legal services and more. And there were English, tai chi, arts-and-crafts classes as well as many health education workshops provided by the community- and hospital-based providers. “All our efforts—the Community Centers, our outreach to physicians in growing Chinese communities in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, and our collaborations with