Home Care
Latest Home Care News
Team Members in the News: December Highlights!
January 13, 2026–December may be a time when much of the world slows down, but when it comes to great stories in the press, VNS Health was full speed ahead last month! From our MAP and MLTC health plans achieving 5 Stars to powerful accounts of care and compassion delivered at home, our organization continues to make headlines,—reflecting the many ways VNS Health team members go above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of others so that they can continue to live at home and in their communities. Team members featured in December news stories include: Associated Press Highlights VNS Health MAP Plan’s 5-Star Ratings The Associated Press reported that VNS Health’s dual-eligible Medicaid Advantage Plus (MAP) plan, VNS Health Total (HMO D-SNP), earned a five-star Overall Quality Rating from the New York State Department of Health for the second consecutive year—making it once again the only MAP plan in the state
For Healthbeat, GAP Social Worker Asha Lyons Shares Firsthand Story on the Healing Power of Trust
December 23, 2025–This story was part of Healthbeat’s live storytelling event, “Aha Moments in Public Health,” held Nov. 18 at Powerhouse Arena bookstore in Brooklyn. Watch the full show here. On the phone, my client was crying so hard from anxiety and the immense physical pain she was in that at first, I couldn’t understand her. “Take a breath, slow down — I’m here for you,” I told her gently. As a social worker with the VNS Health Gender Affirmation Program,I and my fellow team clinicians are often the first people a client may speak to after they’ve been discharged from the hospital following gender affirmation surgery. As my client started to calm down, it became clear she was experiencing the wave of emotions and feelings that are part of this life-changing moment. She was beyond happy after her first gender-affirming surgery – something she had dreamed of for so long. But she was
The Bronx Voice Spotlights VNS Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership
December 23, 2025–
Home Care Team Receives Excellence Award from Homecare Homebase
December 19, 2025–The software provider Homecare Homebase salutes the outstanding work of our Home Care team—including the low hospitalization rates of our Home Care patients—with its 2025 KPI Excellence Award for Home Health. VNS Health is one of just three home health organizations selected for the award, which honors recipients for “excelling in acute care hospitalizations, highlighting strong care coordination and proactive approaches that reduce avoidable hospitalizations and improve outcomes.” Here’s a link to the Homecare Homebase press release.
Helping a Patient with Over 30 Wounds Heal Safely at Home
December 9, 2025–When Mr. Franklin* was discharged to his Queens home from a skilled nursing facility earlier this year and was admitted to VNS Health Home Care, his home care team knew he would require a high level of care. Mr. Franklin was bedbound, with a rare skin condition that left him with more than 30 painful wounds in various stages of healing. He was also dealing with extreme weight and diabetes. Mr. Franklin’s health situation was so challenging, in fact, that many health care organizations, including nursing facilities and other home care agencies, wouldn’t accept him because they couldn’t provide the level of complex care he needed. But home was where Mr. Franklin wanted to be. Not only was it his dream, but VNS Health’s wound care expertise would be able to provide the kind of intensive, ongoing treatment that his wounds needed in order to heal. “One Patient at
Margaret McDonald Speaks to McKnight’s on VNS Health’s Role in Heart Failure Care Study
December 8, 2025–
The New York Times Highlights VNS Health’s Innovation in Home Care
December 2, 2025–
Can You Guess What’s Happening in This Old VNS Health Photo? Take Our Quiz!
December 2, 2025–How well do you know VNS Health’s past? Take this quiz and find out!
VNS Health Attends SOMOS Conference Connecting with New York Lawmakers
November 22, 2025–Earlier this month, Dan Lowenstein, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs,and Asha Lyons, Gender Affirmation Program Social Worker, represented VNS Health at the SOMOS Conference in Puerto Rico. The conference is an annual gathering that brings together New York State’s elected officials, state agencies, labor leaders, community organizations and lobbyists to discuss policy priorities and begin shaping the agenda for the state’s legislative session that begins in January. Asha was recognized as a community leader at a LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Reception that brought together numerous elected officials. In addition, Dan participated in a panel on the nursing shortage sponsored by Assembly Member Alicia Hyndman (D-Queens). Dan and Asha also met with numerous elected officials and others to help ensure that VNS Health enters the upcoming legislative cycle with strong relationships, clear lines of communication, and a visible presence in the policy spaces that shape our work.