Home Care
Meet VNS Health’s 2024 Occupational Therapist of the Year!
April 18, 2024–April is Occupational Therapy Month—when we honor our more than 70 occupational therapists (OTs) and certified occupational therapy assistants (COTAs). During this past Wednesday’s Occupational Therapy Month celebration, the 2024 Occupational Therapist of the Year was announced. And the winner is… Manhattan OT Dina Klein! Dina, who has been an OT with VNS Health Home Care for 12 years, serves a diverse community of patients on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Here are some other interesting facts about this year’s honoree: Dina on why she loves doing occupational therapy: “I enjoy providing motivation to my patients and letting them know they can do more than they think they can,” says Dina. “If we make our patients’ lives a little better, help relieve the caregiver burden, or prevent one fall, then we make an important difference in their lives.” She knows that little things can make a big difference. Dina
Latest Home Care News
VNSNY’s Nurse Residency Program: Intensive Training Helps Nurses ‘Go from Novice to Expert’
May 12, 2021–Recent nursing school graduate Joann Wong was looking for her next career move after a brief stint working in a nursing home. Providing nursing care to people directly in their homes appealed to her, but she felt she needed more training before making that step. “I realized I like teaching people—I like it when they go home—but I didn’t think I had enough experience to go into home care and to be on my own in that way,” she says. So when Joann saw an advertisement on a job site for VNSNY Home Care’s new nurse residency program, she applied immediately. Today, Joann is part of the initial class of seven nurse residents who have successfully completed the first year of VNSNY’s unique two-year nurse residency. The program introduces newly graduated nurses to home care through a mix of classroom and hands-on skills training, followed by an intensive in-field mentorship
Queens Voice Features VNSNY Home Care Nurses for National Nurses Week
May 7, 2021–
“30 Minutes With Dan” Celebrates Diversity Month!
April 29, 2021–We’re pleased to bring you the April episode of “30 Minutes with Dan” — the video talk show hosted by VNSNY’s President and CEO Dan Savitt. This 30-minute monthly program is designed to be watched in one viewing or in multiple viewings — whichever works best for you. In this episode, Dan salutes National Celebrate Diversity Month with visits to VNSNY’s Chinatown Community Center and to Elmhurst, Queens, which was an epicenter early in the pandemic. Watch as staff from across the organization, including Cidric Trinidad, Orlando Tsang, Manisha Vijayaraghavan, Arcina Batista, Chaim Backman, Emelia Botchway and Sung Yoon, talk with Dan about what makes a community special and the importance of respecting a person’s cultural perspective when delivering care. To watch this special episode, click here below. To watch more episodes of 30-minutes with Dan, click here.
“What is one fascinating thing you’ve learned about your culture and something you’ve learned about another?”
April 28, 2021–To commemorate Celebrate Diversity Month, “Ask VNSNY” host Amery Moultry offers a short summary of the cultural diversity found in New York City, and then asks this question of employees from around the organization. To hear their responses as well as Amery’s tips on how you can celebrate cultural diversity month, click here below.
VNSNY Celebrates National Volunteer Week
April 19, 2021–Sending heartfelt thanks to our generous volunteers and volunteer interns! Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” As we salute National Volunteer Week, from April 18th through April 24th, it’s an apt concept. This week is also a time for VNSNY to celebrate the 258 individuals who supported our mission by donating their services to programs across the organization in 2020. “From administrative support and fundraising to patient outreach and sourcing PPE, volunteering during this pandemic year has looked quite different from years past, with volunteers and volunteer interns pivoting from in-person activities to remote work,” says Michael Ambrosini, Director of Community Corporate Relations for VNSNY’s Volunteer Services. “Providing a total of 12,970 service hours over the past year, VNSNY’s volunteers, including our fundraising volunteers, showed incredible diligence, generosity, and flexibility,” adds Naomi Bibbins, Manager of Volunteer Services. “They
Meet VNSNY’s New Green Belts — The Graduates of Our First-Ever Lean Six Sigma Course
April 16, 2021–From Reducing Hospitalizations to Creating a Roadmap to 4 Stars, VNSNY’s Green Belt Grads Focused on Improving Patient Care Lean Six Sigma may sound like a college fraternity, but it’s actually a set of management tools used by organizations worldwide to help them operate more efficiently and improve the quality of their services or products. Tony Dawson, Vice President of Quality and Customer Experience, launched VNSNY’s first Lean Six Sigma program last year, leading 20 staff members through a six-month course that prepared them to become certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belts. (The program uses some of the language of martial arts, with White Belts, Yellow Belts and Green Belts overseen by more experienced Black Belts and Master Black Belts.) Despite the challenges of holding the course virtually due to COVID-19, the course was a resounding success. To encourage cross-fertilization and fresh perspectives, the participants were drawn from across VNSNY—including
BronxNet TV Features SelectHealth from VNSNY CHOICE for Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31, 2021–
Today is Transgender Day of Visibility: If You Do Nothing Else Today, Watch These Two Inspiring Videos
March 31, 2021–SelectHealth, the specialized Medicaid plan from VNSNY CHOICE, is recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility by highlighting two amazing transgender employees with inspiring video tributes. Talia Vaughn and Trust Robinson, both Outreach and Enrollment Coordinators with SelectHealth, share their experiences and uplifting thoughts on being transgender in these two videos below.
Queens Voice Features VNSNY Social Worker Joe Alvino
March 25, 2021–