Home Care
Latest Home Care News
Asha Lyons Elected Vice Chair of Bronx LGBTQ+ Task Force
February 18, 2026–Asha Lyons, a social worker in VNS Health Home Care’s Gender Affirmation Program (GAP), has been elected Vice Chair of the Bronx LGBTQ+ Task Force, a local community advocacy group. This recognition reflects Asha’s deep commitment to advocacy and advancing equitable care for LGBTQ+ communities across the borough. In addition to supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community and working with other LGBTQ+ leaders in the Bronx to advance the Borough president’s LGBTQ+ initiatives, serving as Vice Chair will give Asha an opportunity to raise awareness of GAP, which provides culturally competent, affirming home care and support services for transgender and gender-diverse individuals.
Our Home Care/CHHA Earns Its First-Ever 5-Star CMS Quality Rating!
February 11, 2026–In its latest quality ratings, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded VNS Health Home Care their first-ever 5-star rating, up from 4.5 stars! This top-tier performance reflects strong results across a number of quality measures. “The key metric that moved us to 5 Stars was an improvement in our bed transfers—which shows that our Home Care team’s mantra of ‘one patient at a time,’ is paying off,” notes Brenda Riordan, SVP of Home Health Care, Care Management Solutions and Hospice, “Congratulations to all our Home Care team members, whose dedication and patient-centered approach made this huge achievement possible!” The 5-Star rating will be publicly posted when CMS updates its Home Care Compare website in April.
“You Are Heroes!” “Beyond Fabulous!” Check Out the Latest Letters and Commendations!
February 3, 2026–In the last few months, more than 100 team members and teams from across the organization provided such an outstanding consumer experience that people wrote letters, called, emailed, or posted about them. To view their grateful notes and comments, simply scroll down or click on any of the areas below: Bronx “Thanks for the amazing job she provided.” Home health aide Sarah Abban was complimented by the daughter of a Bronx client who called to say, “thanks for the amazing job she provided”—adding that her mom “felt great” with Sarah. “Very kind.” A client called to express her appreciation for home health aide Keshawn Davis, stating that Keshawn was “very kind” to her and provided “the best care.” Brooklyn “So impressed.” The daughter of one Brooklyn patient called to say how “very pleased” she was with VNS Health, and that she is “so happy with how far my mother has
Second Cohort Completes “Leadership Unlocked” Program
February 2, 2026–On January 21st, 13 leaders from across the organization successfully completed the second cohort of Leadership Unlocked. This 15-week leadership development program is designed to deepen leadership capabilities through interactive learning experiences, coaching, assessments, VNS Health site visits and internal networking opportunities. The cohort’s final projects aimed at improving our Employee Engagement Survey results by applying leadership insights directly to real organizational challenges. Congratulations to Josie Aquino, Justin Bain, Janice Leacock-Bennett, Carlin Brickner, Alissa Churchill, Ann Mary Ferrie, Kelly Harned, Roger Herr, Priya Mendon, Amy Mitchell, Tara Noto, Richard Parnell, and Nausheen Rokerya!
RN Kaiser Mojica Spotlighted by News12 for Winter Storm Dedication
January 28, 2026–This week, News12 put a special spotlight on Home Care RN Kaiser Mojica for braving the snowy winter weather to reach his patients with unwavering dedication. A wintry photo of Kaiser was featured in a slideshow on News12’s website celebrating New Yorkers across the boroughs—having fun, hard at work, and making the absolute most of this historic winter storm. See the photo below!
A Monster Snowstorm Doesn’t Faze Our Team Members! See Photos, Video!
January 27, 2026–Wow, what a snowstorm we just had! And now, freezing temps! But that doesn’t keep us from providing care to our patients, members and clients! To see snowstorm photos and a selfie video from team members sent in, look here below! If you have a snowstorm photo you’d like to share, please submit it to Frontline here, and we’ll add it to the gallery. Ernesto Aglibot, Hospice RN, did not let an iced-over wiper stop him from seeing patients!
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–