Personal Care
Latest Personal Care News
May 2021 Patient Letters
May 21, 2021–The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to prove the resilience and dedication of our entire VNSNY staff. The following are excerpts from a few of the many recent letters, phone calls, and emails that we’ve received from grateful patients and family members that reflect an outstanding consumer experience. “A Wonderful Job of Caring” Bronx—The daughter of a Bronx VNSNY Hospice patient called to give special thanks to licensed social worker Alisha Freeman and nurses Judith Spencer-Thomas and Selina Stewart-Williams, all of whom provided hospice care to her mother. She added that VNSNY Hospice had done “such a wonderful job of caring,” first for her father—who was also a hospice patient years earlier—and now her mother. “We Are So Grateful” “I am writing on behalf of my late father, and my mother, as the superb work of your staff sustained the both of them throughout his final year
Celebrating Nurses Month: Check Out These Long-Lost Photos of Early VNSNY Nurses!
May 17, 2021–As we continue our celebration of National Nurses Month, Frontline looks at this year’s theme, “Nurses Make a Difference,” through the lens of history. The fact is, VNSNY nurses have been making a difference in the lives of New Yorkers for 128 years. So what’s changed and what has stayed the same after all these years? A recent treasure trove of photos—featuring VNSNY nurses hard at work—gives us a hint! The National Institute of Health recently featured the online exhibition Outside/Inside:Immigration, Migration, and Health Care in the United States, which chronicles Lillian Wald’s efforts to support immigrants to New York City, starting with her creation of the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service on New York’s Lower East Side—then the world’s largest immigrant neighborhood—in 1893. Wald realized how visiting nurses could play a crucial role in reducing death rates, helping immigrants adjust to life in the United States, and advocating for the
“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.
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
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.
As VNSNY Celebrates Holi, We Invite You to Send Us Your Holi Photos!
March 25, 2021–As VNSNY Celebrates Holi, We Invite You to Send Us Your Holi Photos! The Hindu festival of Holi starts this Sunday, March 28. Also known as “the festival of colors,” Holi commemorates the end of the Winter season and the new beginnings that arrive with Spring. It is a time to play, forgive, and celebrate a good Spring harvest. If you’re celebrating Holi and you take photographs of your celebration, Frontline would love to feature them in a special slide show. To send us your Holi photos, please click here!
Find Out What’s Happening… News Briefs from Around VNSNY!
March 19, 2021–Welcome to the latest edition of “News Briefs from Around VNSNY”— featuring quick updates on recent news and virtual events across the organization. If you have a news brief you’d like to be considered for an upcoming edition, please click here to submit your idea. VNSNY Welcomes EVP & Chief Financial Keith Patterson On January 25th, Keith Patterson joined VNSNY as our new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Keith has an extensive background in managed care and robust experience in provider and other healthcare services, including senior finance positions with Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer for Ready Responders, an on-demand community healthcare service. With his expertise and expertise in health care and finance, Keith will be an outstanding addition to VNSNY! Click here to read his Q+A interview on Frontline. VNSNY CEOs Named to 2021 City & State Health Power 100 Current VNSNY CEO
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