Professional Solutions
Latest Professional Solutions News
The 2026 VNS Health Social Work Month Celebration Photos and Video Are Here!
March 31, 2026–March is National Social Work Month. On March 24th, to honor this special occasion, over 120 Social Services Professionals gathered at our 220 East 42nd Street location for a fun breakfast celebration. The morning’s proceedings included presentations by CEO Dan Savitt and SVP for Behavioral Health Jessica Fear, a salute to Gender Affirmation Program’s Asha Lyons as the 2026 winner of the VNS Health Social Services Professional of the Year Award, and a raffle. A continuing education unit (CEU) followed. For those Social Services Professionals who were unable to make the event, a similar virtual celebration occured two days later that included a presentation by Chief of Provider Services David Rosales. And don’t miss the video of Asha accepting her award below! To see photos of the in-person event, click on the slideshow below. Asha Lyons, the 2026 Social Services Professional of the Year, accepting her award.
U.S. News & World Report Highlights How VNS Health–Vitalic Partnership Is Improving Mental Health for Older Adults, with Perspective from Health Plans BH Director, Rob McAlonan
March 25, 2026–
The Associated Press Spotlights VNS Health and Vitalic’s Partnership to Improve BH Care for Our Members
March 23, 2026–
McKnight’s Spotlights New VNS Health-Vitalic Study on Providing Proactive BH Care to Older Adults
March 20, 2026–
Behavioral Health Business Features Inspiring Interview with Natalie Kovacs, Parachute Program Director
March 20, 2026–
Our Social Service Professionals Share What They Like Best About Social Work
March 16, 2026–Happy Social Work Month! In honor of National Social Work Month, Frontline asked some of VNS Health’s nearly 600 social service professionals, “What do you like best about social work?” Here’s what they said: “Working together as a team to support people from all different backgrounds and circumstances—and witnessing the intimate moments during the last days of life when you see the best of humanity—are truly gifts. I never take them for granted.” Bianca Davies, LSW, Manhattan, Hospice Care “What I love about social work is being the voice for those who don’t believe they have a voice. The impoverished communities can be overlooked, and we make sure they are seen and heard.” –Debra Thomas, Associate Director, Children’s Mobile Crisis Team, Behavioral Health “My favorite part of this work is seeing the person behind the problem. I really believe in people’s possibilities, even when others only see their limitations. At its core, social
VNS Health Is Off and Running in 2026: Check Out Our Latest News Briefs!
March 3, 2026–We’re only a few months into 2026, and lots of great things are happening across VNS Health. How do you keep up with everything? One easy way is to read the latest batch of News Briefs, below. And remember, if you have any news or happenings that you’d like to share in an upcoming News Briefs, please click here. VNS Health Earns Heart Failure Certification from the American Heart Association VNS Health Home Care has earned the American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Failure Certification, a recognition that reflects excellence in delivering standardized, evidence-based treatment. With relatively few home care organizations in our service area holding this accreditation, this achievement further differentiates us as a provider of both home-based 4Ms Age-Friendly Care and expert heart failure care for patients living with heart failure. Among the steps taken to achieving the certification—and as part of VNS Health’s unwavering commitment to high-quality care—our Home
New Research Center Study Finds Benefits from Treating Previously Unmet Behavioral Health Needs
February 26, 2026–A new white paper co-authored by researchers at VNS Health highlights early results from a pilot designed to proactively identify and treat previously unmet behavioral health needs in clinically complex Medicare Advantage members. Led by Miriam Ryvicker, PhD, Director of Research Translation and Evaluation, the study is being conducted in partnership with Vitalic Health, a senior-focused behavioral health platform that VNS Health has enlisted to carry out the actual identification and treatment process. The early results found that participants experienced significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms and showed encouraging trends around reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The pilot also identified a number of previously undiagnosed psychiatric conditions. These findings suggest that proactive, telehealth-enabled behavioral health care is both feasible and impactful for a Medicare Advantage population. “Vitalic’s model demonstrates that we don’t have to wait for seniors with complex medical and behavioral health needs to fall into crisis,”
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!