The Summer News Briefs Are Here!

Frontline is excited to present our latest VNS Health News Briefs—your quick and easy way to catch up on news and events from across the organization over the past few months.

If you have any news or happenings that you’d like to submit for consideration in an upcoming edition, please click here.

New Tablets Empower Clinicians with Faster, Lighter Technology

VNS Health has begun rolling out upgraded clinical tablets to our Home Care team and the Hospice team is conducting a pilot, with deployment running now through mid-2026. The new Samsung Tab Active5 tablets offer faster processing speeds, a rear-facing flash for enhanced wound care photography, a lightweight design, and longer battery life that’s ideal for clinicians on the go.

Extensive testing and clinician input was conducted in making the upgrade, with the goal of creating a better overall work experience. Clinicians can choose between an 8” tablet or a 10” tablet and accessories such as hand and shoulder straps.

“These tablets are about giving clinicians the best tools to do their jobs more easily and effectively,” says Russell Meyers, Mobility Services Manager. “We want this technology to enhance their day-to-day work and be one more reason they feel supported at VNS Health.” The new tablets should do just that: They are approximately half the weight and three times faster than the previous models and include an active stylus for improved accuracy when documenting care. Here are some photos of the first deployment of the tablets at our Westchester office on May 20th.

First Cohort Completes Leadership Development Program

Last week, 14 Vice Presidents and Directors from across the organization completed our first “Leadership Unlocked” program, a dynamic 15-week Leadership Development Program designed to deepen each participant’s leadership capabilities through interactive learning experiences, coaching, assessments, VNS Health site visits and internal networking opportunities. Our first cohort concluded with two final projects, focused on Patient Satisfaction and Member Experience. A second cohort will be launched in the Fall, and additional cohorts will be offered in 2026. See the photos here of their final presentations and graduation!

VNS Health Joins Statewide Push to Modernize Physical Therapy Assistant Supervision Policy

On April 29th, Roger Herr, VP, Regional Care Services for Home Care and Joe Gallagher, Director, Operation Support Services, represented VNS Health in Albany as part of a statewide advocacy effort organized by APTA NY. Along with physical therapists and physical therapist assistants (PTAs) from across New York, they met with state legislators and staff to push for a key Medicare policy update. The update would shift PTA supervision from direct supervision (where the PT and the PTA must be in the same location) to general supervision (where the supervising PT isn’t required to be on-site with the PTA, but is available to answer questions remotely). This change, which other states have already implemented, would allow PTAs to provide care more efficiently and flexibly—especially in home- and community-based settings.

Conference Panelist: Aman Shah Speaks on Innovation and AI  

Aman Shah, VP, New Ventures and Strategic Partnerships, was a featured panelist at the opening session of the MedCity Invest Conference, held in Chicago back in May. The annual event brings together top healthcare investors, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs to explore bold solutions to some of health care’s most pressing challenges. As one of the lead panelists, Aman shared insights on the current investment landscape and the evolving role of AI technology in driving meaningful change in health care. Read more about the panel discussion here.

Check Out Our 570 Latest ABCD and Initiative Award Winners, Including HHAs!

Here they are, all in one place—a roundup of VNS Health team members who have been recognized in recent months for their outstanding contributions to the organization. The current list highlights everyone honored between March 2025 and May 2025, including recipients of both the ABCD Award and the Initiative Award—570 team members in total. Click here to see who they are!

Transforming Our Hiring Process

In May, the Talent Acquisition team officially launched iCIMS, a new enterprise-wide recruitment platform designed to streamline hiring and enhance the experience of job candidates. Replacing manual and disconnected workflows, iCIMS equips hiring managers with a unified system that automates and tracks the hiring process, from initial job postings straight through to job offers. Right out of the gate, the Personal Care team used the platform to reach over 3,000 HHA candidates on launch day alone!

“iCIMS is a game changer,” says Kristen Rosen, Director, Talent Acquisition. “It gives our teams the tools and visibility they need to move faster, stay connected with candidates, and ultimately find the best people to serve our mission.”

Behavioral Health Team Hosts 14th Annual Children’s Mental Health Fair!

To coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month, the Behavioral Health team held their Annual Children’s Mental Health Fair in front of our FRIENDS East 153rd Street location on May 29th. The theme for this year’s event was based on the animated children’s movie “Inside Out,” which cleverly illustrates different emotions. Invitees included clients from various Behavioral Health programs, including the FRIENDS Clinic, Children’s Mobile Crisis, HBCI, Health Home, Children and Family Support Team, and Safe Pathways, as well as families in the Bronx community. It is estimated that over 200 local residents attended in all. Check out photos of the festivities below!

A Little Piece of VNS Health History Is Now Hanging in Our 220 Office! 

It’s the VNS Health Centennial Patchwork Quilt from 32 years ago!  Michele Nation-Cupid, Regional Operations Coordinator, tells the story of how the quilt was created (including its hidden messages) in this short (2 ½-minute) video. To view the video, click here.

To Help Us Stay Vigilant Against Bad Actors on the Internet, Our IT Team Launches “Bite-Sized” Cybersecurity Reminders  

To enhance cybersecurity training for team members, the IT team has enlisted Arctic Wolf, a leading security services provider, to implement a new Managed Security Awareness Program. Under the program, team members will receive regular, “bite-sized” training emails, designed to help them maintain good cybersecurity habits and stay vigilant against today’s biggest cyber threats—especially phishing attacks. Each interactive session takes just 3 to 5 minutes to complete. In addition to short lessons and quizzes, Arctic Wolf will be sending simulated phishing emails to test employee awareness. If someone clicks on a suspicious link, the system will automatically assign a follow-up training to explain what was missed.

If you have a security question or would like to learn more, please email the IT team at [email protected].

Congratulations to Our Latest Nurse Residency Grads! Photos!

In early June, a graduation celebration was held at our 220 office for the latest cohort of nurses in VNS Health’s Nurse Residency Program: Yael Abramov, Alysson Arikian, Jonathan Cantillo, Ruby Davudov, Anna Khurshudyan, Quintarra Lee and Malaysia Mills. The Nurse Residency is a comprehensive two-year program designed to help make the growing field of home-care nursing more accessible to new nurses. The curriculum includes several weeks of daily classes, after which the nurse residents shadow experienced VNS Health nurse preceptors in the field, gaining invaluable hands-on experience, skills, and confidence. For more information about our Nurse Residency Program, click here.  Plus, see the graduation photos below!

VNS Health Golf Classic Raises Over $250K for Veterans Program

The VNS Health 2025 Golf Classic took place in May at the Whippoorwill Club in Armonk, New York. The event had a sold-out field of 128 registered golfers and raised nearly $252,000 for VNS Health’s Veterans Program. A big “thank you” to Kerry Parker, EVP and Chief Legal and Risk Officer, for co-chairing the event once again along with Board member Ray Falci. Unfortunately, this will be Kerry’s last year serving in this position, as he is retiring at the end of this year. During his years as Co-Chair, the event has raised over $2 million to support the Veterans Program. See the Photos!

Now Open and Expanding Our Safety Net: Our New Bronx Behavioral Health Clinic!  Photos! Video! 

On April 17th, VNS Health officially opened its new Integrated Mental Health and Substance Use Clinic in the South Bronx. Based in the building that also houses VNS Health’s FRIENDS programs, the clinic provides holistic, comprehensive care for both mental health conditions and substance use disorders to all comers, regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay. Open late on weekdays and Saturdays, the clinic’s services include coordinated mental health and substance use treatment (including medication), crisis intervention, and care coordination that connects individuals with broader health care and safety net services across New York City. 

To read more about the opening of the clinic and photos/video of the ribbon cutting, click here.   

Bring Your Child to Work Day Brings Lots of Learning and Smiles! See the Photos!  

On April 24th, VNS Health celebrated Bring Your Child to Work Day, welcoming 125 children to experience a day in the life of their working parents. The event was filled with interactive activities, educational sessions, and opportunities for the children to learn about different roles within the organization.

For photos of this memorable day, see below.

Honoring Our Chinatown NNORC and Community Center Volunteers

On April 25th, VNS Health’s Chinatown NNORC and Chinatown Community Center celebrated their dedicated volunteers at their Annual Volunteer Recognition Party. Since 2009, this event has recognized volunteers who provide vital support to older adults in the community by teaching classes, assisting in the office, providing telephone reassurance, and crafting handmade items, including knitted scarves donated to VNS Health’s Behavioral Health ACT Program.

The event featured heartfelt speeches from Deborah Stricoff, Associate Director, Program Development, and Teresa Lin, Vice President, Cultural Market Development. Volunteers were also honored by community partners who donated thoughtful gifts such as water bottles and lunch bags. “It was a wonderful event—our volunteers felt truly seen and appreciated,” reports Teresa. See the photos below!

Gala Celebrates Chinese American Nurses—Including Our Own Christine Lee  

On May 9th, VNS Health was a proud sponsor of the annual Chinese American Nurses Association (CANA) Gala. The event, timed to coincide with National Nurses Month, brought together healthcare professionals from across the region to celebrate the contributions of Chinese American nurses, support community health services, and advocate for the well-being of nurses and the communities they serve. A highlight of the evening was the recognition of Christine Lee, a VNS Health Chinatown NNORC nurse and CANA board member, who received the Passionate in Community Health Award in honor of her outstanding commitment to advancing health and wellness in the community.

Roger Herr Featured on Home on the Go Podcast

On April 15th, Roger Herr, Vice President, Regional Patient Care Services for Home Care was featured on the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) Home on the Go podcast. In the episode, titled “Where Are We Headed in 2025 and Beyond?” Roger—who is also a certified physical therapist—shared insights on the future of home health care, including the growing role of physical therapists (PTs) in start-of-care admissions. He also discussed technological innovations that are transforming home care delivery, and how VNS Health is partnering with PT education programs to prepare the next generation of clinicians.

You can listen to the episode by clicking here.

VNS Health Celebrates Nurses Month!

In May, to celebrate our truly amazing nurses, VNS Health held Nurses Month events in all five NYC boroughs as well as in Westchester and Long Island. To view photos from each of these celebrations—plus videos of government officials giving special tributes to VNS Health—click here.

Congratulations to VNS Health’s OT of the Year, SLP of the Year and Nurse of the Year! 

In April, VNS Health recognized Cecile Hall, an occupational therapist in the Bronx, as our 2025 Occupational Therapist of the Year.  In May, VNS Health honored Jennifer Hansen, a speech-language pathologist in Staten Island, as the 2025 Speech-Language Pathologist of the Year and Jean Verlus, RN in the Bronx, as the 2025 Nurse of the Year.  To read more about these award winners as well as who the nominees were for each award, click on their names above.

Home Care 100 Conference: Dr. Kathy Bowles and Devin Woodley Spotlight VNS Health

In early June, Dr. Kathy Bowles, Vice President and Director of VNS Health’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research, and Devin Woodley, Vice President, Managed Care Contracting and B2B Sales, spoke at the 2025 Home Care 100 conference, which brings together leaders of the nation’s largest home care, hospice and personal care providers.

Dr. Bowles provided a compelling overview of the Center’s legacy and ongoing impact on home-based care. In her presentation, Dr. Bowles highlighted the Center’s accomplishments, which include more than $63 million in external funding, 500 published articles, and a portfolio of active studies addressing critical home health issues such as managing Alzheimer’s disease, caregiver strain, the use of artificial intelligence, and care transitions.

Devin participated in a panel discussion on how organizations are converting internally-developed capabilities, like care models and proprietary analytics, into commercial product offerings. The discussion included how they’re tackling challenges like building skills for market assessment, product development, and solution sales.

For more about this year’s conference, visit the Home Care 100 program.

Nurse Alysson Arikian and VNS Health Shine with Silver Telly Video Award!

VNS Health received a Silver recognition at the 46th Annual Telly Awards for our compelling video, “A Day in the Life of a VNS Health Nurse Residency Program Graduate.” The award-winning video, which was created by our Communications team, follows Home Care Nurse Alysson Arikian as she balances her morning routine with her dedicated work caring for patients in their homes. Alysson’s story highlights the meaningful impact of the Nurse Residency Program and the vital role of home care nursing.

The Telly Awards celebrate excellence in video and television production across all screens. To watch the award-winning video, click here.

VNS Health Acquires Alliance Home Services

In March, VNS Health acquired Alliance Home Services, a licensed home care services agency (LHCSA) serving the Bronx. As part of this acquisition, over 200 Alliance home health aides (HHAs), representing a majority of the Alliance workforce, transitioned to work for VNS Health Personal Care.

You Now Can Classify Microsoft Office Documents:  Public, Internal, Confidential, Protected, and Restricted

To enhance the security of sensitive data across the organization, VNS Health is rolling out the Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) platform to all team members. The platform allows users to apply classification labels (such as Public, Internal, Confidential, Protected, and Restricted) to Microsoft Office documents. These labels then travel with the file, even if they’re shared outside the organization, ensuring that patient and employee data is protected in accordance with VNS Health’s Data Classification Policy.

MIP will be introduced through future communications, and there are also plans to develop a short training video. In the meantime, team members can identify labeled files by looking for the “Sensitivity” button in their Microsoft Office apps. Any questions about the platform can be sent to [email protected].