VNSNY in 2020: An Extraordinary — and Challenging — Year in Review!
2020 has been a year like no other. And yet, despite all the challenges, VNSNY showed time and time again its capacity to deliver on its mission against all odds. As 2020 draws to a close, and as we look ahead to a brighter future in 2021, here is a glance back at many of VNSNY’s defining moments, milestones and memories over the past 12 months!
January
VNSNY Care360° Solutions gets its own website. In addition to its new name, the business unit for VNSNY’s care management organization launches a new, dedicated website to educate health plans and physician groups about how VNSNY Care360° Solutions can manage care for their vulnerable members and patients.
IT introduces a new and improved Help Desk. After feedback from staff indicated difficulty getting IT support from the Help Desk, VNSNY rolls out a new, 24/7 service through Unity BPO, resulting in shorter call wait times, increased productivity, and overall faster resolution of IT issues.
2019 Strength from Within Campaign raises record amount. Over 500 staff members donated a record $109,173 towards VNSNY’s charitable care and community benefit programs! Special fundraising events held for the campaign included a tag sale and baking contest held by VNSNY Home Care, a CHOICE Bowlathon and raffle, a CMHS Games Day fundraiser, and Partners in Care-sponsored Games Day, Denim Day, PJ Day, raffle, and bingo events.
New PDGM reimbursement model is rolled out. CMS’s new PDGM (Patient Driven Groupings Model) reimbursement method ensures that home care services are billed over a 30-day period and payment levels are no longer based on the number of therapy sessions provided. Instead, patients are placed in one of 432 categories based on admission parameters, clinical diagnosis, functional impairment level and co-morbidities, supporting care delivery according to the clinical needs of the patient. Thanks to careful preparation and planning, the January 1st rollout goes very well.
VNSNY Hospice is awarded Level 5 We Honor Veterans status. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Veterans Administration (VA) awarded VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care their new Level 5 We Honor Veterans status—making VNSNY Hospice one of the first hospice programs in the nation to achieve this designation.
February
Today Show features VNSNY Hospice nurse Kathleen Sarnes in “Power of Music” segment with Carson Daly. In an especially moving segment, The Today Show spotlights Hospice nurse Kathleen Sarnes—who often sings while providing care to her patients. In doing so, Kathleen builds a deep relationship with those in her care while also supporting medication adherence, reduced pain and anxiety, and lower blood pressure.
Integrity, Empathy, Agility: VNSNY’s three core values. February also saw the launch of an internal campaign to highlight VNSNY’s three core values. They are Empathy: Seeking to understand others’ feelings and experiences in order to actively help; Integrity: Doing the right thing even when no one is looking; and Agility: Using experience and creativity to move quickly.
March
COVID-19 hits the NYC region. VNSNY swiftly responds:
Early March — Emergency Response Briefings begin. Senior leadership meet to discuss the organization’s response to the rapidly evolving situation.
Early March — CERT Team created. As the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic becomes gravely clear, VNSNY swiftly brings together a team of experienced nurses from across the organization to form the Clinical Expertise Response Team (CERT) to educate VNSNY staff on the appropriate use of PPE and to provide guidance on any COVID-19-related questions or concerns.
3/9 — First COVID-19 Update goes out to staff. By November, approximately 75 Business Advisories and Clinical Advisories will have been sent out to staff.
3/16 — First weekly CEO Conference Call takes place. Beginning with four calls per week, President and CEO Marki Flannery and other members of VNSNY senior leadership advise staff about the efforts underway to manage VNSNY during this difficult time.
3/16 — First “This Is Who We Are” video airs. The first of seven in the series, these videos offer a stirring reminder of VNSNY’s long history of meeting public health challenges!
3/17 — First VNSNY response to COVID-19 video featuring Marki Flannery. Providing the latest updates on how VNSNY is responding to the public health emergency, President and CEO Marki Flannery delivers the first of seven in this video series.
3/18 — First “VNSNY Heroes of 2020” profile. In all, 60 Heroes of 2020 profiles highlighting the incredible work of employees throughout the organization will be sent to staff.
3/23 — VNSNY’s entire office-based staff shifts to working remotely. As VNSNY office employees transition to working remotely, Frontline offers 10 tips to help them work more productively from home.
Late March — VNSNY launches a robust organization-wide operation to source and distribute PPE. This includes several mass mailings to the entire Partners in Care HHA workforce, as well as CERT establishing a team devoted to educating HHAs on PPE use.
3/25 — First CEO daily morning audio message sent out to staff. By December, messages featuring over 160 quotes from notable figures, VNSNY staff, patients, and clients are sent to staff to jumpstart their mornings with some extra inspiration!
Provider Services begin conducting telehealth visits. VNSNY Home Care, Care360° Solutions, Hospice and CMHS begin adjusting to the pandemic through an increased focus on telehealth services, as well as new protocols to ensure steady, uninterrupted care.
Reaching out to CHOICE plan members. As the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic becomes evident, the CHOICE Care Management team phones all 23,000 members of its CHOICE MLTC and CHOICE Total Care to review their situation. CHOICE SelectHealth conducts a similar member outreach.
VNSNY launches Out@VNSNY Employee Resource Group. The inaugural Employee Resource Group (ERG) at VNSNY, Out@VNSNY is created as a platform for staff members to convene and work towards making VNSNY one of the best workplace organizations in New York for and serving the LGBTQ+ community.
April
VNSNY Home Care begins admitting COVID-19 patients. On April 1st, as the COVID-19 caseload begins to rise, VNSNY Home Care begins caring for the first of what will become several thousand COVID-19 positive patients in their homes—providing an “off-ramp” for local hospitals that enabled these hospitals to focus on treating more acutely ill COVID-19 patients.
Supporting VNSNY staff. Partners in Care begins hosting weekly telephone support groups led by Benyamin Cirlin, lead social worker for VNSNY Hospice. Each 45-minute call serves as an open forum, allowing Home Health Aides to share their stress, grief, and professional and personal concerns.
Broadway salutes VNSNY Heroes. Broadway performers record personal video messages of thanks as a tribute to VNSNY’s heroic staff.
ABC World News Tonight features nurse Ruth Caballero. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir features VNSNY Home Care nurse Ruth Caballero in a COVID-19 national news update from New York City. The segment, which garnered over 20 million viewers, shows Ruth as she goes about her day caring for VNSNY Home Care patients who have recently been discharged from hospitals after being treated for COVID-19.
PTO Fund raises over 5,000 PTO hours. VNSNY staff members selflessly donate thousands of hours to the COVID-19 Paid Time Off (PTO) fund, set up to help employees affected by the pandemic, many of whom had fallen ill, had to take care of family, or had been furloughed.
VNSNY CHOICE mails out 1,000,000 masks to members. CHOICE staff work hard behind the scenes to ensure that clients have access to essential personal protective equipment (PPE). Clients were overwhelmingly appreciative!
VNSNY leadership presents at National Association for Home Care & Hospice Town Hall. In the first of two national Town Hall webinars, members of VNSNY’s leadership team are featured presenters for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). The two webinars were held with the aim of helping other American home care and hospice organizations benefit from VNSNY’s experience in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updating government officials and overseeing regulatory changes. VNSNY’s Compliance, Risk, and Legal teams review and summarize over 170 pieces of COVID-19 regulatory guidance that directly impact VNSNY business lines, while updating close to 70 internal policies and procedures, and advising staff on key risks, while Government Affairs advocated for critical policies and recourses, including funding, PPE, parking permits, and telehealth.
May
A CEO COVID-19 video update—with a very special ending! Six weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic hits New York City, CEO Marki Flannery recaps VNSNY’s response in a special video tribute—that concludes with an inspiring twist!
WNBC-TV Channel 4 features VNSNY nurse Cidric Trinidad in COVID-19 update. In a segment dedicated to managing the spread of COVID-19 within homes, VNSNY nurse Cidric Trinidad conveys the importance of educating both patients and family members about following COVID-19 safety precautions and using proper PPE to minimize spread of the virus.
First Operation Workplace communication goes out to staff. Over the following few months, approximately 50 Operation Workplace communications addressing the enterprise-wide effort to return to our workplaces will be sent to VNSNY employees.
June
VNSNY Pride: New Yorkers united in adversity. As June Pride events coincide with Black Lives Matter protests throughout the nation, VNSNY staff are reminded of our commitment to making the world a safer, more equitable, and healthier place for all people through an uplifting “We Are the World,” video, as sung by some of New York’s top drag queens, including members of the internationally renowned cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
VNSNY Coronavirus Response Fund established. Through grants, foundation support, and gifts from individual donors, including colleagues, the VNSNY Coronavirus Response Fund will go on to raise $3.5 million in a little over six months. Donations provide support, PPE, and other critical equipment to help our frontline staff remain safe and healthy as they continue to serve our patients and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in New York.
VNSNY launches Anti-Racism Employee Advisory Group. As Black Lives Matter protests continue throughout the country, VNSNY’s Human Resources department establishes an Anti-Racism Employee Advisory Group to initiate a dialogue between leadership and fellow employees around implementing ideas and practices in confronting racism in our community, within VNSNY, and in the neighborhoods we serve.
First virtual new hires orientation a success. With large, in-person meetings not possible during the pandemic, VNSNY launches virtual orientations as part of onboarding for new employees. Offering live, real-time training, each session begins with a welcome from CEO Marki Flannery and continues with presentations about VNSNY, our organizational structure, strategy, and values, and our focus on hospitality, by our Executive Vice Presidents Michael Bernstein and David Rosales.
“What does Juneteenth mean to you?” In a special video sent to staff on the day commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, “Ask VNSNY” Host Amery Moultry provides an informative history lesson on Juneteenth, alongside a number of staff who share their own feelings on the significance of Juneteenth.
Giving kudos to our amazing PPE volunteers. Staff who had spent much of the early stages of the pandemic at our 220 East 42nd Street office working behind the scenes to supply VNSNY’s field staff with personal protective equipment (PPE) were honored for their extraordinary service in a special virtual event on June 27th. In addition to remarks from leadership across VNSNY, attendees of the emotional Zoom event saw a slideshow of photos capturing the team as they sorted boxes and assembled PPE mailings.
July
Virtual Memorial Service: VNSNY pays tribute to staff and loved ones lost during the pandemic. VNSNY staff came together for a beautiful virtual memorial service to honor colleagues and loved ones lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by Willis Partington, Lead Bereavement Counselor for VNSNY Hospice, the service featured a litany of remembrance and music, as well as various readings by staff members from every part of the organization that suffered losses due to COVID-19, before concluding with a poignant slide show of photos and names of those we lost.
CEO transition begins. After an incredible, transformative run as President and CEO of the organization since April of 2018, Marki Flannery announced her final day at VNSNY will be January 31, 2021. Current EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Dan Savitt, was unanimously selected by the VNSNY Board of Directors as the next CEO, effective February 1, 2021.
United Hospital Fund honors Tim Peng. Tim Peng, Chief Data Analytics Officer and head of VNSNY’s Business Intelligence & Analytics (BIA) group, was honored by the United Hospital Fund (UHF) as one of the recipients of its 2020 Excellence in Health Care Award. The award, given to “outstanding individuals whose vision and accomplishments are driving improvements across the full continuum of care,” was presented to Tim for his work with the BIA team and others at VNSNY to design a fairer Medicaid reimbursement model.
First office staff return to 220 East 42nd Street location. Monday, July 27th, saw the return of approximately 150 staff members to VNSNY’s main office in Stage One of Operation Workplace, after extensive measures were taken by both VNSNY and building ownership to ensure the office would be safe for returning staff.
VNSNY Data Science team develops new contact-tracing tool. The free online tool, VisitContactTrace, lets users upload their clinical-visit data in order to map the potential spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and helps community-based health care organizations to mitigate transmission by notifying individuals who could have been exposed.
August
Jennifer Brullo becomes SVP of Provider Services; Jim Rolla named SVP of Partners in Care. In mid-August, Senior Vice President of Partners in Care, Jennifer Brullo becomes Senior Vice President of VNSNY Patient Care Services, and is succeeded in her former position by Jim Rolla, who previously served as Partners in Care’s Vice President of Certified Services.
VNSNY’s Center for Home Care Policy & Research conducts HHA COVID-19 Survey. This important survey, which concluded in September and was completed by over 1,000 Home Health Aides, provided key insights about the impact of COVID-19 on HHAs.
Marki Flannery and the VNSNY Hospice Bereavement and Emotional Support Team named as Crain’s healthcare notables. In recognition of their heroic work during the COVID-19 crisis, Crain’s New York Business included President and CEO Marki Flannery and the VNSNY Hospice Bereavement and Emotional Support Team in their 2020 Notable in Healthcare Special Report. This year’s report shined a light on “the people who helped bend the region’s steep infection curve downward and are still working to alleviate the economic and humanitarian toll.”
Saying thanks: A VNSNY Heroes of 2020 pin! As a token of appreciation for VNSNY employees’ unwavering dedication to delivering care throughout the pandemic, thousands of “VNSNY Heroes of 2020” pins are mailed out to staff to recognize the heroic role that each of you have played, and continue to play, in the battle against COVID-19. We hope you’ve been wearing yours proudly!
September
Special COVID-19 issue of VNSNY Today published. This year’s Spring/Summer edition of VNSNY Today focuses on how VNSNY has supported New Yorkers and met the challenges of providing home- and community-based health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. To read this special issue, click here.
New Community Collaborations program launched. Developed by VNSNY’s Community Engagement Workgroup, which includes community-oriented staff from across the organization, the program is intended to help VNSNY establish and cultivate its relationships with traditionally marginalized communities and the community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve them, while making it easier for different VNSNY departments to join forces in working with these community partners on programs and events.
Home Care Veterans Program rolls out. Like its Hospice counterpart, the Home Care Veterans Program was created to enrich veterans’ lives by offering them support and guidance, providing needed equipment to disabled veterans at no charge, and helping veterans and their families navigate the often-confusing application processes to obtain the veterans’ home care benefits to which they are entitled—much as VNSNY’s Hospice Veterans program does for hospice patients. Christopher Webster—himself a proud US Army veteran—serves as the program’s Outreach Liaison.
Contact Center Shared Services (CCSS) initiative is going strong. Under the leadership of newly hired Dan Wallis, Vice President, Contact Center Shared Services, VNSNY’s new Contact Center Shared Services (CCSS) department brings together many of our separate contact centers in a single department. The new department allows us to provide enhanced services to our respective lines of business and gives us access to the latest tools and specialized training for contact center staff.
October
Congrats to VNSNY’s Rehab Therapists of the Year! To culminate National Rehabilitation Awareness Week, which officially ended on September 19th, VNSNY announced our eight 2020 Rehabilitation Therapists of the Year. Nominated by their colleagues and departments and representing regions and roles across the organization, these therapists exemplify the outstanding work done by all of VNSNY’s physical, occupational, and speech-language therapists and therapy assistants—all year long.
Partners in Care online Resource Center goes live. The 7,000 home health aides at Partners in Care now have their own dedicated online Partners in Care Resource Center! Accessible from any smartphone, tablet or computer, HHAs can find recordings of Marki Flannery’s weekly conference calls, advice on COVID-19, information on how you can get a free flu shot, and much more. While the new center is currently located on the Frontline website, it will soon become its own stand-alone website.
CHOICE Total receives a first-ever 4-Star rating from Medicare! Each year, the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rates all Medicare health and prescription drug plans on a scale of 1 Star to 5 Stars, based on the plan’s performance against nearly 50 quality and customer satisfaction measures. For the first time, VNSNY CHOICE Total health plan achieved an overall 4-Star rating in the 2021 Medicare Star Ratings Program, qualifying the plan for a 5% Quality Bonus that can be invested into enhanced member benefits for the upcoming year.
VNSNY hands out 20,000 masks to Chinatown residents. On Monday, October 26th, the VNSNY Chinatown Community Center partnered with Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council member Margaret Chin to hand out 20,000 free facemasks to local residents. Hundreds of people lined up before 9:00 am to receive a VNSNY CHOICE-branded re-usable shopping bag, which contained 20 facemasks, a water bottle, educational information on COVID-19 and VNSNY CHOICE, as well as a copy of a special Chinese-language VNSNY CHOICE 2021 calendar.
Angela Richardson, HHA, wins 2020 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award. Named after longtime VNSNY Board Member Phyllis Mills (who is a legend in her own right), this award goes to a VNSNY employee who has been with the organization at least 10 years and who, through steadfast focus and effort, has made a significant contribution to VNSNY and its mission. This year’s recipient, Angela Richardson, is a 39-year-veteran of Partners in Care and one of VNSNY’s longest-serving staff members. Congrats to Angela and the two award runners-up: Director of Special Events John Billeciand Chief Data Analytics Officer Tim Peng!
VNSNY CHOICE gets a makeover. October also saw the rollout of our newly redesigned VNSNY CHOICE website. Rebuilt from the ground up with a contemporary look, easy navigation and updated content, the site will continue to support census growth and member and provider self-service.
November
2020 ESPRIT Award Winners are honored. Representing every part of VNSNY, this year’s 12 ESPRIT Award winners were selected for embodying VNSNY’s core values of Empathy, Integrity and Agility. Congrats to all!
SelectHealth launches new consumer website. Designed with a younger, media-savvy audience in mind, VNSNY’s SelectHealth brand debuted its own standalone website on November 3. Features of the site include simplified navigation and optimization for mobile users, as well as bold colors and visuals—all designed with the new SelectHealth look and feel in mind.
VNSNY annual Gala fundraiser raises $1.14 million. This year’s gala, held virtually, raised $1.14 million to support VNSNY’s Coronavirus Response Fund and our Charitable Care and Community programs.
CMHS staff begin return to regional offices. As part of the continued efforts of Operation Workplace, November saw the return of some staff members to VNSNY’s Community Mental Health Services offices in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
December
Good news on the COVID-19 vaccine front! VNSNY learns it can expect a first delivery of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the New York City Bureau of Immunization by the end of December. The first VNSNY employees who will be eligible for the vaccine are field clinicians and Partners in Care home health aides. To keep staff updated on VNSNY’s COVID-19 vaccine plans and answer any questions employees may have about these plans, or about the Moderna vaccine and COVID-19 vaccines in general, VNSNY launches its VACCINATE VNSNY! campaign.
VNSNY CHOICE sees record enrollment! The VNSNY CHOICE Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plan reported a record-high 778 new member enrollments in December! This gain brought overall CHOICE MLTC enrollment to 21,015 members.
Partners in Care holds its 37th annual Service Awards ceremony. Even a pandemic couldn’t stop Partners in Care from celebrating its home health aide heroes! On Monday evening, December 14, over 200 VNSNY staff, friends, and families came together on Zoom to recognize the outstanding achievements and dedication of Partners in Care staff, and in particular the honorees of the 2020 Partners in Care Service Awards (virtual) ceremony. Also honored were employees celebrating milestone anniversaries within the organization. The event included this inspiring video spotlighting on 14 Partners in Care home health aide heroes and their passion for the important work they do.
First snowstorm of the winter! VNSNY staff got their first taste of winter weather on December 16 and 17 with the first heavy snowfall of the year. And as always, VNSNY’s amazing and dedicated staff continued to do what they do best, by working to provide the best possible care for our patients and clients despite the inclement weather. And they didn’t forget to have some fun, too! To view the snowstorm photos staff sent into Frontline, click here.
Over 850 “VNSNY in the News” stories! VNSNY’s role in the fight against COVID-19 certainly did not go unnoticed, reaching an audience extending well into the millions. New York affiliates of all the major TV networks featured VNSNY field staff caring for patients during the pandemic’s peak, as did print publications throughout the New York metropolitan area. Nurse Ruth Caballero’s ABC World News segment reached over 20 million Americans alone, while her quote shared with the Associated Press reached 1,700 newspapers and 5,000 radio and television outlets in the United States, as well as AP subscribers across the globe!
Happy Holidays! From the Frontline team, a heartfelt thank you to everyone at VNSNY for your important contributions in what has been a very challenging year.
To view VNSNY’s 2020 holiday video, please click here or on the image below.
