Sun River Health Newsletter Summer 2023

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A LIFETIME OF SERVICE: Founding Mother Reverend Jeannette J. Phillips, 1933-2023

The Reverend Jeannette J. Phillips, a powerful force for change in community health care, died on Tuesday, September 12 surrounded by loved ones, after a lifetime of distinguished service. A visionary leader, pastor, Community Health Center network founder, and the matriarch of a large and growing family, she helped guide the emergence of patient-led community health care in New York State from its roots in the civil rights movement into the modern era.

patients across the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island at nearly 50 sites.

Jeannette J. Phillips was born in Harlem, New York City in 1933. She attended the historic Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, Florida, where her academic and social engagements, including delivering an anti-Korean War graduation message, helped shape her future pursuits. Upon her graduation in 1955, Rev. Phillips accepted a job at the Veterans Hospital in Montrose, New York, where she became passionate about increasing access to quality health care.

In 1956, she married Howard Phillips. When they were approached by a member of the Veteran’s Administration to provide housing for community veterans and seniors, they readily accepted and invited them into their own home. This gave Rev. Phillips a firsthand understanding of the unmet needs of residents in her own community.

Rev. Phillips opened the Peekskill Area Ambulatory Health Care Center in 1975 along with three other African American founding mothers: the late Mary Woods, Willie Mae Jackson, and Pearl Woods, to provide access to health care for their community. With the other founders and longtime CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon, she grew the Peekskill Health Center — now Sun River Health — into one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Center networks in the United States, serving

In 1972, Rev. Phillips, along with Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester Health Department Dr. Phyllis Koteen, Dr. Ron Johnson of the New York Medical Academy at Grasslands in Valhalla, and Westchester Community Action Program Director Harriet Gelfan, spearheaded efforts to secure one of the last grants from the Office of Economic Opportunity to open the Peekskill Area Ambulatory Health Care Center. This work was completed with the late Mary Woods, Willie Mae Jackson, and Pearl Woods.

“Words cannot express the depth of this loss to her family, her communities, her congregation, and to this organization and its staff whom she loved so dearly. The Rev. Mother Phillips was both a leader and a comfort to us all, and I know many of us will cherish memories of our work and service alongside her over many years.”

— ANNE KAUFFMAN NOLON, MPH CEO, SUN RIVER HEALTH

Rev. Phillips (center) with Sun River Health's Founding Mothers and CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon.

With CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon, Rev. Phillips and the other founders responded to requests from surrounding communities to bring the same vision for accessible care to their own towns and counties: that health care is a basic human right for all, and not a privilege for some. The same community-led approach to growth continues for Sun River Health to this day.

Rev. Phillips was always candid about the challenges of running a non-profit health care provider, and the constant pressure to find or create funding to meet growing patient needs that could not be covered by federal or state supports — especially in the first few years of operation.

“We were able to raise money with local fundraising,” she said. “We had one particular group, the ‘Soul Sisters,’ who sold dinners, and pies, and cakes, and whatever else to help get money into the organization. You couldn’t get more grass roots than we were.”

After founding the health center, Rev. Phillips earned her Bachelor of Science with honors from Mercy College and went on to attend New York Theological Seminary, later completing four years of Conference Studies in the A.M.E. Zion Church. She was ordained as a Deacon, then an Elder in 1992, and became the pastor of the historic Woodside A.M.E. Zion Church in Stamford, Connecticut.

In 2015, Sun River Health’s Peekskill health center was renamed The Jeannette J. Phillips Community Health Center with many dignitaries present, including Dr. Jack Geiger, one of the founders of the Community Health Center movement, who opened the nation’s first two community health centers in Boston, MA and Mound Bayou, MS; Congresswomen Nita Lowey, and others. She was subsequently

honored by the New York State Legislature in the State Capital. Rev. Phillips was the recipient of numerous other awards and recognitions, including the New York State Governor’s Award for African Americans of Distinction in 1994, The CHCANYS Catherine M. Abate Memorial award in 2018, and Crain’s Notable Women in Healthcare in 2019. Her most cherished recognitions were the Sojourner Truth Award, which she received in 1994, and The Harriet Tubman Award for her work as the Westchester District President of the Harriet Tubman Home Historical Society.

Driven by her belief in the deep interdependence of housing and health care, Rev. Phillips served as the Executive Director of The Preservation Company, Inc. established by Sun River Health over thirty years ago to meet the housing needs of the Peekskill community.

Rev. Phillips was the proud matriarch of her family, which includes her three daughters and two sons, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and greatgreat grandchildren, over 100 in all. Rev. Phillips also shared her love of ministry with her husband, the Rev. Howard Phillips, both revered and sought after throughout the Hudson Valley as innovative and life-changing preachers.

“It is my faith that keeps me grounded,” Rev. Phillips often said. “And it is my belief that God equips and strengthens those who are called to serve.”

When completed, the Sun River Health Heritage library will serve as a resource for public health research, historical research, and as a practical reference for communities and teams launching new community health centers or managing long-term growth.

The Jeanette J. Phillips Health Center, Peekskill, NY

Make A Donation To The Heritage Library Fund in Memory of Rev. Phillips.

View Rev. Jeannette J. Phillips Home Going Worship Service.

Dear Sun River Health family,

I am thrilled to announce our new North Star initiative, which re-centers care on the patient, not the visit. This means that we will be evolving the way we deliver care and services by prioritizing the patient’s needs and experience, not just the individual appointments. Our goal is to provide more comprehensive care that addresses the social drivers of health and fosters health equity, which has always been at the heart of Sun River Health’s mission.

One way we are improving the patient experience is by offering more flexibility in our services. We understand that everyone’s health journey is unique, and we want to meet patients where they are in their journey. To achieve this, we are offering a wider range of services beyond our walls, such as telehealth and community-based programs that focus on social determinants of health. By doing so, we can provide more holistic care that addresses the whole person, not just their medical needs.

Another critical aspect of our North Star initiative is our focus on health equity. Our founding intent has always been to serve the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our community. To build on this foundational view of Health Centers as a vehicle for health equity, we are working to eliminate disparities in health outcomes and access to care. This includes addressing social determinants of health, such as food insecurity, housing instability, and transportation barriers, which often disproportionately affect low-income communities.

Finally, we are investing in capital improvements to create healing environments. We recognize that the physical environment can impact a patient’s well-being and recovery. That’s why we are updating our facilities to be more welcoming, comfortable, and calming. Our goal is to create spaces that promote healing and reduce stress for our patients and staff allowing us to provide the care you need with the respect you deserve.

Warmly,

Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH CEO, Sun River Health

Grateful from the bottom of her heart.

This past spring marked a special anniversary for Consuelo — one year since a life-saving procedure removed fluid from around her heart, thanks to the doctors at Sun River Health.

Consuelo was a patient at Sun River Health Kraus Family in Southampton for five years, maintaining her good health with regular check-ups. Then, her world turned upside down when an ordinary visit to address what she thought was a common cold, began a journey of treatment for something much more serious.

The usual tests were conducted — but all the results came back negative, and Consuelo continued to feel sick. It would have been easy for a busy medical clinic to send her home with general guidance to rest and hydrate, but her doctor at Sun River Health insisted on looking further. One symptom in particular — her breathlessness — indicated that

something wasn’t right. Consuelo’s doctor was concerned, and insisted she go to the emergency room for an echocardiogram.

The diagnosis? Pericarditis.

Pericarditis is a serious condition involving swelling and irritation of the thin saclike membrane surrounding the heart. This was the cause of her persistent cold-like symptoms. Consuelo was experiencing a pericardial effusion, and her heart had become surrounded by fluid. Buildup of fluid can cause compression of the heart, impairing its ability to function. Consuelo needed an immediate pericardiocentesis, which a cardiologist successfully performed using a small catheter and needle to drain the fluid.

We all hear stories of patient symptoms being dismissed as not serious — especially those that mimic the common cold. And yet, the quick thinking, genuine concern, and thorough evaluation made by her Sun River Health doctor quite possibly saved her life.

I’d like to share my appreciation for the staff at Sun River Health Kraus Family in Southampton. I especially appreciate the compassion I was shown during this scary and stressful event. During my five-year journey as a Sun River Health patient, I have seen the amazing professionalism, patience, and dedication of the doctors, nurses, and staff who care for patients. I am eternally grateful for all of the diligence and attention shown to me to ensure I was taken care of. Throughout this process, I learned to have faith in the science of medicine and in the goodness of people. ”

Sun River Health — now more than ever

Over the next 14 months, millions of people — just like Consuelo — will lose their Medicaid coverage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government suspended procedures that would remove people from Medicaid — an attrition that happens regularly given changes in income, state of residence, or coverage under an employer. As a result, enrollment in Medicaid grew by nearly five million people. Starting this past April, states began to again require annual reenrollment and recertification of eligibility, and subsequently will be disenrolling members who are either no longer eligible for the program or who do not complete the reenrollment process, for the first time since early 2020. An estimated 18 million Americans will lose Medicaid coverage by June 2024, and 3.8 million of those will become uninsured.

An estimated 1,075,000 New Yorkers will be disenrolled from Medicaid.

What does this change mean for New Yorkers? An estimated 1,075,000 New Yorkers will be disenrolled. This change in Medicaid status means that more New Yorkers will be seeking health care and social support services at organizations like Sun River Health that believe in health equity and care for patients regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.

It also means there will be fewer patient reimbursements from the program, which makes each dollar raised for Sun River Health patients even more vital to ensuring that every person receives the care they need and the respect they deserve.

You can help guarantee that all our new patients receive quality health care by visiting sunriver.org/foundation or scanning the code and making a tax-deductible gift. SCAN ME

— Consuelo

Each year, Sun River Health provides care to more than 10,000 Agricultural Workers and their families. During the pandemic, these men and women, like many Americans, lost jobs and experienced significant financial hardships. Unlike most of the country though, agricultural workers – deemed essential workers – were not able to receive stimulus funding.

Fourteen organizations and one tribal entity are now working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute one-time $600 relief payments through the Farm and Food Workers Relief Program. Beginning March 1, 2023, frontline agricultural and meatpacking

workers who incurred expenses preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic were able to apply for this relief payment.

These are our constituents, and that’s why we’re stepping up to help. Sun River Health has been assisting with registration for this stimulus funding — which is free of charge and open to anybody who can provide photo identification and proof of employment as an agricultural worker during the pandemic. Additionally, staff from Sun River Health are communicating with our partnering farms, orchards, and vineyards to ensure all workers in their employ are aware of this opportunity and can register for the payment.

In collaboration with Warwick Area Farmworkers Organization, Sun River Health has already registered over 200 agricultural workers at more than 14 partnering area farms to receive these payments. This involved performing outreach at night, on weekends, and even by phone to workers who returned to Mexico to ensure the broadest reach. We’re proud to report that our collective efforts have secured more than $120,000 in stimulus payments for agricultural workers cared for by Sun River Health. Farmworkers and farms are continuing to reach out for our assistance and we hope to deepen our impact further.

funding from the Sun River Health Foundation, Vamos helps us stay in touch.

With funding from Sun River Health Foundation and proceeds from our Honoring The Hands event, we have launched Vamos Outreach — a new mobile and desktop app created by and for farmworker organizations. Vamos will help outreach workers in planning, finding, conducting, tracking, and reporting on health care visits with migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. We are currently providing services year-round at our health center sites through our Days of Health Programs, and at our mobile health centers. Now, Vamos Outreach will help Sun River Health further expand and deliver services to even more workers throughout our communities. To pilot Vamos, Sun River Health has partnered with Warwick Area Farmworkers Organization to help guide usage and fine-tune the app to better serve our outreach staff and patients. Vamos Outreach can help satisfy the unique needs of Agricultural Worker organizations, as well as fill a void in our system, while helping to make the process more efficient by consolidating our outreach efforts and allowing us to easily share data. Additionally, the app connects to Google Maps to mark all the farm locations and best places to reach agricultural workers and delivers care where it’s needed most — at farms, vineyards, community agencies, and churches.

With

Lance Cheung, U.S.D.A.

Meet Ebony Livingston

Sun River Health Ambassador

Ebony Livingston is proof that one person can make a very big difference. As Program Manager of the Portfolio Delivery Office at Blackstone Group and a Sun River Health Ambassador, Ebony was instrumental in securing nearly $60,000 in support for Sun River Health last year.

“Ebony has been a powerful champion for good. In her role as a Sun River Health Ambassador, she’s shown how corporate social responsibility can be wielded to dramatically improve the lives of families in our communities”, said Sun River Health Foundation’s Executive Director and VP of Philanthropy Jeramie Barber.

Last August, Ebony spearheaded a volunteer project, raising $9,000 from her peers at Blackstone to purchase items — and assemble 500 backpacks — for children headed back to school in the Bronx. Each backpack contained a handout with important health tips and reminders, as well as a hand sanitizer, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other key items to ensure these children are practicing good health and hygiene habits.

Sun River Health won the “People’s Choice Award” from Blackstone employees as part of their 2022 BX Gives Back Challenge, receiving a $25,000 donation from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation as a result! We are very grateful to Ambassador Ebony who nominated Sun River Health and effectively advocated on our behalf for the grant.

Recently, Blackstone honored Ebony with the prestigious Peter G. Peterson award in recognition of her work. The tribute came with a $25,000 award from Blackstone Charitable Foundation, which Ebony could direct to the nonprofit of her choice — and she chose Sun River Health! We are incredibly grateful for this generous donation and all that Ebony has accomplished for our patients and families as a Sun River Health Ambassador!

Sun River Health Ambassadors exemplify what it means to give back to your community.

If you are interested in becoming a Sun River Health Ambassador — and want to help our patients — scan the QR code to learn more, or email Jeramie Barber at jbarber@sunriver.org.

Out and about with Sun River Health

Kicking off summer in style with Sun River Health

Honoring The Hands benefiting Sun River Health’s Agricultural Workers’ Health Fund

On Thursday, April 27, Sun River Health hosted our Honoring The Hands event at Angry Orchard in Walden, NY. More than 100 supporters and friends — plus quite a few littles ones! — joined us to help honor Minkus Family Farms and Wallkill Valley Health Coalition for their work to ensure the health of our communities. The event raised more than $33,000 for Sun River Health’s Agricultural Workers’ Health Fund.

Nearly 100 guests joined Sun River Health at Southampton Social Club to kick off the summer in style for our “Summer Starts Here” event. Thank you to everyone who joined us or supported the event! Patty and George Kraus, namesake of Sun River Health’s Kraus Family Health Center in Southampton, were honored for their long-standing commitment to the betterment of our communities. Another highlight of the evening was the personal presentation by Sun River Health patient Consuelo (see page 4), whose incredible story moved the entire room.

Sun River Health provides health care to more than 15,000 patients on the East End, and nearly 70,000 people at 11 health centers throughout Suffolk County. Proceeds from the “Summer Starts Here” event will help support services addressing the most critical health care needs of those individuals and families who rely on Sun River Health.

You can still donate to help our patients and families.

Cycling through the city with Sun River Health

For farmworker families, summer poses an added challenge as long workdays create a critical need for reliable childcare. Through our partnership with the Warwick Area Farmworker Organization and their Dulce Esperanza (meaning “Sweet Hope”) Summer Program, families can feel secure knowing their children are in a safe, supervised environment during the summer months.

Thank you to all our participants who made this year’s Honoring The Hands such a meaningful event for our families.

See more photos from Honoring The Hands.

On Sunday, May 7, eight cyclists and dedicated Sun River Health supporters participated in the TD Five Boro Bike Tour. With forty miles of car-free streets and over 30,000 riders, team members pedaled through all five boroughs and across five major bridges. Congratulations to our team, who collectively raised more than $3,500 to support increased access to health care for our patients throughout New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. Want to ride with us next year? Reach out to events@sunriver.org to let us know and we will put your name on our team list for 2024!

Sun River Health CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon (L) with honorees from Minkus Family Farms.

Sun River Health CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon (R) with honorees from Wallkill Valley Health Coalition.

Team Sun River Health

Sun River Health CEO, Anne Kauffman Nolon (L), with honorees Patty and George Kraus.

Sun River Health joins prestigious learning collaborative

Sun River Health has been invited to join the University of Chicago’s Advancing Health Equity (AHE) Learning Collaborative after an extensive application and interview process. Founded in 2018, the Learning Collaborative offers technical assistance to multi-stakeholder, statebased teams comprised of Medicaid agencies, Medicaid health plans, health care provider organizations, Medicaid members, and community organizations partnering to advance health equity and combat racism.

“Sun River Health is honored to join the AHE Learning Collaborative and make progress in advancing health equity,” said Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH, Sun River Health CEO. “The utilization of an intersectional approach to health equity that helps everyone play an active role in their own health care aligns perfectly with our core mission –that health care is a right for all and not a privilege for some – which Sun River Health has upheld since our founding in 1975.”

All members of the AHE Learning Collaborative cohort will have access to facilitated team activities that identify health inequities driven by racism at the individual, institutional, and structural levels, and take action to eliminate them. Additionally, the Learning Collaborative strives to create care delivery interventions and payment solutions that are designed to address underlying factors related to racism and intersecting forms of oppression that value and incorporate the patient and community

voice. This comes at a perfect time as Sun River Health explores its role and participation with New York State’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver, which will allow us to pilot new projects quickly and serve our patients in the ways that they need.

The partnership will also allow Sun River Health to serve nearly 30,000 Healthfirst members, some of the most vulnerable and financially challenged patients in New York State. With our value-based care and evidence-driven initiatives, we will be able to provide more equitable care to Medicaid beneficiaries.

The fundamental goals of the AHE Learning Collaborative include:

• Advancing health equity through an anti-racist lens

• Facilitating a learning community and disseminating key lessons that reduce health inequities

• Transforming care in partnership with patients and communities

• Implementing payment reform mechanisms

• Aligning the efforts of state Medicaid offices, managed care organizations, and health care organizations with the patient perspective

About Advancing Health Equity

Advancing Health Equity: Leading Care, Payment, and Systems Transformation (AHE) is a national program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and based at the University of Chicago. AHE’s mission is to discover best practices for advancing health equity by fostering payment reform and sustainable care models to eliminate health and health care disparities. You can learn more about AHE by scanning here.

gives boost to Sun River Health’s capital improvements

Congressional funding

Sun River Health has been approved to receive $3.8 million in omnibus appropriations funding from Congress to support operations at our health centers in Beacon and Brooklyn.

$1.8 million will be directed to Sun River Health’s The Alpha School in Brooklyn in response to a request from Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries.

These funds will support expansion of The Alpha School’s primary care, behavioral health services, and programs offered by the State’s Offices of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) in East New York. This is a medically underserved area where more than 56% of the residents are low income and experience high rates of chronic health conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and HIV/AIDS.

The remaining $2 million, which was requested by Senator Schumer and Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, is earmarked for the creation of a six-exam-room urgent care suite at Sun River Health Beacon. The funding ensures that community members in need of urgent care will be able to quickly access care without having to travel long, unnecessary distances.

“

We are incredibly grateful to our elected officials for securing these important funds,” said Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH, Sun River Health CEO. “The funding for The Alpha School is a critical resource needed to bring this expanded health center vision to fruition. This expansion will ensure that more New Yorkers are able to access a wider variety of vital health care services, including walk-in primary care and behavioral health care, all utilizing using state-of-the-art equipment in a space that honors patients and creates a healing environment. The funding for Beacon will meet this community’s growing needs, including by adding urgent care and expanding primary care.”

A machine so simple that helps so much!

Thanks to donor support, Sun River Health Foundation recently funded the purchase of 100 Blood Pressure Monitors for distribution to clinicians throughout our network.

More accurate blood pressure readings enable our clinicians to have a clearer picture of a patient’s risk for heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. Most importantly, our clinicians will be able to

advise patients on how to control their blood pressure, identify contributing risk factors, and take measures to address areas of concern — especially if they’re managing other health issues as well.

High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not even know they have it. The purchase of these Blood Pressure Monitors is part of Sun River Health’s broad commitment to capital improvements, ensuring our facilities always have state-of-the-art equipment.

Our lifestyle choices are the first line of defense against high blood pressure.

Tips to help lower blood pressure:

Lowering sodium intake

Managing cholesterol within a normal range

Losing weight if you’re overweight

Limiting alcohol consumption

Quitting smoking

Getting regular exercise

Reducing stress

New partnership expands HIV services

Sun River Health recently partnered with Walmart for a community testing event at their new Monticello store — one of four new HIV-focused Special Pharmacies of the Community (SPOCs) to support areas most impacted by HIV. Walmart sponsored the event through a $5,000 donation to Sun River Health’s Monticello Health Center.

New York State Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther visited during the event to show her support for the initiative, which was part of a greater commitment from Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, to expand awareness of HIV treatment and prevention options. Sun River Health began addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 90’s and cares for more than 2,800 HIV-positive patients each year. As we look to the future, partnerships like this one will help us spread both awareness and the impact of prevention in keeping our communities well.

Helping patients to quit

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Sun River Health’s Tobacco Cessation Program: Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). As part of our broader effort to prevent chronic illnesses and promote healthier lifestyles, this initiative will support and empower our patients in their journey to quit smoking.

Studies show that patients who have NRT in their home are more likely to try to stop smoking, even if they say they aren’t ready. Handing out starter packs of NRT means patients can start without the inconvenience or cost of stopping at the pharmacy. Our program aims to address the pressing issue of tobacco addiction by offering essential resources, information, and nicotine gum to individuals who smoke.

Patient education is key to success. We firmly believe that knowledge is power when it comes to overcoming addiction. Our dedicated team of health care professionals will work closely with patients, providing them with the necessary tools and information to make informed decisions about their health. From explaining the harmful effects of smoking to outlining the benefits of quitting, our education component aims to empower individuals and strengthen their motivation to quit.

We understand that quitting smoking is a complex journey that’s tough to take alone. By connecting individuals with a network of support, we aim to increase their chances of long-term success in their smoking cessation efforts.

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (second from right) with Sun River Health staff.

Every story in these pages is made possible with the help of our generous supporters — including you!

We are grateful to everyone in our community who has helped us deliver exceptional, comprehensive health care. Please accept our thanks.

Here’s what your donation supports:

50 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC)

250,000 Patients Served

3 Mobile Health Units

2,000+

Doctors, Nurses, and health care professionals

Create a lasting legacy

By including the Sun River Health Foundation in your estate planning, you can ensure that our mission to provide health care for all continues on in your legacy for future generations. Plan your gift today.

The Sun River Health Foundation offers various types of bequest options that ensure your wishes are upheld, while securing an estate-tax charitable deduction for the value of the gift.

Access our printable checklist and learn how to start planning your legacy.

If you have already included the Sun River Health Foundation in your estate plans, please let us know. We’d like to celebrate your generosity as little or as much as you like — even if you wish for your gift to remain anonymous.

To inquire about planned giving options, please contact Foundation Executive Director Jeramie Barber at 914-425-0891 or jbarber@sunriver.org

Donate your car

Ready to donate an unwanted car, but don’t know where to start? Sun River Health accepts car donations through CarEasy.org. Pat Thompson, longtime supporter of the Sun River Health Foundation, donated his car and said, “The car donation process itself was very simple

I received a receipt for my donation and should expect to receive documentation of the value of the car for tax purposes in a few weeks.”

If you’d like to donate a vehicle, please go to http://www.careasy.org and search for Sun River Health. The process is quick and easy — and best of all, the proceeds will support the patients we serve.