Connections September 2019

Team Evergreen Interview

ON HER

move to Buffalo, Brooklyn native Tara Monaco says she felt “completely out of [her] element.” But in time, she found her calling at Evergreen, where she currently serves as

director of outreach services. In our latest Team Evergreen interview, we chat with Tara about the winding path that brought her here and being a source of strength for others in need.

What does a director of outreach services do? I oversee a team that helps Medicaid patients with chronic conditions enroll in the state’s Health Homes program so that they get the care and services they need to manage their health.

When we get them enrolled, they're linked with a care coordinator who helps them navigate the medical system and figure out all the aspects of their total wellness, like safe housing, transportation to medical appointments and other social services. I also work really closely with community providers outside of Evergreen to determine the eligibility of their patients for the Health Homes program. How did you get into this line of work? Honestly, I fell into it. I went to school for performing arts at Alfred University, and I did a lot of acting; I worked at VH1 for a little while in New York City. But that’s all freelance work, which can be inconsistent. So, I took an interview at a community organization in New York, and the vice president there just threw me into this HIV-intensive case management position. I don’t know why. He saw something in me that I didn’t see. But I fell in love with the field and ran with it. Are you still active in the performing arts? Up until a few years ago, I was in a lot of local films. I worked closely with Tragic Hero Productions — low-budget stuff, mostly. But as I started progressing in my career at Evergreen (I got promoted twice), and as my family started growing (I have three kids), I had to push acting to the wayside. But in my senior year of college, my major focus was working to encourage the Hispanic community at Alfred to get on stage, and a lot of them actually moved on to be really successful in New York City. So, that’s a lasting impact of my acting career that I’m pretty proud of. You took a break from healthcare case management for a while. What is it about the field that ultimately drew you back when you relocated to Buffalo? You know, I could make a career out of any job. I could have made a career of acting. I’m a trained doula; I could make a career of that. But that first job working with people living with HIV resonated with me. I had never experienced the feeling of working for something that was bigger than me. And I am good at it. I always advocated for my patients really well. I was able to do a lot for them and clarify things for them. I am Puerto Rican, and most of my patients were Spanish. A lot of it was translation. A lot of it was helping them overcome the language barriers and the cultural barriers to getting mental healthcare. There is a big stigma around

that in the Hispanic community, and I worked to break that stigma down. What excites you about going to the office every day? Honestly, it’s the staff at Evergreen. If I wasn’t surrounded by my team and the directors, it would be tough some days. But they’re so supportive and so understanding; they see if you’re struggling, even if you don’t want to say something, and they step right in. They’re amazing. What makes Evergreen a great company to work for? I really like that Evergreen’s mission is very consistent. I like that a patient can talk to me and then talk to their care coordinator and then talk to a retention counselor in the other building, and the message is the same. I think that the energy we have and the culture that’s here is so welcoming of everyone. We truly accept everyone. And that’s consistent throughout every department. How would you describe Evergreen in one word? Empowering. We empower patients to be independent and to move past their hurdles. And Evergreen empowers its employees to be their best selves, personally and professionally. A lot of organizations don’t do that. Can we go back to your being a doula? Tell us more about that. A doula provides support to people in labor. I used doulas for my first two pregnancies, and one day my kids’ babysitter asked me to be her doula — something that I was not interested in or trained in at the time. But I said yes. So, I registered with Birth Arts International and attended a one-on-one, hands-on training weekend in New Jersey. Once I completed the training, it was another one of those a-ha moments for me. Being a part of a community that’s trying to empower and educate people around the birthing process just made sense to me. I think that there’s a lot of injustice out there when it comes to hospitals and people who want to have a natural childbirth, and doulas hold a space for those people. Doulas help them have the experience that they want to have in the safety of a hospital or at home or at a birthing center. I’m proud to say I have assisted two births. It must have been a rewarding experience then. It’s funny because as a doula, you really don’t speak up too much when the midwife or doctor is in the room because there’s a consenting relationship between the person in labor and the healthcare provider. So, when the first birth I assisted ended in a C-section, I did say to her, “well I really don’t feel like I helped you.” But she had a totally different take on it. She said that she knew just by me being there that she was safe — that whatever was going to happen was going to happen in a way that would be favorable to her and the baby. That was pretty amazing to hear.

Sometimes you just need that person that is unbiased and maybe not related to you to really support you through the hard stuff. We couldn’t agree more, Tara. Thanks for being an indispensable part of our team and such a strong support for our patients!

- Team Evergreen Interview by Block Club

Ian Eastman represents Evergreen at the Night Lights music festival in Sherman, New York. Thank you Kristy Mangel for this great photo!

Last month, #NerdAlert started to explain the Information Systems team at Evergreen, starting with our IT team. This month, we look at our Quality department – headed by Andrew Kiener, AVP of quality.

There are some unique differences in our Quality department compared to other organizations. For example, Quality is not always structured as part of the Information Systems team. At Evergreen Quality works hand in hand with our data teams, to constantly improve our data-driven organization.

The Quality team includes:

Andrew Kiener, AVP of quality

Jill Fanning, quality coordinator

Dana McHale and Alisha Sanders-Baity, quality assistants

Open position - quality specialist

Anabel Rivera, Christina Sheppard, Mayerling Garofalo and

Brittney Warham - phone operator generalists

The Quality team’s work can be broken down into these main categories: • Patient experience – Quality is always monitoring the patient experience in a variety of ways.

Surveys, comment cards, and focus groups are some ways they stay in touch with patient feedback.

• Report presentation – this is an area where Quality works with Evergreen’s other Information

System teams. They access data from IS and make it user friendly for presentation to other departments.

•

Survey results – Quality works even more directly with this type of data. They often are the ones collecting, filtering and presenting this data.

•

Department projects – almost every department has some kind of grant funding, which means they need to have a Quality project to improve the department. Quality can help departments using “PDSA” (Plan, Do, Study, Act) to develop goals and timelines, and help them follow through so they are constantly improving.

The biggest confusion about Quality? A lot of the time people will contact our Quality team asking for raw data, which is not what they do. “We don’t deal with getting the data, we deal with what you want it to look like” said Andrew Kiener. Kiener explains what the Quality department, and every department at Evergreen, is really about – "patient experience. Everybody needs to think about that. Regardless of whether it's a Quality project or not. How your face looks, or how you react in the elevator matters across the board. We do very well with patient experience, but there's always room for improvement."

Recently, Quality added the Phone Operation team to its department. Having this

department be part of Quality will help our patients have the best experience they can from the very first time they interact with us.

Still have questions on where Quality starts and data ends? Feel free to email the

data team at bernard@evergreenhs.org and keep reading our articles over the next few months, where we will continue to describe the IS team, and start to get into some of the details of the departments that access and manage your data directly. - Heather Wilson

1 | PLAN

Set improvement goals Predict what will happen Plan the cycle (who, where, what and how) Decide what data to gather

2 | DO

Carry out the plan Document problems encountered and observations Gather data

3 | STUDY Fully analyse data Compare data to predictions Examine learning

4 | ACT

What changes need to be made to the next cycle?

If no changes, roll out the improvement

Arica Rouse shared these great photos of the second CAS Free Haircut event. "It encourages community engagement," Arica said. "And it draws people in to be tested." The event featured BBQ, a non-violence initiative and vendors including SNUG, Northland Workforce Training Center and PrEP. "It was an awesome event," said Arica. "We had a chance to provide tons of information and education, and an allaround good time for the community." The next event is Friday, September 13th. Great job, CAS, and thanks again to Arica Rouse for the photos!

Clockwise from left: Julie Vaughan and Lauren Voelkle are twinsies! "We knew we had the same shirt," said Lauren. "We've been waiting for months to wear them on the same day, unplanned, and today was the day!" Veronica Velazquez shared this photo of Leslie Anderson's Mexican wedding.

Congratulations and best wishes to you, Leslie Anderson Lantigua! The Pride Center staff bids a fond, grateful farewell to intern Shania. Liz Miller's daughter Camille rests inside the big #3 at Wilkeson Point. Heather Fangsrud rehearses for her latest show with the Brazen-Faced Varlets, opening September 20 at Rust Belt Books.

CHERYL

Brunetti has made a career out of helping our patients, but at first she didn’t even want to work here. “I interned at Evergreen,” said Cheryl. “It was AIDS Community

Services (ACS) at the time. People told me over and over I should come to work for ACS. I said ‘No way! There’s too much paperwork!’” Fortunately for us, and her patients, Cheryl had a change of heart.

Cheryl will be retiring from Evergreen after many years of service. Her time at Evergreen has been marked

and defined by hard work, professionalism and compassion for her patients and co-workers. “That’s what Evergreen does,” said Cheryl. “We’re a family that helps those in need.” She also has praise for her co-workers. “I love my coworkers,” said Cheryl. Not surprisingly, the feeling is mutual. “Remarkable work ethic combined with a heart of pure gold,” said Bridget McClain, senior director of care coordination. “That’s Cheryl to me.”

Unfortunately, Cheryl’s time at Evergreen was too often marked by loss. “The most difficult part of being a

care coordinator is when a patient passes,” said Cheryl. “Each and every one has touched me in their own way."

Cheryl's patients past and present, and Evergreen as well, have been fortunate to know Cheryl Brunetti.

Cheryl’s joy is infectious. Her smile, her laugh and her hugs

and passion for working with people at the end of their lives.

always brightened my day. She's the essence of Evergreen

There are hundreds of people in Western New York right

and we will never be the same without her working here. I

now whose lives are better because of Cheryl’s dedication

wish Cheryl so much happiness in her retirement. She has

and commitment. That number may be in the thousands,

given so much and we're forever grateful. Much love to you

when you consider how many people that she has trained

my dear friend. — Ray Ganoe

and deployed out into the world of social work, and the butterfly effect of how many individuals they have helped,

I was hired as Cheryl’s assistant case manager right out of

and on and on and on... — Maria LoTempio

college almost 18 years ago. What a way to learn! Cheryl showed me what it meant to be hard-working, consistent

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" and Cheryl I

and compassionate. The way she treated her patients was

wish you many successful bridge crossings on your

inspiring, and has left me with a sustaining model of what

retirement. Your spirit will help us over the bridges of

it truly means to help people and to always fight for what

our work life and we thank you for heading down all the

is right. Not to mention how many people whose final days

bridges with a happy attitude, loving heart and energy.

were made more comfortable. Cheryl has a particular gift

Lots of energy! Can you bottle that energy? Back in the early

2000s I remember Cheryl coming to Benedict House where

a way that was caring and compassionate, but also honest

I worked at the time. I really thought Cheryl Brunetti was

and direct. Often times she would have to tell many of her

AIDS Community Services! The way she took control, and all

patients something that was difficult to say and hard for

she did for the residents, I thought what else does anybody

them hear, but she would do it in a way that would preserve

need but a “Cheryl Brunetti"? All the patients she helped

the therapeutic relationship. I remember hearing her on the

transition from this world to the next, I just know those same

phone with patients and saying things like “Honey, please

spirits will be blessing her now as she finally gets to relax

try not to drink before I come over, because it’s going to help

and enjoy life. They are smiling down and saying “good, she

if you are mostly sober for our visit.” It never came across

is finally relaxing!" Often they would ask me “does she ever

as judgmental or a command, it was just a simple request

sit?“ Not really, she is always on the go. Our patients were

so that the visit could be more productive and the patient’s

always grateful for Cheryl and I could not think of anyone

need could be met. She always followed through on patient

who hasn’t expressed to me how lucky they were to have

needs and maintained strong relationships with providers.

her as their care coordinator. Love you Cheryl, with all my

Cheryl worked with patients through all stages of life,

heart. Thank you. Working with you over the past 16 years

including many whom she helped to die with dignity in their

of my life has been a blessing. You will inspire me for years to

homes or another safe setting. Not only did she facilitate

come. XOXOO. — Bridget McClain

linkages to Hospice and other end of life care, she also provided support and guidance to their family members.

First of all, every one of Evergreen's care coordinators is a

Cheryl has been well loved by so many, and she will be

hero to me. To do such difficult, important work with the kind

greatly missed. — Katie Diebold

of professionalism and compassion and grace that Cheryl brings, well, I don't know how she does it. But she does, and

Cheryl’s years of dedication and compassion in helping our

we're all going to miss her terribly. — John Carocci

patients is a testimony to her character. Cheryl is truly going to be missed by her patients and her coworkers! — Angela

Cheryl touched so many lives during her time working

Palmer

at Evergreen. The center of Cheryl’s career has been dedication to providing excellent patient care. She worked

It has been a honor and a privilege working alongside you!

with many of her patients for a long period of time, because

Cheryl, you are a remarkable woman with deep compassion

she was able build very strong rapport and maintain

and integrity and care coordination will not be the same

patient engagement. She would work with her patients in

without you! — Richard Smiley

A reminder for everyone to microchip their pets. A stray cat had been living on my porch for a few weeks, and when I finally got her to the vet a microchip revealed she had been reported missing 10 months ago. When they were reunited, the owner said she’d had the cat for 11 years and it slipped out on the cat-sitter last September. Thanks to microchipping she got back to her owner safely! -Emma Hathaway

Q: What is the Compliance HelpLine? The Compliance HelpLine (716.541.0663) is an external, thirdparty telephone resource that allows you to report workplace concerns, including suspected illegal or unethical behavior and non-compliance with laws, regulations and policies. You remain anonymous unless you choose to identify yourself.

Q: What type of concerns should I report? You can report a wide variety of issues, including but not limited to conflicts of interest, embezzlement or fraud, kickbacks, ethical violations or medical billing irregularities such as billing for services not rendered or items not provided. You can also report HIPAA Patient Privacy Rights or other Patient Rights violations, staff substance use, safety-related issues or any event that would require Evergreen Health to disclose wrongful activity to a governmental agency.

Q: How does the HelpLine work? When you call, you'll hear a pre-recorded message about how the HelpLine works, then an operator (who is not an employee of Evergreen Health) will pick up and ask what concern you would like to report. Your concern is then forwarded to the Corporate Compliance Officer for investigation.

Q: Is it really anonymous? Yes. The HelpLine is operated by a third-party answering service. The operator will not ask for your personal information but, if you choose to identify yourself, your identity will be forwarded to the Compliance Officer.

Q: Can I suffer adverse actions for reporting my concerns? Evergreen Health staff members, including supervisors, managers or executives, are prohibited by federal and state statute, as well as Evergreen’s internal policies, from engaging in retaliation or any form of harassment directed against an employee who reports a concern. Any staff member who engages in retaliation or harassment is subject to discipline, up to and including termination. However, adverse action may be taken against someone who files a report if investigation reveals reports were not made in good faith (i.e., no factual basis with the intent to embarrass or otherwise defame an employee or department).

Last month's issue introduced Evergreen's new marketing campaign, designed to promote specialty care services through transit ads and billboards throughout the Western New York area, along with social media marketing. Ads encourage target audiences to seek Sexual Health and Testing services at our Elmwood, Bailey and Southtowns locations. Here are more of these exciting, highly visible ads, along with some of the great staff selfies taken in front of them. Enjoy!

Here's the first round of selfies featuring Evergreen staff with some of the transit ads and billboards featured all over WNY. There's still time to enter... the second round (and winner) will be featured in next month's Connections!

Mark your calendar! The submission deadline for the October issue of Connections is Wednesday, September

The Fun Collective (FunC) is an employee resource

18. Be sure to get your content in before the deadline to guarantee placement.

group created to bring the Evergreen Spirit to our

And, don't forget, we love to share your

coworkers. The FunC group plans and hosts events for

photos. Kids, pets, vacations, recipes,

employees throughout the year. We're always looking

or especially selfies for the selfie contest,

for new members, so if you’d like to be a part of FunC,

send them all to Connections.

please join us at our next meeting on September 12 in the Sanctuary from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Please contact Jocelyn Leising with any questions.

Birthdays Mark Wolf............................................ September 3 Aaron Spare...................................... September 3 Erika Szymanski............................. September 4 Dennis McKnight............................. September 5 Brittany Carbone............................. September 6 Tamarie Novo.................................... September 8 Jomareliz Gonzalez-Velez.......... September 9 Brianna Barrett................................ September 10 Bridget McClain............................... September 10 Michael Lee........................................ September 10 Stephanie Mineo.............................. September 10 Abby Depczynski........................... September 11 Venus Kaur......................................... September 11 Tiffany McCloskey......................... September 13 Amanda Thornton.......................... September 14 Kimberly Lombard......................... September 15 Fatai Gbadamosi.............................. September16 Jessica Schanne............................... September 17 Julie Vaughan................................... September 17 Robert Baird...................................... September 18 Nicole Mitchell.................................. September 19 Leslie Anderson............................... September 20 Jason Rein........................................... September 20 Jennifer DeMarsh............................ September 22 Julie Falk.............................................. September 22 Shondra Brown................................ September 23 Rebecca Wedgewood................... September 24 Ivette Chavez-Gonzalez............... September 24 Dana McHale..................................... September 25 Tiffany Valentin............................... September 27 Garrett Dicembre............................ September 28 Teresa Lane........................................ September 29

Anniversaries ANNUAL TRAININGS

Angela Fanale.......................................... 1 Year Kelly Thompson...................................... 1 Year

The first round of Annual Trainings are available on your Evergreen University profiles and are due on September 27. The second round will be available on October 1 and will be due on December 31. Contact Jocelyn Leising with any questions.

Alice Ayala Larregui............................ 1 Year

NON-VIOLENT CRISIS INTERVENTION

Sharee Harris........................................... 2 Years

The next Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training will be held on September 19 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the Evergreen Commons Sanctuary. This training program helps promote the care, welfare, safety and security of staff and patients who may be involved in a crisis situation. Through this course you will learn a range of preventive strategies along with de-escalation and communication skills. You'll also learn psychological and physiological responses to minimize the potential harm of disruptive and aggressive behavior. If you would like to register, contact Jocelyn Leising.

CRYSTAL METH AND MSM Crystal Meth use continues to be a major health threat to MSM in New York State.

A 2-day course taking place on October 28 and 29 in the Commons Sanctuary will increase knowledge of crystal meth use among MSM, describe how use impacts risk for HIV infection, discuss harm reduction strategies as well as share a sample assessment tool. Relevant resources will also be discussed. As a result of this course, participants will be able to: • • • • • • • • • •

Describe trends in crystal meth use among MSM List commonly perceived benefits of crystal meth use among MSM Describe values about working with MSM, people who use drugs etc.

Define characteristics and modes of administration of crystal meth Identify harm reduction strategies to share with MSM who use crystal meth Compare between mild, moderate and severe substance use disorders Define trauma and trauma informed care Identify elements of assessment tools for MSM who use crystal meth List at least 2 evidence-based practices for MSM and substance use Identify local/national MSM and crystal meth resources for referrals

Register at: https://www.hivtrainingny.org/User/ConfirmCourse/3222 Continuing Education Credits: This training is provided under New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Education and Training Provider Certification Number 0305. Under the NYS OASAS Provider Certificate, this training is approved for 13.0 clock hours towards the education and training requirement for renewal of CASAC/CPP/CPS certification.

Daniel Auflick.......................................... 1 Year Meghan Canfield.................................... 1 Year Jomareliz Gonzalez-Velez................. 1 Year Arlene Andrade-Johnson.................. 2 Years Nancy Colon............................................. 2 Years LeAnna Shanks....................................... 2 Years Tiffany Valentin...................................... 2 Years DeAirra Burroughs-Moore............... 2 Years Kathleen Crissey.................................... 2 Years Melissa Nagro.......................................... 3 Years Susan Vanderwerf................................ 3 Years Christina Mihalitsas............................. 3 Years Natalie Jackson....................................... 3 Years Gerrod Bennett........................................ 3 Years Linda Colburn.......................................... 4 Years Renee Posey.............................................. 4 Years Dawn Ganoe.............................................. 4 Years Liz Miller..................................................... 4 Years Teresa Lane............................................... 4 Years Matthew Crehan Higgins................... 5 Years Thomas O'Kell.......................................... 6 Years Ashley Kuss............................................... 7 Years Krista Orrange........................................ 7 Years Tracy Eichelberger............................... 8 Years Shari DeMarco......................................... 11 Years Keisha Leavy............................................ 14 Years Fatai Gbadamosi..................................... 14 Years Susan Fiedler........................................... 15 Years Kimbery Lombard................................. 27 Years

Clockwise from left: Proud mom Teresa Lane says daughter Evie is "all business when it comes to her ice cream cone". Jeff Heras, Kristy Mangel and Melissa Murray from Marketing at the flag raising for Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day at City Hall.

Speaking of, Maria Cruz and her helpers (son and daughter) tabled for Evergreen at the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day festival. We couldn't resist a couple more shots from Leslie's Mexican wedding!

A Adam Eisenhower

A Gideon Belin

A Alan Jacyszyn

A Jacob Marsh

A Andon Ticco

A Jamie Keuck

A Byron McKinney

A Jason Rein

A Carrie Rich

A Jessica Stack

A Cherelle King

A Jocelyn Leising

A Crystal Pereira-Finley

A Johnathan Butler

A Danielle Hartman

A Joseph Sieracki

A David Setlock

A Julie Mayer

A Dawn Ganoe

A Kelly Craig

A Emily Oaks

A Kristy Mangel

A Emma Fabian

A Kyle Erlandson

A Emma Hathaway

A Lauren Voelkle

A Gianna Puckett

A LeAnna Shanks

A Liz Miller A Maggie Barnett A Maria Cruz A Matthew Crehan-Higgins A Matthew Edson A Paula Brudo-Jurek A Rachel Voelkle-Kuhlmann A Rebekah Russell A Rob Cunningham

Publisher/Layout

A Sara Castillo A Seanna Pratt A Shateer Douglas

John Carocci

1.

Dial extension 2222

2. Follow the prompt to record the Code Blue

or Mr. Webber and say the exact location

and building of the incident 3. Hang up your phone. This will prompt your message to be broadcast to all Evergreen locations 4. The Code Blue team and Security will respond to the incident Note: You will have 30 seconds to record your message. If you are not done in 30 seconds you will be cut off and your message will be automatically broadcast. It is imperative that you say the location and building in your message.

Here are a couple of examples: “Code Blue in the men’s bathroom in the lobby of the Elmwood building” or“Could Mr. Webber please come to the counselor room in the Mathews building?”. The Code Blue/Mr. Webber Softkey has been removed from all phones in the organization.

Copy Editor Amy Usiak

Contributors Jocelyn Leising Heather Wilson David Haefner, Esq. Emma Hathaway Block Club Kristy Mangel

Connections is the monthly newsletter for employees and Board members of Evergreen Health and its affilliates, the Pride Center of Western New York and Community Access Services. Please send us your story ideas, photos, feedback, or just a friendly hello at Evergreen Connections via Outlook.