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Blue Ribbon Task Force | Benefit Luncheon | Community Happenings
Welcome to our continual update of VNSW's Community Education Programs and other news. Bookmark this page and visit here often for the latest information on VNSW activities in your community!
Westchester County Blue Ribbon Task Force
Reports Results
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Late in 2005, VNSW announced that Carol L. Weber, President and CEO of VNSW, was invited by Westchester County Executive Andy Spano to join the Westchester County Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Elimination of Health Disparities Among Blacks in Westchester.
At that time, we promised an update as the Task Force proceeded with its work, so here goes:
“When I recruited this select group of community and medical leaders in the Black community a year ago,” said Spano at an Oct. 17th breakfast honoring the group, “ I asked them to share their unique knowledge and valuable insight. I charged them with the task of helping us develop innovative, short-term projects that could begin to address some of the problems. Within the year, the Task Force not only released a detailed report describing the health disparities among Westchester’s Black population, but has provided action steps. We are pleased to fund the innovative projects of organizations that will begin to address some of these issues.”
The Task Force determined that the following priorities were paramount to addressing health disparities among Blacks in Westchester:
- Link more Black residents to needed health care through education, outreach and referral;
- Provide residents with assistance and information to navigate the health care system more effectively; and
- Increase the number of Black physicians working in Westchester County.
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To address the priorities set by the Task Force, the County allocated $20,000 each to three agencies selected through a review process involving members of the Task Force and the Westchester County African American Advisory Board. Among the recipients of these grants was the Union Baptist Church Nurses Ministry, whose president is Leslie Wardell, a VNSW Registered Nurse. The Ministry is involved in such activities as weekly feedings of local homeless, Narcotics Anonymous meetings, providing counseling services, and supporting facilities for battered women; in general, the group works to improve the quality of life for Blacks who are disproportionately afflicted with nutrition-related illnesses in the Greenburgh community.
For further info, go to www.westchestergov.com/health
October 19
Benefit Luncheon
Celebrates 105 Years of VNSW Services
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On October 19, 2006, it may have been cloudy and gusty outside, but you’d never have known from the bright, sunny mood inside Rye’s Westchester Country Club as VNSW celebrated its century-plus history of community service and a very special group of honorees. This year’s VNSW Benefit Luncheon, “Celebrating 105 Years of Caring and Comforting Westchester Residents,” honored Camille Failla Murphy, Director of the Westchester County Office for Women, with special awards to two VNSW employees, Home Health Aide Margaret Riddick and Registered Nurse Kathleen Griswold, for, respectively, 34 years and 20 years of service to the agency and the Westchester community.
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Following cocktails, a capacity crowd settled in over lunch and opening remarks by emcee Jay Michaels, host of WFAS-FM’s “Wake Up Westchester” morning show, followed by a welcome from Ann M. Smith, VNSW board member and Chair of the Luncheon Benefit Committee.
Ms. Smith introduced Dr. Mary Alice Donius, R.N., Ed.D, Dean of The School Of Nursing at The College of New Rochelle, who brought a hush over the room with what she termed a “simple definition” derived from decades of experience and research: “Nursing is caring with compassion, empathy and altruism, with the intention of healing body, mind and spirit.”
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Next was the Honoree presentation to Ms. Murphy by Colette Phipps, VNSW board member, followed by the presentation of the two Employee Service Awards by Carol L. Weber, VNSW’s president & CEO. Hardly a dry eye or seated person was to be found in the room as Ms. Riddick and Ms. Griswold shared their experiences in the community they serve.
Rounding out the day’s festivities was a presentation by VNSW board chair Nicholas D’Angelo to retiring VNSW Director Charles Englert.
The afternoon concluded with a raffle drawing, including prizes such an evening at the Metropolitan Opera, a home stereo system and a weekend getaway.
All-in-all, it was a memorable afternoon indeed for all who attended, and it wasn’t long before the conversation turned to doing it even better, and having even more fun, next year.
The 2007 event will be different and extremely special – stay tuned for details!
Community Happenings
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This past May at the Westchester County Center, when VNSW and its sister agency, WCAH (Westchester Care At Home) exhibited at “Salute To Seniors”, and offered free blood pressure screenings to attendees, our booth was honored with a special visitor: County Legislator Bill Ryan. When his screening revealed a reading on the high side, Bill immediately consulted his own physician, got the treatment he needed, and expressed his thanks to VNSW/WCAH for the “heads-up.” Free blood pressure screenings are one of the many services routinely provided to Westchester’s senior community by VNSW’S “Ask The Visiting Nurse” program.
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VNSW has been awarded a grant of $140,000 by the New York State Department of Health, in support of VNSW’s work on congestive heart failure under its Cardiac Disease Management Program. A special 2-year pilot program is in the process of being launched.
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VNSW was a major sponsor of the first-ever Westchester End Of Life Caregiver Regional Conference, held on October 31st at Fordham University’s Tarrytown campus. Speakers included William H. Colby, author of “Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan” and Russell K. Portenoy, M.D., Director of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center, plus panels of prominent speakers. The keynote presentation was moderated by Katharine Wilson Conroy, Esq., chair of the Westchester Visiting Nurse Services Group, VNSW’s parent company, and former chair of VNSW’s board of directors.
- VNSW, for 2006, once again received a grant ($8,000) from the POW’R (Putnam/Orange/Westchester/Rockland) TO BE TOBACCO FREE Cessation Center, in support of VNSW’s first-of its-kind Tobacco Cessation Program. Over the past 5 years, funding provided by POW’R to VNSW has totaled $80,200.
E-mail for more info, or call (914) 682-1480
