Thomas Foels, M.D. is Evergreen's new medical director for population health. The population health program is relatively new, so we asked Dr. Foels about what it is and how it helps our patients. "I'll provide input to the Executive Team in three important areas related to population health," said Dr. Foels. "First, I'll assist Evergreen in adapting to seismic changes occurring in healthcare payment models, specifically the transition from “volume-based” to “value-based” reimbursement and the increasing focus on performance-based incentives. These market transitions are occurring rapidly and it's important for Evergreen to align new payment models with our mission to provide optimal health outcomes to all of our patients." "The second area of focus is how to best measure, monitor and improve health across populations of individuals. This is the essence of population health. Future healthcare funding will require us to demonstrate impact and improvement, not only in the health of individuals we see during office-based encounters, but among patients who aren't routinely engaging in care. Evergreen has a significant advantage in this regard because we've traditionally embraced a population-based focus and we have an abundance of resources that address both the clinical and the social needs of our patients." "Lastly, it will be increasingly important to articulate the value Evergreen brings to our community; how can we best describe the many unique services we provide and the outcomes we achieve to various external audiences." Dr. Foels may be a new staff member, but he has been involved with the agency over the years. He served on Evergreen's Board of Trustees for over a decade. "In that time I witnessed amazing advances in HIV care and prevention, and the transformation of what was then AIDS Community Services into the multi-disciplinary service organization Evergreen is today," said Dr. Foels. "From its origins at the onset of the AIDS epidemic, Evergreen has played a leadership role in identifying new and important opportunities to expand the reach of its services across the community. This includes efforts to reduce transmission of STIs through education and screening, the needle-exchange program, PrEP, the growth of primary care services along with providing comprehensive services in behavioral health and harm
reduction. Evergreen continues to be an important resource for culturally competent care across so many different segments of our community. The expansion and diversity of services Evergreen offers is unique and impactful. It's an honor to be more formally integrated into the organization at this point in my professional career." Dr. Foels' career has been extraordinary. He grew up in North Tonawanda, and completed his undergraduate education at Canisius College. He then attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, followed by a residency in pediatric and adolescent medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. He later attended the Tulane School of Public Health for a master's degree in medical management. "It's essentially a blended master's in public health (MPH) and master's in business administration (MBA) degree," said Dr. Foels. Immediately after his medical residency, he established a group pediatric and adolescent medicine practice in Tonawanda, followed by a second practice in Williamsville. After 17 years in clinical practice, Dr. Foels changed career paths and assumed a role as a medical director at Independent Health. "I assisted community physician practices in the implementation of new clinical service models and quality improvement strategies." From 2008-2019 Dr. Foels served as Chief Medical Officer at Independent Health. "I was accountable for the oversight of Health Care Services (utilization management, case management, behavioral health, and quality management), helping to improve the health of the plan’s 400,00 membership base. Amazingly, Dr. Foels has spare time. "Family is center to my life. I have a wonderful wife of nearly 40 years, a daughter and an exceptionally beautiful and talented granddaughter (all grandchildren are exceptionally beautiful and talented, of course)," said Dr. Foels. "Both my daughter and her husband are teachers in the Western New York public school system, as was my wife previously." Hobbies and interests? "I’m always in motion (literally). I’m an avid cyclist, runner, and swimmer." Dr. Foels has participated in numerous triathlons, marathons and cycling races across the country and overseas, including the Empire State AIDS Ride, co-sponsored by Evergreen, which involved cycling 500+ miles from Niagara Falls to New York City. Welcome to the Evergreen family, Dr. Foels! Connections
Connections July 2019
Publisher/Layout John Carocci
Copy Editor Amy Usiak
Contributors Jocelyn Leising Kristen O'Connor Julie Vaughan Ekua Mends-Aidoo Block Club Kimberly Harding
Connections is the official monthly newsletter for the employees and Board members of the Evergreen Association and its affilliates (aka you). Please send us your story ideas, photos, feedback, or just a friendly hello to Evergreen Connections via Outlook. Thank you!
The History of Juneteenth Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865 that Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was a full two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation became official on January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans because there were too few Union troops in Texas to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the Union forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. Later attempts to explain the two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. - Ekua Mends-Aidoo
turn the page to see Evergreen in action at Buffalo's Juneteenth celebration! >>
New! Secure PHI Folder on H: Drives It's everyone’s responsibility to keep all protected health information (PHI) such as diagnosis, medical history, mental health or substance use conditions, lab results, etc. safe. The same goes for personally identifiable information (PII), which is anything that could distinguish one person from another, including name, date of birth, Social Security number, legal status, etc. This is true for any electronic files, emails and/or reports containing PHI or PII. It's important to have good practices for the creation, storage and destruction of these files. PHI and PII are secure on Evergreen network drives thanks to safeguards used by our Information Technology department, but where should you save any temporary or non-finalized reports, files, lists, etc. that contain confidential data? Best practice at Evergreen is to not save any confidential or private information on your desktop. Just like your physical desk, saving anything sensitive onto your computer’s desktop leaves it vulnerable to data breaches. Instead, save it on your H:drive in the new “PHI” folder! That’s right, our IT department has worked with our external support vendor Synchronet to create a specific folder just for you to store any files which contain sensitive information. You can be sure these temporary files are safe in the PHI folder, which is located on your own personal network H:drive. Much like paper files, your private electronic files have an “archive or destroy by" date. Files in the PHI folder should be either moved or archived on a shared Evergreen network drive or destroyed/deleted about every six months. We'll be sending monitoring reports of any files older than six months stored in employee PHI folders to data stewards (departmental supervisors who oversee staff and day to day data management). Managers can then share these reports with their staff and use their judgment to determine what should be moved, archived or deleted permanently. Thanks for your help and vigilance in keeping electronic patient, employee, volunteer, donor, vendor, etc. data safe! In August we'll be sharing some information about the structure of the IS/IT department. If you have any questions that you want to make sure are answered about our departments, email bernard@evergreenhs.org before the end of July. - Julie Vaughan
1. John Carocci's niece Caterina seems to think she's starring in a shampoo commercial. 2. Teresa Lane commands the rain to stop during the lineup for the Pride parade. It worked! Great job, Teresa! 3. Nichole Frank's daughter Courtney graduated from JCC-Jamestown with a degree in science. Courtney plans to attend University at Buffalo in the fall to become a physical therapist. Congratulations to Courtney and her proud mom Nichole! 4. Here's Nicole Coonly hiking down the Grand Canyon. "Going down was a little tricky with footing," said Nicole. "The trail is narrow in some spots, and going back up was much more physically challenging. But I did it!" 5. Robert Cunningham shared this great photo of the Evergreen security crew in the atrium.
HAVE YO
The Corporate Compliance department has moved into a new location at the Mathews Building
OU HEARD? Our Corporate Compliance department is evolving and expanding. Kimberly Harding has joined the Compliance team as the director of corporate records and policy. She is responsible for assisting departments and programs with completing, reviewing and updating their policies and procedures. She will also implement a contract management system that will warehouse our contracts, agreements, leases and associated documents. This will make our contracts and agreements trackable and accessible. In addition, Kimberly will maintain the agency's corporate records, which includes instituting an organization-wide document retention and destruction policy and process.
Dave Haefner, as the director of HIPAA security, will step away from the contract review process to focus on developing HIPAA and confidentiality training programs that are agency-wide or tailored to various departments, along with creating a culture of compliance through messaging, developing specialized work groups and/or committees, and identifying compliance champions. He will also continue with internal assessments and the identification and management of external consultants to meet our compliance and regulatory needs.
Matthew John Pasquarella is Evergreen's corporate compliance officer, responsible for macro management of the department and its compliance initiatives as well as assessing and/or developing plans to reduce organizational risk. He is working to develop a regulatory update initiative to keep the organization abreast of regulatory changes, and he oversees contract/agreement reviews and approvals as well as the agency's various insurance policies.
g. Reach out to Kim, David or Matthew John for assistance, or to report a compliance concern.
We strive to provide all of our patients with the highest quality healthcare available, delivered with compassion and respect. When someone is both a patient and employee at Evergreen, the line separating those two roles can become blurred. Our co-workers in Primary and Specialty Care have answered some commonly asked questions to ensure that all patients, including Evergreen employees, get the best care possible.
HOW DO I... BECOME A PATIENT? Call and speak with someone in scheduling or visit the front desk to get new patient paperwork to fill out and return. MAKE, CHANGE OR CANCEL AN APPOINTMENT? Call, send a message via the Patient Portal, or stop in and speak with someone at the front desk. GET, ACTIVATE OR UNLOCK A PATIENT PORTAL ACCOUNT? Call or stop in to the front desk. REQUEST MY MEDICAL RECORDS? Go to the program's front desk (Primary & Specialty Care, Mental Health or Substance Abuse) and discuss what records are needed. The front desk will begin the request process with the appropriate staff, and you will be notified at the contact number listed in your chart when the records are ready. You can also use the Patient Portal.
REMEMBER... All communication needs to be done over the phone or through the front desk. The only exception is a sick call, which needs to be called in to the Nursing Triage Line before the front desk can make an appointment. | The Nursing Triage Line is extension 2531. This line may be used for questions or concerns about medications and sick or urgent visit requests. You can also request testing through this line. | In many cases you'll need to leave a voicemail but a registered nurse will respond promptly to evaluate and address your issues, with provider input when necessary. | Please contact Margaret Prell, director of nursing at extension 2319 with any questions or concerns. | You can request a medication refill at extension 2666. | Walk-ins should go to the front desk. | When using the Patient Portal, your request will likely fall into the "other" category, assigned to Nurse A. | Any paperwork that needs to be completed by providers should be brought to the front desk. It will take approximately 2 weeks to complete. | Please do not give out our Medent fax number to receive personal faxes. We can only use this number for clinical records. | Do not call an individual staff extension for information or a request, even if it's a friend. Similarly, don't approach staff in the hallway or other public areas.
Connections
Birthdays Jovino Morales..............................July 1 Jesse Gasbarro...............................July 1 Gerrod Bennett.............................July 1 Nakia Fears...................................July 3 Crystal Pereira-Finley....................July 4 Meghan Canfield...........................July 4 Alicia Williams..............................July 7 Seanna Pratt..................................July 7 Danielle Shaw...............................July 8 Corrin LaVigne..............................July 8 Rebekah Russell............................July 10 Katherine Mego.............................July 11 Kaitlyn Hamm...............................July 12 Christina Sheppard........................July 13 Ray Ganoe.....................................July 14 Joseph Sieracki..............................July 15 Renee Posey..................................July 15 Ian Schunk....................................July 16 Laurie Abbatessa...........................July 17 Bridge Rauch................................July 17 Thomas Foels................................July 18 Keisha Leavy.................................July 19 Gloria Kornowski..........................July 19 Heather Wilson.............................July 21 Rebekah Bongiorno.......................July 22 Andrew Mattle..............................July 24 Heather Fangsrud..........................July 25 Cheryl Brunetti.............................July 26 Linda Colburn...............................July 27 Christine DeVoe............................July 27 Cecil Sutton...................................July 29 Nicole Callahan.............................July 31
Annual Trainings are rolling out on July 1
and that's what we did! The first round of t
Procedure Manual, Code of Conduct, Con
These trainings will take approximately 1
block off enough time on your calendars to
Anniversaries Aidan Coon...................................1 year Tamarie Novo................................1 year Tiffani Williams............................1 year Suzanne Lambie............................1 year Rebecca Clark...............................1 year Jennifer Halper.............................1 year
Kudos to the following managers who have completed the Manager’s Training Program: - Mindi Levine, - Jacob Perrello - Christina Mihalitsas
15. Last year the training team was asked to break them up into two parts,
trainings will include review and acknowledgment of the new Policy and
Jeanna Portera..............................1 year Alyssa Shon...................................1 year Amanda Thornton.........................2 years Christina Radice............................2 years James Gerwitz...............................2 years Lorraine Cullis..............................3 years Brianna Cabrera............................3 years Nakia Fears...................................3 years Brittany Price................................3 years Melissa Gulino..............................3 years Annette Pabon..............................3 years Melissa Murray.............................3 years Melissa Delgado............................4 years Emma Fabian................................4 years Harry Berkoh-Asamoah.................4 years Gianna Puckett..............................4 years Bianca Morris...............................5 years Renee Hartson..............................5 years Becky Siuta...................................5 years Steven Rein...................................5 years Marly Moore.................................5 years
nflict of Interest and the new New York State Sexual Harassment training.
Stephani Miranda..........................6 years
1 hour to complete and are due on September 27, 2019. So make sure you
Patrick Hildenbrandt.....................8 years
o complete them! If you have any questions please contact Jocelyn Leising.
Christina Turner...........................7 years Tara Monaco.................................9 years Dale Kingston...............................13 years Norma Bocanegra.........................14 years
24/7 Roadside Assistance
Discounts and Savings On
Travel/Insurance Services
A 4 Calls Each Year
A Groceries
A In Every Local Office
A Dead Battery Testing/Jump
A Gasoline
A Vacations and Cruises
A Fuel Delivery
A Prescriptions
A TripTiks andTourBooks
A Lockout Service
A Cell Phone Service
A Auto and Home Insurance
A Flat Tire Change
A Tickets
A Group Travel
A Bicycle Assistance
A And More!
A AAA Mobile App
A Adria Reed
A
A Alex McGann
A
A Anna Ihle
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A Arica Rouse
A
A Christina Turner
A
A Crystal Pereira-Finley
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A Dabrielle Wright
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A David Setlock
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A Gerrod Bennett
A
A Gianna Puckett
A
A Jacob Marsh
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A Jocelyn Leising
A
A Joe Sessa
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A Kate Gallivan
Kelly Thompson
Kim Brown
Kim Lombard
Kristina Moore
LeAnna Shanks
Margaret Prell
Marlyn Moore
Matthew Crehan Higgins
Melissa Nagro
1. Dial extension 2222 2. Follow the prompt to record the Code Blue or Mr. Webber
Michael Canty
Murray Wire
3. Hang up your phone. This will prompt your message to be
Natalie Jackson
Ryan Trubits
Sashira Quintana
and say the exact location and building of the incident 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.
Shari DeMarco
Stephani Miranda
Susie Buck
Theresa Oden
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.