PUTTING PATIENTS FIRST NO MATTER WHAT HAT SHE'S WEARING Over the years, Kathy Crissey has worn a variety of hats
Kathy returned to school for her counseling degree and
within the agency. "I've been involved with Evergreen for
became a volunteer leader for the agency's HIV+ Gay Men
more years than some employees here have been alive,"
support group. "This group ran for many years," said Kathy.
Kathy said. Her connection to Evergreen began in the late
"But again, this was when people were not surviving. We
1980s through the agency's Buddy program. "I was linked to
lost many of our group members. It was an honor to sit with
an HIV+ patient to provide support and friendship." Kathy
these guys, and I learned so much about living with HIV as
and her buddy, Bob, made an instant connection and quickly
well as grief and loss. The hardest part of running the group
became friends. "We spent a lot of time together in the year
was telling everyone when we lost a member. It happened
I worked with him before he died. I took him shopping or to
way too often." Kathy facilitated the group for about five
his appointments. Sometimes we just spent time together.
years. "It was such a worthwhile experience in so many
Bob was a fun-loving individual. He never complained
ways. About six years ago I returned to the agency to start up
about his diagnosis or the treatments, and this was in the
another HIV+ gay men’s group, which ran until the spring of
days when medications were difficult to tolerate and the
this year. HIV has changed so much over the years and the
outlook was bleak for anyone diagnosed with HIV. I gained
need for this type of group has changed as well." Kathy has
much more from him than I was able to give to him. I quickly
also led groups for employees of the agency. These groups
learned all about HIV and AIDS and the organization."
gave support to staff doing difficult work with patients. continued on next page >
Today, Kathy is Evergreen's Clinical Supervisor for
take isn't always an easy one. "The people we serve are
the Mental Health program in the Center for Behavioral Health. "Evergreen has always held a special place in my heart," said Kathy. "And being part of the agency through the years has been an amazing part of my career. I love the culture here! Everyone is friendly, helpful and engaging. It is how employees treat not only patients but each other. I'm thrilled to be part of an organization that is growing, and I look forward to new things on the horizon." In her current role as Clinical Supervisor, Kathy works with patients one-on-one to help them with a variety of issues in their lives. "Patients come to counseling for many reasons," said Kathy. "They may be struggling with depression, anxiety, life stressors or more serious mental health diagnoses. We help patients focus on goals that they identify. We're able to link them to our Nurse Practitioner for medication management as needed. I'm also currently running a support group for transgender individuals to provide connection and resources." Patients benefit greatly from the Counseling Program. "Just today I spoke with a patient who has seen two of our mental health counselors. He told me that 'the first counselor three years ago got me out of the bottom of the well and helped me to peek my way out and the second counselor has helped me to learn to stand on my feet and walk again'. We strive to use a harm reduction model to work with patients and allow them to guide the change that they are seeking." Kathy noted that the path our counseling patients
often managing several issues at one time. Lack of basic day-to-day needs can make it difficult for a patient to get to appointments. One of the things I love about Evergreen is the “one stop shopping” approach where a patient can engage in primary care, care coordination, counseling, pharmacy, pantry, housing, etc. All of these services help minimize the difficulties a patient faces and help them to attend appointments consistently."
Kathy grew up on Grand Island and in Niagara Falls,
New York. She earned her undergraduate degree from Empire State College and her graduate degree from St. Bonaventure University. "I'm the lucky mom to four amazing children adopted from China. They are now 20, 18, almost 17 and 16. Many of you already know that I share these children with two wonderful men and we created the modern family long before TV did. Our kids are lucky to have not just two but three parents to support and love them. I remain connected with my former employer, Adoption STAR, as adoption remains near and dear to my heart. I pretty much have bounced around between Evergreen and Adoption STAR for much of my career. I'm always happy to talk about the prospect of adoption with anyone! It’s a wonderful way to create a family. Life is busy between work and home but in my spare time I enjoy reading, gardening and spending time with the kids. I have a small private practice that keeps me busy as well and that I will retire to one day – but not too soon!"
Connections
Dining Out For Life is more than just a popular fundraiser. It's an opportunity for Team Evergreen to shine! Our volunteer ambassadors bring information about and awareness of the agency to thousands of Western New Yorkers, and as usual Team Evergreen leads the way. Special thanks to everyone who helped make Dining Out For Life a wonderful, delicious success. Team Evergreen restaurants raised a total of $5,932 in donation envelopes alone! A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Michael Canty — Allen Street Hardware Megan Bhatti — Alton’s Restaurant Laurie Matson and Marcia Derby — Brazil Craft Beer and Wine Lounge Jocelyn Leising — Buffalo Proper Lauren Voelkle — Carte Blanche Joseph Lapi — Casa Azul Liza Pereira — Chocolate Bar The Pride Center Staff — Cole’s Jennifer Colon — Ellicottville Brewing Company West Kim Lombard and Richard Fleurant — Forte! The Restaurant Kate Gallivan — Illio Di Paolo’s Restaurant Arica Rouse — Jovi’s Italian Grille and Bistro Ian Eastman and Carolee Corbitt — Labyrinth Press Co. Liz and Brittany Miller — Public House of Buffalo Theresa Woehrel — Ristorante Lombardo Amy Usiak — Ru’s Pierogi Arica Rouse — Jovi's Italian Grill and Bistro Tiffany Valentin — SoHo Matthew Crehan-Higgins — DOFL Car Patrol Michael Blasdell — Poster Hanging
I Dined Out For Life at Ru’s Pierogi, where I was also the ambassador, and had beef on weck pierogies. So darn good! — Amy Usiak A Hopefully you get lots of employees responding where they dined out. I visited Dobutsu, Hydraulic Hearth, Betty’s, Coco, Lombardo’s, CraVing, and Gigi’s before finishing the night at Lebro’s where I had spaghetti carbonara for dinner and met ambassadors dropping off all their donations and supplies. — Rob Baird A I was trying to take pictures at as many places as possible, but the place that really made me want to sit and eat was Roost. Next year if I make up some lame story about "oh, I have a flat tire and I can't take pictures", I'm probably just kicking back at Roost. — John Carocci
Stephanie Sly and her friends Dined Out For Life at Merge on Delaware Avenue. "I definitely recommend Merge," Stephanie said. "It’s gluten-free, vegan/vegetarian, soy-free and very allergy conscientious. We were all too full from our meals for dessert, but I’m sure they were also delicious!" Stephanie also enjoyed seeing so many people from the community dining out. "The service was great and all the tables and bar were full!"
Birthdays ZamZam Noor...................November 1 Lavine Hatten....................November 3 Joseph Sessa......................November 3 Marlyn Moore...................November 5 LaTanya Walton-Brown......November 7 Cathleen Niedermayer.......November 7 Susan Fiedler....................November 8 Joseph Pignatora...............November 8 Kimberly Clarke................November 9 Kevin Bidtah.....................November 10 Angela Palmer...................November 10 Renee VanAernam.............November 10 Saw Min............................November 11 Marcia Derby....................November 12 Debora Johnson.................November 13 Sharee Harris....................November 15 Kristen O'Connor...............November 16 Shari DeMarco..................November 18 Andrew Verity...................November 20 Emmanuel Hudson............November 20 Corinne Miosi...................November 20 Nicholas Maggi..................November 22 Robert Moore....................November 22 Elisa Luciano.....................November 23 Jermane Nauden...............November 24 Kathryn Diebold................November 25 Lidia Kendrick...................November 25 Katherine Kawa.................November 26 Maria Cruz........................November 26 Margaret Prell...................November 27 Kimberly Johnson..............November 28 Nicholas Azzopardi............November 29 Christine Kemp.................November 30
Anniversaries Christina Sheppard....................... 1 year Rivera, Anabel.............................. 1 year Felissha Humphries...................... 1 year Mustafa Abucar............................ 1 year Jorge Heredia............................... 1 year Susan Hanners............................. 1 year Roosevelt Terry............................ 1 year Paula Brudo-Jurek........................ 1 year Courtney Bradley.......................... 1 year Suzanne Lowe.............................. 1 year Stefanie Lyons.............................. 2 years Santos Martinez............................ 2 years Jennifer Latimer........................... 2 years Linda Scalise................................ 2 years
The mandatory annual training modules are available on Evergreen University! All training modules must be completed by December 31, 2018, so be sure to give yourself enough time between now and then to complete them. If you have any questions or need help, contact Jocelyn Leising, Training Support Assistant.
Niseishka Arroyo.......................... 2 years Carrie Rich................................... 2 years Brittany Miller.............................. 2 years Joseph Sessa................................. 2 years John Argo..................................... 2 years Shannon Bryant............................ 3 years Stephanie Vroman-Goodrich......... 4 years Dawn Trotter................................ 4 years Samantha Gaerte.......................... 5 years Marielena Camacho...................... 5 years Ileana Hernandez......................... 6 years Courtney Rhines........................... 12 years Cortney Anderson........................ 12 years Bridget McClain............................ 16 years
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Adria Reed Alan Jacyszyn Alisha Sanders-Baity Ari Gupta Brittany Carbone Carmela Green Cheryl Brunetti Christina Cornell Christina Radice Courtney Rhines Dana McHale Danielle Shaw David Setlock Dawn Ganoe DeAirra Burroughs Moore Glendalisse Vargas Ian Schunk Jillian Fanning Jocelyn Leising Julie Vaughan Kadie Desbordes
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Karen Brown Kathleen Crissey Kim Harding Lauren Jamison LeAnna Shanks Lisandra Rivera Loe Lapi Maria Cruz Matt Edson Nicole Mitchell Ruby Orcutt Ryan Trubits Sarah Otwell Shondra Brown Shontae Scott Steve Jagord Tia Johnson Tiffany Valentin Tiffany Williams Toni Hernandez Zenoma Muse
Here are all the people who received a High Five in the past month. Kudos!
Here are a few items of interest from around the agency. A Allison has wrapped up the mobile market this year. She thanks everyone for a great season and is looking forward to next year’s mobile market. A Save the date for the Jamestown Benefits Fair, which will be held on Thursday, November 15 from 1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. at the Jamestown Library (Fireplace Room). A The Buffalo Benefits Fair will be Wednesday, November 14, 2018, from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Commons, 67 Prospect Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14201.
Harm reduction conference in new orleans Evergreen was well-represented at the recent Harm Reduction Conference in New Orleans. Thank you Liz Miller for sharing these photos!