Evergreen has consistently ranked as one of Buffalo Business First's Best Places to Work in Western New York. Even so, for a variety of reasons, sometimes staff members leave. And, also for a variety of reasons, sometimes they come back. The "Boomerang Club" is large and growing larger all the time. Connections chatted with three of its members to get their unique perspectives on life at Evergreen.
Amanda Honan was an intensive HIV/AIDS case manager at Evergreen (then AIDS
Community Services or ACS). "I left ACS to gain clinical experience as a therapist," she explained. "There was only a part-time therapist here then. It was a new program." After living in Baltimore, Amanda moved back to Buffalo and made it her mission to come back to Evergreen. "My days at ACS were by far some of my best. Much of my professional and personal growth came from from the time I spent at ACS and the long-lasting relationships I built during this time. Those truly were some of my most formative, challenging, rewarding and fun years in my career."
We live - and work - in a world of constant change and Amanda notes that the Evergreen
she returned to is different from the agency she left. "I'm glad to see the mirrors have been taken out of the elevator," she joked. "Nobody needs that many angles of yourself on a Monday morning!" But much has stayed the same. "The welcoming feel and truly caring for our patients and community is still very much alive and well. Grassroots can coexist with growth. The desire to be that safe place for our patients continues to be a focal point for why we do what we do."
Evergreen's culture is the most common answer to "what stayed the same while you
were away?" Amanda agrees. "The Evergreen way stays with you," she said. "For that I truly feel lucky. I learned to fight for people when their voice was quiet or silenced and advocate
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The Evergreen way stays with you. For that I truly feel lucky. - Amanda Honan
during a time where judgment was high, services were few and medications weren’t as effective. Losing our patients to illness wasn’t unheard of but we kept going together for our community. We were part of something bigger, part of change. I'm so fortunate to again be part of that change. I do not think I would have the successes I have had in my life without having the experiences I did at ACS. I also don’t think I would have made such deep and lasting friendships." Sarah Stimpson is another Boomeranger. Sarah was ACS's Nutrition Services coordinator. "I oversaw the Nutrition Program, food pantry and Congregate Meals program in the old 1.0 Wellness Center," Sarah explained. "I left because the grant funding changed. My position as registered dietitian was changed to a community health educator role." Sarah recently returned to Evergreen. "I came back because Evergreen is starting a new diabetes program. Ive always wanted to come back to Evergreen! I never wanted to leave, really. I know how well they treat their patients and employees. That is important to me."
Sarah notes that the organization has changed a great deal over the past decade.
"Evergreen has completely evolved and grown SO much from when I worked here 10 years ago," she said. "There were only about 125 employees then, all housed in one building. It is truly impressive to see all the services Evergreen has added under their umbrella for the
community! Primary and Specialty Care has grown so much, which I’m truly happy to see."
"I'm proud to work at Evergreen because of everything they
do for their patients and our community. The staff are so nice and the patients tell me they enjoy coming here because they feel comfortable here." We couldn't agree more, Sarah!
Joelle Toal started as a floor RN in Primary and Specialty
Care and eventually became director of Testing Services. "I wanted to relocate closer to home (Batavia) but I also really wanted to expand my knowledge and skill set in terms of primary care operations outside of STI testing," Joelle said. "I love our patients and this team. There is truly nothing else like it and while I’m incredibly grateful for my experiences and opportunities while I was gone, I’m more thankful to be back."
Joelle also came back to an Evergreen that was different
from the one she left. "The changes include becoming a FQHC and, with that, all of the growth, learning and excitement. Coming back during COVID was challenging, but the Evergreen spirit could still be felt even with changes the pandemic presented. That definitely hasn’t changed. I'm happy to be back!"
We're happy you're back too, Joelle. In fact, we're thrilled that
all of our Boomerangers are back! Watch for more Boomerang Club stories in upcoming issues of Connections.
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The Drug User Health Coalition is a resource group for current and former people who use drugs. This weekly meeting allows members opportunities to connect with each other, share experiences and work to bring about meaningful change. For many, this sense of purpose is instrumental in each member’s own path to a healthier future. Emma Fabian, AVP of harm reduction explains, “Our patients really are motivated to meet often and to keep moving on projects that we’re working on. We are intentional about building in advocacy. We pick issues to work on, like syringe decriminalization, medication assisted treatment in jails and prisons or marijuana regulation and legalization. That involvement demonstrates legislation that would make a real positive impact in people’s lives.” One member of the Coalition stated that advocacy allows him to feel good about himself by helping others. “I can give you some true-life stories, how drugs affect my life and my family’s life. It made me feel good about myself to do something for someone who can’t help themselves.” Another member chimed in, “I found harm reduction helped me. It helped me reduce my drug use…it gave me inspiration to continue living.” Some members are drawn to help others because they see themselves in those struggling. “That could have been me” is a common phrase when talking about people struggling with drugs. Also, is the feeling of stigma that many members experience. One member explains, “It’s so prevalent that people think we’re all the same and just looking for handouts. That’s not the case. Some of us have been through a lot of trauma and people look the other way.” The Drug User Health Coalition allows members a place where they can be heard and understood, rather than looked down on or turned away from. Helping others gives many members a sense of purpose. One member who now works for Evergreen in the Harm Reduction Mobile Unit expressed joy with being able to help the community. “I love it. I love connecting with people. I love talking to them and assessing their abscesses. If they want to go to rehab or just talk, like normal people, I’m here.”
The Pride Center hosted a Bisexual Awareness Day event at Misuta Chows downtown. Attendees enjoyed plenty of delicious food, great conversation and, of course, Pride Center swag.
Top Row: Congratulations to Maria Cruz, Evergreen's director of treatment & prevention adherence, who received the President's Award from the Hispanic Women's League. Maria was also inducted as the organization's new president at the award reception. Bottom Left: Salsa Night hosted by Upstate New York Black and Latino Pride. Bottom Right: National Hispanic Heritage Month trivia winner, Evergreen linkage specialist Liza Pereira.
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If you have any questions about COVID-19, please send an email to COVID19questions@evergreenhs.org. Mark your calendar! The submission
For questions about Evergreen’s COVID-19 vaccination program, you can email COVID19vaccinequestions @evergreenhs.org. Or, visit ADP or evergreenhs.org for more information.
deadline for the December 2021 issue of Connections is Wednesday, November 17. Be sure to get your content in before the deadline to guarantee placement. Kids, pets, recipes -we want to share them all! Send to EvergreenConnections via Outlook.
Dear Data - Today I received a blank report when I usually receive information on my monthly reporting. Why was my report blank? - Missing Information Dear Missing Information - This is a good question! I don't know what it is, but there is something disconcerting about opening up an empty spreadsheet. It's possible that with some of our manual reporting, when there's nothing to report, a person could open it and decide not to send it. However, automated reports get sent to their subscribers no matter what. Do you get a daily report of previous day appointments and yesterday was a holiday? Then, you will receive a blank report.
This is completely normal in a lot of situations. Our code "looks for" all info that fits specific criteria,
and then creates a report. If no rows come up, the report is still sent to you - it just has zero results. Every automated report should have a short description of what the report includes, if you need a reminder on what data is in it to consider if it's "normal" for it to be blank or not.
However, if you receive a blank report and you think that there should be results in the report, feel
free to put in a help desk ticket and let us know. There's no need to get nervous just because you see some blank cells - but trust us, we like our reports full of data too. We hope this helps! - Data Dear Data is an advice column to answer and provide advice on your burning questions or concerns regarding all things data. Email your questions to: “Dear Data” (deardata@evergreenhs.org; deardata@caswny.org; and deardata@pridecenterwny.org).
The Pride Center hosted Skating Night at Canalside, which featured skating (of course) and music on a beautiful Friday night.
Birthdays Zachary Marchese........................November 1 Gail Ghiretti......................................November 1 Farieda Yafai....................................November 1 Emily Bystrak..................................November 2 Joseph Sessa..................................November 3 Teourialeir Johnson.....................November 3 Lavine Hatten..................................November 3 Dwayne Parchment.....................November 4 Marlyn Moore..................................November 5 LaTanya Walton-Brown.............November 7 Cathleen Niedermayer...............November 7 Susan Fiedler...................................November 8 Kimberly Clarke.............................November 9 Renee VanAernam.......................November 10 Angela Palmer................................November 10 Kevin Bidtah....................................November 10 Marci a Derby...................................November 12 Shauntal Fulgham........................November 12 Brittney Warham...........................November 13 Celena Rothrock............................November 14 Sharee Harris...................................November 15 Nicholas Eichelberger................November 17 Shari DeMarco................................November 18 Linda Berkoh-Asamoah............November 20 David Fischer..................................November 20 Christian Rossman.......................November 21 Jessica Baker..................................November 21 Nicholas Maggi...............................November 22 Robert Moore.................................November 22 Elisa Luciano....................................November 23 Jermane Nauden..........................November 24 Kathryn Diebold............................November 25 Michaela Brown.............................November 25 Johanna Price.................................November 26 Katherine Kawa..............................November 26 Tangela Watson-Bogan............November 26 Laraine Wende...............................November 26 Maria Cruz.........................................November 26 Meghan Kinnaird...........................November 27 Nicholas Stern.................................November 27 Amanda Honan..............................November 27 Alexandria Aiello...........................November 27 Kimberly Johnson........................November 28 Christine Kemp...............................November 30
Anniversaries Shaquana Zeigler-Davis....................... 1 Year
She Inspires | Executive Team Panel The Lean In employee resource group is hosting a panel discussion event featuring the women on Evergreen’s Executive Team on December 2 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. During this event, participants will have an opportunity to ask the female leadership questions and hear experiences about being a woman in the workplace. This event will also feature a career goal setting activity. If you would like to join the event, contact Jocelyn Leising. Panelists: - Jessica Baker, general counsel - Kim Brown, executive director (CAS) - Melissa Gulino, VP of medical services - Maria LoTempio, VP of supportive services - Christine Marrano, VP of human resources - Ekua Mends-Aidoo, chief equity & inclusion officer - Angela Palmer, VP of care coordination
Second Round of Annual Trainings The second round of annual trainings are now available on Evergreen University. These trainings are mandatory for all staff and are due on December 31, 2021. Contact Jocelyn Leising with any questions or issues.
Employee Engagement Survey The annual employee engagement survey will be released to staff later this month. This survey is an opportunity for staff to give their open and honest feedback on their personal work experience. The responses give Evergreen leadership a clear understanding of the company’s culture and work environment. There will be additional communications to come. If you would like to see past year’s results, check out the Employee Engagement page in the HR folder on Blink!
Jessica Ziemba Malave.......................... 1 Year Addison Laczkowski.............................. 1 Year Michaela Chatmon.................................. 2 Years Sharon Yager............................................. 2 Years Isaac Resto Reyes.................................... 2 Years Marina Ward............................................... 2 Years Deiona Baldwin......................................... 2 Years Mia Magliazzo............................................ 2 Years Kimberly Martin........................................ 2 Years Phillip Aris.................................................... 3 Years Nicole Callahan......................................... 3 Years Alicia Kohlhagen...................................... 3 Years Paula Brudo-Jurek.................................. 4 Years Susan Hanners........................................... 4 Years Roosevelt Terry......................................... 4 Years Felissha Humphries................................ 4 Years Christina Sheppard................................. 4 Years Mustafa Abucar........................................ 4 Years Anabel Rivera............................................ 4 Years Courtney Bradley..................................... 4 Years Stefanie Lyons........................................... 5 Years Linda Scalise............................................... 5 Years John Argo.................................................... 5 Years Joseph Sessa............................................. 5 Years Stephanie Vroman-Goodrich............ 7 Years Dawn Trotter.............................................. 7 Years Marielena Camacho................................ 8 Years Samantha Gaerte..................................... 8 Years Cortney Anderson................................... 15 Years Courtney Rhines....................................... 15 Years Bridget McClain........................................ 19 Years
Publisher/Layout John Carocci
Copy Editor Melissa Meyer
Contributors Jocelyn Leising Nina Smith Julie Vaughan Heather Wilson Kimberly Clarke Melissa Meyer John Carocci 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.
The Marketing and Communications Team enjoyed a fun-filled day out in nature at Becker Farms. There was apple picking, animal petting and pie eating, along with a ride through the haunted forest.
Copywriter Melissa Meyer and her partner Jesse O’Reilly got engaged over the summer. They are planning a wedding for fall 2022!