IT’S
a period of rapid growth here at Evergreen. So what else is new? Growth is a wonderful
thing, but it brings challenges for our staff and especially for our clients and patients. Lori Anthony is Evergreen’s Director of Patient Experience, a new position created to help patients who are transferring to Evergreen from Erie County Medical Center make the transition as smoothly and painlessly as possible. “So many of our clients feel as though they have little control over their disease and over the care they receive,” said Lori. “Coming to Evergreen is about empowerment and choice, allowing our patients to see they are the driver of their own health and well-being.” This sense of empowerment is critical for people who face constant stigma and discrimination from family, friends and even healthcare providers, a stigma Lori notes is based on ignorance and fear. Any change, even positive change, can add to their already considerable uncertainty and stress. “Some patients are reluctant at first,” Lori said. “They’re hesitant to make another change, but the team here at Evergreen makes the transition a positive experience for them.” It helps that Evergreen makes a good first impression. “When patients come into our facility they’re in awe,” said Lori. “They’re glad to be in a facility that’s respectful, helpful, bright and clean. From the security team (often the first people a patient encounters) to the front desk staff to the medical team, patients are greeted with a smile and conversation.” Many patients have remarked that they feel comfortable coming to Evergreen. “Any time we can relieve the fear of change and the fear of stigma, we’ve made a difference for the better in our patients’ lives,” said Lori. Confidentiality of care is a big concern for all of our patients, particularly
so many of our clients feel as tho
Lori Anthony and the Evergreen Experience those who are living with HIV. “Walking into a place where an abundance of services are offered and nobody knows why they’re coming in helps people feel more at ease,” said Lori. “Having access to so many services under one roof also helps to ease their burden and makes the “one stop shopping” concept a reality. With the recent influx of new patients, Lori has been working hard to make sure everyone has “the Evergreen experience” from the moment they walk in our doors to the moment they leave. “I love it,” Lori said. “I love the people I work with. There’s a tremendous level of compassion and dedication that people have here at Evergreen. A true desire to help and make a difference. We take care of one another here, and there’s an infrastructure in place that allows for ideas to be discussed and explored and changes to be made. It definitely makes the transition of care for our patients much easier.” Of course there are challenges as well, but they seem to be minor. “The most challenging thing about my job has been learning the computer systems,” said Lori. “My challenges are often caused by ‘user error,’ but I’m getting there.”
Like many people, Lori took the scenic route to Evergreen. She was born in Western New York, but grew up in Los Angeles. “I was working at the Los Angeles free clinic in the mid-1980s,” Lori said. “We were seeing young men coming in for care with a disease (HIV) we knew little about. In fact, it had only just been named. I’m frequently in awe at how far we’ve come in the treatment of this disease.” Lori earned her nursing degree from Santa Monica College and was licensed in New York State when she moved back to Buffalo. “My move back was family-driven... literally! My mother and I drove across the country in a Dodge Omni with luggage, two dogs and a cat. Twenty four years later, it’s all still a blur. I worked at ECMC for 20+ years in Immunodeficiency Services, met some amazing people (one of whom I married, you all know her as my “Medent spouse” Christina) and had two incredible children (Jordan and Jack). They’re both incredibly spirited and unique in their own way. We have two dogs and a three-legged cat. Christina and I were married last December and have happily worked together for the last nine years. We are both very excited to be a part of the Evergreen family.” Connections
ough they have little control over their disease and the care they receive
September Birthdays Deshell Fields.......................September 1 Ada Acevedo.........................September 2 Aaron Patterson...................September 3 Mark Wolf..............................September 3 Erika Szymanski..................September 4 Deanna Ellis..........................September 7 Tatesha Russell....................September 9 Bridget McClain...................September 10 Maria Marchinda.................September 10 Brianna Barrett.....................September 10 Stephanie Mineo..................September 10 Michael Lee...........................September 10 Corinne Henderson.............September 11 Abby Depczynski.................September 11 Amanda Thornton...............September 14 Lovejeet Atwal......................September 14 Kimberly Lombard...............September 15 Dr. Fatai Gbadamosi...........September 16 Julie Vaughan.......................September 17 Jessica Lehner.....................September 17 Robert Baird.........................September 18 Jason Rein............................September 20 Shannon Bryant...................September 20 Leslie Anderson...................September 20 Jennifer DeMarsh................September 22 Julie Falk...............................September 22 Emma Hamilton...................September 23 Dana McHale........................September 25 Deion Simmons...................September 26 Paisley Taylor.......................September 27
Katherine Patti................... September 27 Deanna Bednarz................ September 27 Garrett Dicembre............... September 28 Teresa Lane........................ September 29
Anniversaries Melissa Laux................................. 1 year Christina Mihalitsas..................... 1 year Natalie Jackson............................ 1 year Susan Vanderwerf........................ 1 year Gerrod Bennett............................. 1 year Linda Colburn................................ 2 years Liz Miller......................................... 2 years Dawn Ganoe.................................. 2 years Teresa Lane................................... 2 years Joelle Toal...................................... 2 years Renee Posey.................................. 2 years Sally Russell.................................. 3 years Matthew Crehan Higgins............ 3 years Richard Fleurant........................... 4 years Thomas O’Kell............................... 4 years Richard Baer.................................. 4 years Ashley Kuss................................... 5 years Krista Orrange............................... 5 years Tracy Eichelberger........................ 6 years Lindsay Zasada............................. 7 years Shari DeMarco.............................. 9 years Dr. Fatai Gbadamosi.................... 12 years Keisha Leavy................................. 12 years Susan Fiedler................................. 13 years Gary Williams................................ 19 years Kimberly Lombard........................ 25 years
My favorite school memory has to be when I
life is my favorite school memory. — Rob Baird g
decided to go back to college as a single mom and
Making a life-sized dreidel in the 4th grade that I
my five year old daughter’s reaction was “mommy,
got to perform in during our annual holiday school
we can do our homework together!” She is now 22.
assembly, having no prior knowledge as to what a
— Susan Buck g Reading all of the Laura Ingalls
dreidel was. There was singing involved too but
Wilder books in fourth grade but in the order they
luckily I have repressed that part of the memory. —
were available in the school library rather than the
Matthew John Pasquarella g My favorite school
chronological order in which they were written. —
memory was playing double dutch with friends
Matthew Crehan Higgins g Getting new school
and lining up outside after lunch in the school
clothes and supplies are my favorite memories.
playground. — Magali Maldonado
— LaTanya Walton-Brown g I was very quiet and
loved to go back-to-school supply shopping.
shy as a kid and the target of a lot of bullying. So
There’s nothing like opening fresh packs of pens,
graduating high school and moving on with my
loose-leaf paper and glue sticks! — Deion Simmons
g
I always
Hello everyone! My name is Rashaun Nelson and I’m the Information
type of pressure and distraction it can be easy to miss a spelling
Technology Manager here at Evergreen. I have 15 years of professional
discrepancy in an email address. Once the attacker had a
experience in IT, with five of those years dedicated specifically to
working username and password to get into the ECMC systems,
cybersecurity and managerial roles. In addition to my bachelor’s
they logged in and proceeded to use a second technique known
degree in Information Systems from Medaille College, I also hold a
as Code Injection. Code Injection means installing malicious
post-graduate certification in Information Systems Cybersecurity
code and/or programming to allow an unauthorized user to
from Penn State, and because I like school so much (no, not really) as
manipulate a device, essentially bypassing any security features
of December I’ll also have earned a master’s degree in Cybersecurity
set by their IT department. The code that was injected into
and Information Assurance from Penn State. This is the first of a
the computers of ECMC encrypted the hospital’s data making
series of columns I’ll be writing for Connections, covering all aspects
it unusable, without the key to unlock it, then demanded a
of Cybersecurity, which is a very important topic here at Evergreen.
ransom of either $44,000 or $24,000,000 (depending on which
C
newspaper you’ve read) for that key. Now that you have a better ybersecurity is something I’m passionate about, which
understanding of how this can happen, here are some simple
is why I take it very seriously. You may have heard
best practices that you can follow to ensure we stay secured:
accounts of a recent cyberattack against ECMC. I want
Choose Passwords Wisely – Passwords are where companies
to emphasize that these types of attacks can and do occur
are the most vulnerable. The truth is that most people use
regularly. ECMC’s assault was a sophisticated one, but the
simple, easy to remember passwords but they are also easy to
execution was simple in nature. The attacker used two specific
guess. Email – If you’re unsure if an email is authentic or not,
techniques. The first involved sending emails to multiple
please reach out to our IT team. We have tools in place that will
individuals at ECMC using a technique called spoofing. Spoofing
allow us to check the legitimacy of any email address. Lost/
is when you send out an email pretending to be someone you’re
Stolen Devices – Admitting a company device has been lost or
not. For example, the helpdesk email account is helpdesk@
stolen can be embarrassing, but the faster we know that it’s not
evergreenhs.org. An attacker might create an email address
in your possession the faster we can remove any PHI/PII from
that looks similar, such as helpdesk@evergreenns.org, and ask
the device. Collaboration – Please notify IT of any suspicious
you to verify your password. They are doing this to trick you into
computer related events you may witness and/or encounter.
providing them with your password so that they can sign on to
Working with IT on any suspicious occurrences you may come
Evergreen’s systems as you (remember, IT will never ask you
across can greatly reduce the chances of Evergreen facing an
to verify your information via email). We live in a world where
issue such as the one ECMC faced. Let’s all pitch in and protect
multitasking is essential to meeting deadlines and under that
our investment in this community.
Connections