Birthdays Danielle Shaw is the Administrative Assistant for The Evergreen Exchange and Substance Use Initiative, on the first floor of the Evergreen Center. Originally from a small town in the Finger Lakes area, Danielle worked as a Wedding and Event Coordinator for Heron Hill Winery after completing her degree at Corning Community College. “Working for a winery in the beautiful Finger Lakes region was a wonderful experience,” says Danielle. “And one that I am very proud of.” Finding herself in need of a change, Danielle decided to move to a city close to home that she was unfamiliar with. “Hello, Buffalo,” Danielle laughs. “My first job in the city was at Spot Coffee on Delaware Avenue, right down the street. I remember meeting many kind faces, and eventually realizing they all had one thing in common — they worked at Evergreen.” A few years passed, and Danielle was working behind the bar at Betty’s restaurant, waiting on a couple of her favorite regulars, Theresa Woehrel and her husband Skip. “It was no surprise to find out Theresa works for Evergreen. I proceeded to tell her how I’d been wanting to work with the organization for years. Theresa encouraged me to apply, and four years later here I am. I often smile to myself about how amazing this universe truly is.” As the Administrative Assistant on the first floor, Danielle is frequently the first face clients see when visiting Evergreen. She says her extensive background in customer service has made the transition virtually effortless. “Everyone I’ve encountered at Evergreen has been welcoming; from my co-workers to our clients. Whenever I have a challenging day, I’m able to take a moment and acknowledge all of the admirable work we are doing as an organization. I love the universal mindset of acceptance without judgment that everyone carries with them here, as this is something that was instilled in me from a very young age. I’m honored to be a part of the movement that Evergreen represents, and look forward to the opportunities the future brings to me within this incredible organization.” C
Stephanie Myers............................ March 3 Kasha Lebron.................................. March 5 Jacquelyn Dixon............................. March 6 Jeffrey Santiago.............................. March 6 Gabrielle Mahapatra...................... March 10 Harold Colburn............................... March 10 Veronica Velazquez........................ March 11 Siobhan Fitzgerald-Matson............ March 11 Carrie Sentz.................................... March 12 Theresa Shankland......................... March 12 Rashida Williams............................ March 13 Nichole Frank................................. March 15 Joseph Ryan................................... March 17 Trish Hopkins.................................. March 17 Mindi Mietlicki............................... March 18 Amber Zona................................... March 19 Theresa Woehrel............................ March 20 Andre Dixon................................... March 20 Kate Gallivan.................................. March 22 Johanna Aponte............................. March 26 Byron McKinney............................. March 26 Joshua McClain.............................. March 27 Cord Stone..................................... March 28 Jordan Lester.................................. March 30 Kimberly Johnson Brown............... March 31
Anniversaries Justin Azzarella.................................4 years Kelly Craig.........................................6 years James DeGarmo...............................3 years Lidia Kendrick....................................1 year Kathryn Kraft.....................................1 year Kasha Lebron....................................1 year Angela Palmer..................................15 years Matthew Sydor.................................2 years Tayrin Torres.....................................5 years James Weaver...................................2 years Your continued dedication and hard work are noticed and appreciated - Management Team
I miss Freakies cereal from when I was kid. I loved the magnets and toy we got from the boxes. The monsters were so cute! But I can’t remember what they actually tasted like. (Kimberly Lombard) l As a teenager and younger adult, the answer would be Cocoa Pebbles, hands down! One box could be 2 or 3 servings for me. But today, with the desire to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, it would have to be rolled oats, berries, raisins, ground flax seed, walnuts, and cinnamon with some vanilla almond milk. How things change. (Thomas Fronczak) (Jimi Konidis)
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Fruity Pebbles. I know, it’s obvious.
Alpha-Bits. (John Carocci)
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Fruity Pebbles.
You have to eat them fast, before they get soggy. But that’s fine, because you also can’t wait to get to that sweet, sweet “aftermilk.” (Joseph Ryan) l My favorite cereal is and always will be Count Chocula. What better way to peddle candy disguised as nutrition than with a blood sucking demon. (Lindsay Zasada)
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My favorite cereals are Captain Crunch,
Pops, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks… Why put limits on favorites? (Stephani Miranda) l Past: Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Present: Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Future: Cinnamon Toast Crunch. (Andre Stokes) l Favorite cereal has got to be Sugar Smacks. (Sal Sciandra) l Captain Crunch. There’s nothing like cuts in your mouth to make you want more. (Christopher Reybrouck)
There’s $500 for you in Evergreen’s Employee Referral Program. Refer a qualified friend for an open position, and if they’re hired you’ll get $100 after they complete thirty days. You’ll get another $150 after they complete six months, and another $250 after they complete one year at Evergreen. $........ Tell your friend to write your name on their application $........ Fill out the Employee Referral Form, and return it to HR $........ Sit back and wait for that money tornado!
meet the EAP The Employee Assistance Program is a benefit offered by
counselor; assessment and referral to other resources in
Evergreen to help employees deal with personal or family
your community for further or more specialized services;
problems. The EAP is provided by Child & Family Services, a
24-hour telephone access for emergency personal or family
private, professional counseling agency located in Western
crisis; web-based consultation and information for nutrition
New York with a National Affiliate Network able to serve
concerns; consultation and referral for legal, childcare,
employees in other locations. If you are having personal
eldercare, personal budgeting, and nutrition concerns. EAP
or family problems, we encourage you to call the EAP
programs can help with stress management, adjustment
to schedule an appointment with one of their licensed,
to change, relationship concerns, separation, bereavement,
professional counselors. EAP programs and services are
coping with family illness, domestic violence, anxiety and
available to current employees, as well as immediate family
depression, anger management, parenting concerns,
members or significant others who reside with an employee.
alcohol and drug abuse, other compulsive behaviors
The EAP offers a variety of services, including up to four free
(gambling, eating, internet), concerns about aging relatives,
counseling sessions per problem type with a professional
financial pressures, and more.
(716) 681-4300 | (800) 888-4162 | contacteap@cfsbny.org
break through the wall Pop Quiz: how many emails are in your inbox right now? Take that number, multiply it by 250+ employees, every day of the year, and you’ll see we send and receive a lot of email at Evergreen. Jonathan Feldman is a college chum of mine who writes an IT column for Information Week. Here are some of his tips to help you break through the wall of email noise. This column was written for the Fortune 500 world, but we can apply many of these same principles to communicate more effectively with our co-workers, service providers, and clients. - John Carocci
S
ometimes, the reason nobody is reading your email is that people are overloaded, and your ray of sunshine gets lost among the 200 other beams of enlightenment they received that day. So. Much. Email. In most cases, the tidal wave isn’t caused by outside forces. It’s more likely an autoimmune disease, where the corporate body is harming itself. Frankly, in many cases, employees have tuned out. When internal actors send out time-wasting, confusing, or unclear emails, it creates a learned behavior in employees: ignore. There is hope, if we have the discipline and courage to change our behaviors. Let’s look at four common problems with company email, along with ways to fix those issues and communicate better with our colleagues. Problem One: too much volume. Most people simply send too much email. We treat it like texting, when it isn’t. We send “thanks!” and “no problem!” one-liners. We dash off incomplete or unclear requests before thinking them through. Fix: cut the amount of email you send. In a recent case study from the Harvard Business Review, supervisors who reduced the amount of outbound email reduced the entire company’s email traffic dramatically, and saved thousands of work hours every year in the process. It makes sense: when bosses aren’t judicious in their use of email, we can expect that nobody else will be, either. Problem Two: using the wrong tool for the task. We all know people who send an email when a phone call is more appropriate (maybe you’re one of them?). Fix: pick up the phone. As a rule of thumb, if you’re dealing with a complex issue that may require clarification or
discussion, using the telephone will greatly reduce the volume of low-quality email. Another great rule of thumb: if you’ve gone back and forth more than twice in email, this was a topic that belonged in a real-time chat in the first place. Problem Three: your subject lines suck. They’re vague or unclear, or they don’t relate to the reader. Fix: write clear, informative subject lines and your email will get read in a timely manner. Good subject lines will be relevant to the reader, not the writer. Warning: if you start writing interesting, misleading subject lines — my favorite is “our meeting today,” when we don’t actually have a meeting today — you’ll lose credibility. Problem Four: too many words, unclear call to action. Long-form essays may have made a comeback online, but let me assure you this is not true for professional email. Short and sweet gets read. A meandering introduction before you get to the point is an invitation for someone to think, “this isn’t relevant to me.” If you’re not clear about what someone needs to do, they won’t do it. Fix: tighten up. Take the time to remove extraneous text from your message. Get to the point. Think Hemingway, not Faulkner. If the message needs to be long due to substantive content, start with a summary at the top that outlines the issue and the “call to action,” that is, what you need people to do. The bottom line is that bad email writing is simply bad writing. When you write a professional email, you’re competing for your reader’s attention, and that attention is precious. What should you do? Avoid jargon, don’t be boring, but above all, get to the point and be honest. Your “open rate” will rise, I promise. C
I try not to limit my Madness to March. — Lindsay Zasada a Sarah Palin! — Jimi Konidis a My pick for March Madness is Villanova. — Sal Sciandra a Buffalo Bisons (is this the right sport?). — Christopher Reybrouck a Why is it March Madness if the Oscars are in February? I like “The Revenant” for the big win, but I think it will go to “Spotlight.” — Joseph Ryan
Congratulations A full 80% of responses to this question were smart-ass answers. This is a new Connections record. Congratulations, Evergreen Staff!
February was National Slip, Trip, and Fall Prevention Month. According to a 2009 study by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of injuries from workplace slips, trips, and falls (STFs) among hospital staff which were serious enough to cause the loss of at least one work day was 38.2 per 10,000 employees. This is nearly double the overall rate among private industry, which is 20.1 per 10,000 employees. 65% of all workplace STFs are classified as “same-height�, which includes things like slipping on a wet floor or tripping over an object. These
examples may not seem like a big deal, but STFs can lead to serious injuries, costly compensation/ insurance claims, reduced productivity, or even injury to our clients and visitors. The easiest way to prevent STFs is through vigilance, communication, and proper housekeeping. If you notice something amiss, notify a member of the facilities or custodial team immediately, and alert co-workers to the hazard. Most of our floors are carpeted, but some areas require hard flooring. Slip-resistant footwear can help prevent STFs on hard flooring. Damaged flooring or carpeting should also be reported to the
From Jamestown’s Post-Journal
facilities team for replacement, as it may pose a safety hazard. Another potential hazard is cluttered walkways. As we try to accommodate our rapid growth, many work spaces have become close-quartered. This means increased trip hazards due to proximity, cords, or modified traffic partterns. If you detect something in your work space that requires attention, the team is happy to remedy the situation. While we have an elevator, sometimes long waits (or excess energy!) cause us to use the stairs instead. When taking the stairs, use the handrail whenever possible, especially when descending. In the winter months, watch for melting snow that has been tracked in from outside. If you need to carry any larger objects, it’s advisable to use the elevator. Walking on the stairs while encumbered can hinder your ability to react to, or even notice, a hazard. We want to limit these incidents for the health and well-being of both our staff and our clients. However, there are also additional monetary factors involved. Medicare/Medicaid will no longer pay for treatment for a patient who falls in a healthcare setting, and some private insurance companies have followed suit. If a client is utilizing one of these services and falls, it could be extremely costly. It’s especially important to notify the team of any irregularities in client-side areas. If we’re diligent in our observation, and keep this issue in mind going forward, we should be able to drastically reduce the risk of STFs for ourselves and our clients. Connections
great job, emma! On January 24, the Post-Journal featured a piece outlining the status of the vital opiate antidote, Narcan (Naxalone), in New York State. The piece was well written and researched, and I want to emphasize some key points about Narcan in Chautauqua County. While all community members should consider being trained to use Narcan, it’s an especially critical tool for people who use drugs or spend time around people who are using. In August 2015, a program specifically for people who use drugs opened in Jamestown. The Evergreen Exchange, a program of Evergreen Health Services, provides access to clean syringes in exchange for used ones, free Narcan training, linkage to HIV and Hepatitis C testing, supportive counseling, and more. Since opening our doors, we’ve trained approximately 70 people in one-on-one settings to use Narcan. In recent months, over 10% of those who have been trained at the Evergreen Exchange have returned empty Narcan kits to our site, and
discussed with our staff how they saved a life. We are especially proud of this process, wherein we train people, provide them with Narcan kits, and then see them savings lives in our community. This process indicates that we have established a trusting relationship with the people who use Evergreen’s services. At a time when overdose death rates are climbing, treatment facilities are running out of beds, and drugs users face health risks like HIV and Hepatitis C every day, that trust is a lifesaver. It’s been one and a half years since Senator Charles Schumer announced Chautauqua County’s designation as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. In order to keep those who are affected by drug use alive and as safe as possible until they are ready to seek treatment, Narcan training and other services provided by syringe exchange programs, like ours, are an asset to our community. The Evergreen Exchange is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can be reached at 541-0678. No appointment is required. Emma Fabian Evergreen Health Services, Buffalo
Hello, my name is Elisa Luciano. I’m the youngest of eight brothers and sisters. I’m a single mother of two beautiful children, and one step daughter that I love as much as my own. I’m also a proud grandmother of five gorgeous grandchildren. A year ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to purchase my first home. I love cooking, landscaping, and looking for projects to work on in my home. I love decorating the outside of my home for pretty much every holiday, though Halloween is my favorite. I also enjoy planning and decorating for theme parties. I was born and raised on the Lower West Side of Buffalo, and I had many jobs before coming to Evergreen Health Services 15 years ago. I feel this is what I was meant to do: help people, inform people with chronic health issues who are unaware of the resources that are available to them, so they can take care of themselves and live a longer and healthier life. I have lost many family members to that monster known as cancer, including my father on a Christmas Day. I have other family members struggling with chronic health issues, so working for an organization such as Evergreen and helping people manage their health issues makes me feel so proud. I love what I do for a living, and I love working for Evergreen Health Services.
Just a few reminders in regards to waste management around the campus: •
Desk receptacles are not emptied daily, so please no food or drinks.
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Large kitchen and break area cans are emptied at least daily for that purpose.
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Please try to empty all liquids into a drain, to avoid dangerous and messy spills when the can is emptied.
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Remember we have a multi-stream recycling program; plastic, metal, and paper can go in blue bins.
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If hosting an event with food, please let the facilities team know ahead of time if you’ll require extra pick-up.
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If any additional refuse removal is required after 3 p.m., please let us know so we can adjust pick-up schedules.
Help us keep our custodial staff smiling and our buildings free of odors, spills, and pests!
TYSK BONUS
Some Informative HIV & AIDS Links
by Jakob Willoughby
In the course of my research on safety and security issues, I get updates from the CDC on various topics relevant to the agency. The latest email featured an interesting assortment of HIV and AIDS information. Click the description to follow the link.
Updated Fact Sheets HIV Among African American Gay/Bisexual Men HIV Among African Americans
Slide Sets HIV Surveillance in Women HIV Surveillance in Persons Who Inject Drugs
HIV Surveillance in Urban and Nonurban Areas HIV Surveillance in Adolescents and Young Adults
John Carocci
HIV Mortality
COPY EDITOR
Trends in HIV Infection, Stage 3 (AIDS)
Martha Sawicki
CONTRIBUTORS
MARCH 2016 PUBLISHER/LAYOUT
Melissa Delgado Martha Sawicki Sean Tulumello Jakob Willoughby
Connections is a monthly newsletter for employees of the Evergreen Association (that’s you). Send your story ideas, photos, or just a friendly hello to John Carocci.
Special Reports Behavioral and Clinical Characteristics of Persons Receiving Medical Care for HIV Infection HIV Infection Risk, Prevention, and Testing Behaviors among Men Who Have Sex with Men