TALKING
about an overdose can save a life. At Evergreen, we believe that awareness and education are effective means to enact change. The more we talk about drug use, the less stigma will prevent people who need help from seeking it. We're in the midst of an overdose crisis and believe that using harm reduction methods and education are the best way to address this crisis within our community. By identifying key issues affecting people who use drugs, we can make a difference in the lives of directly impacted people. Narcan | Did you know that carrying Narcan or Naloxone can save a life? Narcan is a nasal spray used to respond to a drug-related overdose. It’s easy to use and you can get Narcan free of charge from Evergreen and the Erie County Department of Health. To use in the event of an overdose, remove Narcan from its package. Insert the spray portion of the inhaler into nasal cavity of the person who has overdosed and spray. Make sure the person is on their back and that their head is tipped back. Once you have administered the dose, roll the person onto their side and call an ambulance. Leave Narcan at the scene if you plan to leave so that emergency workers will know it has been administered. Narcan is available at Evergreen in Buffalo and Jamestown at the syringe exchange and through our mobile harm reduction unit, visiting Dunkirk and Niagara Falls. The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) will mail you Narcan in plain packaging if you call or text 716225-5473. Both our drug user services and harm reduction mobile unit can train you on how to administer Narcan. Fentanyl | Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is similar to morphine but 50-100 times more potent. More than ever, fentanyl is being found in drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Since fentanyl is so strong, it increases the risk for accidental overdose, especially when people don’t know they’re taking it. At Evergreen, we want to spread the message to people who use drugs and those who love people who use drugs that fentanyl is widespread in our community, but also, we're here to
provide support. One way we can do so is by providing free fentanyl testing strips. That way, people can know if fentanyl is present in their supply and act accordingly. Both our drug user services and harm reduction mobile unit have free testing strips for anyone who would like them. Drug User Health Coalition | Evergreen is unique because it employs a harm reduction model and centers those with lived experience. That means we provide nonjudgmental services for people who use drugs and we don’t exclude anyone. From people who actively use drugs to those who formerly used drugs, we are here for everyone. Our Drug User Health Coalition is an integral part of our drug user services. We look to people with lived experiences of drug use to give us insight into the services we provide and issues facing the community, while also empowering and providing opportunity for members to advocate for the rights of drug users and fight stigma. If you know someone who would like to take part in our Drug User Health Coalition, call drug user services. Together, we can develop resources for people who use drugs. Ending the Stigma | Evergreen’s Ian Eastman sat down with Steve Kilburn at the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene and Alison Epsin, RN, at the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services to discuss response to the overdose crisis and the use of Narcan. To learn more about Narcan, Fentanyl and the Good Samaritan Law, click HERE to watch the video. - Melissa Meyer
we can make a difference in the lives of directly impacted people
Members of Evergreeners, our Sustainability Resource Group, hit the streets to clean up trash and debris (including discarded syringes*) in the neighborhood around the South Elmwood location. Gray skies hinted at rain but the good weather held until after the clean sweep was completed. Great job, Sustainability Group! *
Just a reminder that you should NOT pick up discarded
syringes without proper equipment: gloves, tongs and a sturdy sharps container.
BE
a part of the 18th annual Dining Out For Life by ordering a take-out meal from a participating restaurant on Tuesday, October 13. Because COVID-19 has devastated the food
service industry, we're not asking restaurants for donations this year. We want them to keep the money they make that day as thanks for their support year after year. This is a big change, but what hasn't changed is that Dining Out For Life raises money and awareness to support Evergreen's HIV programs and services. All money raised in Western New York stays right here in our community. How can you participate? It's easy! Make plans to order take-out on Tuesday, October 13 for breakfast, lunch, dinner — or all the above. Invite your friends and family to do the same. Spread the word via email and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram — everywhere. You can enjoy the most satisfying meal you'll ever eat and help fight HIV at the same time. In addition, donations to Evergreen's HIV care made between October 13-31 will be matched dollar for dollar (up to $12,000) by our presenting sponsor, KeyBank. Anyone who donates will be entered into a raffle for some great prizes, including two round-trip tickets on JetBlue, a private tasting and tour for six at Lockhouse Distilling and one of five $100 gift certificates to a DOFL restaurant of your choosing thanks to Lawley Insurance. C
Members of communities that are marginalized are disproportionately impacted by voter disenfranchisement. This includes people of color, transgender people, those with disabilities, students and the elderly. For example, according to the American Civil Liberties Union only 40 percent of polling places in America accommodate people with disabilities and 70 percent of Georgia voters removed from the rolls in a 2018 purge were Black. Evergreen is working to elevate the voices of those who are disenfranchised to make sure everyone's voice is heard, including those in the underserved communities we serve. Patients and visitors are able to register to vote at all wellness checkpoints and reception areas throughout the agency. A recent social media campaign stressed the importance of voting and informed the community that they can register to vote at Evergreen. In addition, members of several Evergreen resource groups - FunC, Communities of Color Resource Group, Evergreeners - the Sustainability Resource Group, PROUD and the Drug User Coalition - tabled in the lobby at 206 South Elmwood encouraging visitors to register, update their address or check their polling station.
Evergreen Health and Community Access Services hosted a free Voter Registration Empowerment event at the Bailey Avenue site. Buffalo Urban League Young Professionals and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority provided voter registration assistance, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity helped attendees look up their polling place. Community Access Services gave away personal protective equipment, and Evergreen was on hand with information about “HIV Stops With Me�. In addition, the Communities of Color Resource Group distributed Black Lives Matter signs to people driving by. Attendees also enjoyed delicious food from Dirty Bird and Mad Sauce food trucks. Thank you to our partners!
HAVE
you ever wondered why some people cannot go see a firework show or why some songs or scents bring people to tears? For many, these are normal or even enjoyable experiences so it can be difficult to understand why some people cannot tolerate them. Although it manifests in many different ways for people, those who have a lived history of trauma can be triggered by words or sounds, situations and even human touch. It is estimated that 60 percent of Americans have experienced some form of trauma and/or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Trauma that often affects patients’ mental health includes: abuse (mental or emotional, physical and/or sexual), violence, neglect, poverty and discrimination, amongst other adverse events. Those who have experienced serious or prolonged abuse as children may have impacted brain development, impacting their emotional behavior as adults. This rewiring of the brain can be cause for depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. People with lived histories of trauma are more likely to develop chronic diseases and behavioral health problems, including suicide. In her TED talk, “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime,” Dr. Nadine Burke Harris explains the body’s reaction to seeing a bear in the forest. We are in shock, our cortisol kicks in and we make a quick decision of fight or flight. Then she says, “But the problem is, what happens when the bear comes home every night and this system is activated over and over again. It goes from being adaptive, or life-saving, to maladaptive, or health damaging.” Experiencing trauma does not stop at childhood, an estimated 90 percent of people living with HIV have a history of trauma. Those who have a history of substance use could be using for reasons related to past trauma and they could be experiencing trauma in their relationship with substances. At Evergreen, we allow our patients to determine if they have
experienced trauma; it is not for us to make that determination or judgement. Instead, we are affirming and utilize practices to make your holistic healthcare experience a positive one. Evergreen recognizes the importance of creating a sense of safety for patients from the moment they walk through the doors. From the security guards to the nurses, Evergreen has adapted a service-wide trauma-informed care (TIC) approach to patients. We use the Five Intentional Tenets for TIC: safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration and empowerment. Safety is making sure we foster both physical and emotional sense of safety and choice allows individuals to have a clear and appropriate message about their rights and responsibilities. We work with patients using collaboration to empower patients in decision making and sharing power. Trustworthiness allows for task clarity, consistency and interpersonal boundaries. And we empower our patients by providing an atmosphere where they can feel validated and affirmed with each and every contact at Evergreen. Another guiding value within Evergreen is harm reduction. Trauma-informed care and harm reduction share many principles, including patient collaboration, prioritizing safety and reducing risks of harm as the focus and a non-judgmentalapproach. We accept that things happen in people’s lives that may contribute to addiction, symptoms and risky behavior. In understanding the impact of trauma, not just mental health but all areas of life, we can better avoid unintentional re-traumatization. We want our patients to feel comfortable with their providers and staff. We hope that in learning to understand, “What happened to this person?” instead of “What’s wrong with this person?” will lead us into better health outcomes for our patients. Patients struggling with a lived history of trauma can feel confident that our providers will treat them with the care and respect they deserve. - Melissa Meyer, Carrie Rich and Alicia Kohlhagen
Clockwise from upper left: Home sweet Evergreen. The Imperial Court of Buffalo once again donated backpacks and school supplies to patients in our Care Coordination program. Thank you, Imperial Court! The swag table at the recent Community Access Services Voter Registration event. ECMC's Mobile Mammography van was at Evergreen to provide breast health screenings to our patients. We're getting new steps and repointed brickwork at Evergreen Commons.
Mark your calendar! The submission
If you have follow-up questions for the Thursday update from Ray and the team, you can submit them via email at COVID19questions@evergreenhs.org.
deadline for the November 2020 issue of Connections is Wednesday, October 21. Be sure to get your content in before the deadline to guarantee placement. Kids, pets, recipes, your new home office -
In addition to Ray’s weekly email messages, you can find
we want to share them all! Send to
up to date information about how Evergreen is dealing with
EvergreenConnections via Outlook.
the situation by logging in to the ADP portal or checking the Evergreen website.
Birthdays Norma Bocanegra............................ October 1 DeJuan Burnell................................... October 1 Matthew John Pasquarella........... October 1 Kaysha Cruz......................................... October 3 Lauren Voelkle................................... October 3 Cortney Anderson............................ October 4 Jenna Gallitto...................................... October 4 Yolanda Sims....................................... October 5 Amanda LaFleur............................... October 8 Kandice Hood..................................... October 9 Troi Greene........................................... October 9 Christina Mihalitsas........................ October 9 Jennifer Halper.................................. October 10 Charles Bauer...................................... October 11 Milagros Borysewicz...................... October 11 Courtney Rhines............................... October 11 Gregory Fulgham.............................. October 11 Bianca Morris...................................... October 12 Joelle Hochulski................................. October 12 Marina Ward....................................... October 14 Christina Cornell.............................. October 14 Stephani Miranda............................. October 14 Bobbie Hangen................................... October 18 Kasie Foulk........................................... October 18 Gaia Oliver............................................ October 20 Dawn Trotter....................................... October 20 Latisha Maxwell................................. October 21 Nicole Coonly...................................... October 21 Kayleen O'Halloran.......................... October 22 Theresa Oden..................................... October 23 Lilkizzy Tell.......................................... October 24 Arica Rouse.......................................... October 25 Susan Buck........................................... October 26 Kristina Sykes..................................... October 27 Matthew Edson................................... October 28 Jillian Dagastino................................ October 28 Collin Ranney...................................... October 29
Anniversaries Annual Training Time The second round of annual trainings is available on Evergreen University. This round of trainings is due on December 31, 2020.
Employee Engagement Employee engagement is the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward their places of work. It's NOT the same thing as happiness, satisfaction or well-being. Highly engaged organizations have 41 percent lower absenteeism, 24 percent lower turnover and 17 percent higher productivity. You can see how engaged Evergreen is overall by checking out this year’s Best Places to Work survey on the Intranet
Lean In Resource Group Lean In is an employee resource group for all employees who identify as women. This group provides a place to openly discuss issues that affect women in the workplace. Lean In members set professional goals, share ideas and experiences and empower one another to succeed in the workplace. Lean In is held virtually on the third Thursday of every month from 2 - 3 p.m. If you're interested in joining the next session on October 15, please contact Jocelyn Leising. If you have questions or comments about Evergreen's Training Corner please contact Jocelyn Leising, employee engagement specialist.
Urayoan Torres-Casillas.........................1 Year Clarissa Fischer...........................................1 Year Troi Greene.....................................................1 Year Megan Brady..................................................1 Year Melissa Meyer...............................................1 Year Jennifer Reeves............................................1 Year Collin Ranney................................................1 Year Melissa Tice-Crawford............................1 Year Danielle Johnson.........................................1 Year Christopher Patti.........................................1 Year Kaley Murphy...............................................1 Year Robert Cunningham.................................2 Years Emma Hathaway.........................................2 Years Christine Kemp............................................2 Years Alyssa Sherman...........................................3 Years Amanda LaFleur.........................................3 Years Christina Carter...........................................3 Years Jillian Dagastino..........................................3 Years Anthony Roth................................................3 Years Nicole Mitchell..............................................3 Years Erin Pepicello................................................4 Years Ann Breidenstein........................................4 Years Michael Ludwick.........................................4 Years Robert Moore................................................4 Years Mark Wolf........................................................4 Years Joseph Pignatora.........................................4 Years Alex Marranca.............................................4 Years Sashira Quintana........................................4 Years Kyle Berberich..............................................4 Years Adam Costanza............................................4 Years Julie Rapp........................................................4 Years Maria Cruz......................................................5 Years Veronica Velazquez..................................5 Years Ian Eastman...................................................5 Years David Haefner...............................................5 Years Emily Oaks......................................................6 Years Brittani McKay..............................................6 Years Mindi Levine..................................................6 Years Laurie Abbatessa........................................7 Years Sheila Marcheson.......................................12 Years
Aanya Wood
Keisha Leavy
Alex McGann
Khrissmyra Vargas
Amanda Thornton
Kimberly Clarke
Anneliese Bienko
Kimberly Harding
Bianca Morris
Kirk Scirto
Brittani McKay
Kristy Mangel
Carinne Medley
Latonia Lewis
Christina Mihalitsas
LeAnna Shanks
Christopher Patti
Lisandra Rivera
Cortney Anderson
LJ Atwal
David Setlock
Magali Maldonado
Debrah Rodriguez
Mark Wolf
Heather Fangsrud
Matthew John Pasquarella
Jasmine Padilla
Megan Bhatti
Joleen Rodriguez
Melissa Nagro
Jordon Frank
Michael Blasdell
Recognizing Excellent Work at Evergreen from August 2
Rachel Parrino Robert Baird Ronda Ivory Sashira Quintana Sharon Yager Sheila Solomon Stefanie Warnick Steven Rein Steven Johnson Tangela Watson-Bogan Theodore Wilson
Publisher/Layout
Tiffany Valentin
John Carocci
Timothy Shaughnessy Urayoan Torres Casillas
1.
Valerie Francis
2. Follow the prompt to record the Code Blue or Mr. Webber and say the exact location and building of the incident.
Victoria De Leon
20 - September 19
Dial extension 2222.
3. Hang up your phone. This will prompt your message to be broadcast to all Evergreen locations.
Copy Editor Melissa Meyer
Contributors Jocelyn Leising Shakiya Bell Melissa Delgado Arica Rouse Melissa Meyer
4. The Code Blue team and Security will respond to the incident. You'll have 30 seconds to record your message. If you're not done in 30 seconds, you'll be cut off and your message will be automatically broadcast. It's imperative that you say the location and building in your message: “Code Blue in the men’s lobby bathroom in the Elmwood building” or “Could Mr. Webber please come to the Mathews building counselor room?.” The Code Blue/ Mr. Webber Softkey has been removed from all phones.
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.