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For internal use only. Please do not distribute.
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Weekly Newsletter for Employees of VNA Care Network Foundation
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To ensure you're seeing the Connecter in its entirety:
- PC Users: right-click on the download images button at the top of this email.
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CONNECTER
ARCHIVES
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Below is this week's issue of the Connecter newsletter, which is required reading for all employees. The next edition will be published on Monday, February 29, with articles due to connecter@vnacarenetwork.org by Friday, February 26. |
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KEY DATES THIS WEEK
- Tuesday, February 23: Worcester Mantoux Clinic
- Tuesday, February 23: Q1 OASIS Education > Worcester
- Thursday, February 25: Worcester Mantoux Reads
- Thursday, February 25: Q1 OASIS Education > Southborough
- Friday, February 26: Southborough Mantoux Clinic
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IN THIS ISSUE:
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
CLINICAL SERVICES
FACILITIES
FUND DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN RESOURCES
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
QUALITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
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February 22, 2016
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Volume 5, Issue 8
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Service Standard of the Week:
Service Standard #8: Workplace Safety
We assess and maintain a safe work environment.
Here are some behaviors that demonstrate standard #8:
- Think safety first. Each employee is responsible for assessing and maintaining a safe work environment for staff and patients.
- Be aware of all safety procedures, and report unsafe situations to your manager immediately.
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Service Excellence Champion Group
The Service Excellence Champion group meets monthly to discuss ways to further our organization's commitment to exceptional service excellence.
Key Initiatives Being Worked On:
- Streamlining communication methods and tools
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- Town Hall Meetings
- Service Excellence training for new employees
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- Improving patient experience
- Huddle strategies
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Please contact the Champions listed below if you would like to have an initiative or issue reviewed at the next meeting. Thank you!
- Ann Bohac
- Debbie Brown
- Katie Callahan
- Jen Casper
- Simone Charpentier
- Lori DeRosa
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- Wendy Drake
- Jill Enwright
- Kelly Frew
- Dave Hanley
- Brielle MacDonald
- Cheryl Milas
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- Mary Ann O'Connor
- Adele Pike
- Lorraine Potter
- Dave Rose
- Geri Spina
- Charlvic Williams
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Submitted by Laura Long, Liaison Nurse out of the Needham office about the Tippett Home
A vendor who works with area SNFs recently went out of her way to let me know what wonderful things she'd heard about Tippett House. Apparently this feedback came from a nurse at Dana Farber whose friend recently had "a good death" at Tippett. It was a unique situation since the patient was a woman of only 40 years old who chose to be cared for at Tippett as "the perfect hospice environment" rather than have memories of her death be part of the home where her young children lived. She said the staff and the nursing care were excellent! As an added bonus she shared this glowing feedback in front of a group of hospital case managers!
Submitted by Jennifer Conlon, Liaison Nurse out of the Needham office about teammate Marjorie Bennett
Today Marjorie Bennett, our Liaison Nurse at Tufts Medical Center, saved a life! She was walking down the stairs from the 8th floor to the 4th floor and found a young adult female down with a faint pulse than no pulse. Marjorie with her quick response immediately started chest compressions, as her expert training has taught her, and then asked for help from bystanders as she continued chest compressions until other help arrived. The person's life was saved thanks to Marjorie!
Submitted by Deb Nowak, Office PT in the Charlestown office
Last Friday 2/19/16 there were multiple issues with the McKesson system.I can't say enough about the dedication of our IT staff: Ray Brackett, Carol McDonald, and John Williams. They stood together and made a solid plan to help clinicians as well as committed to staying until the issue was resolved.They are kind and thoughtful and often talk a clinician off the ledge. They make it possible for all of us to do our jobs.Thanks to you all again and again.
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 Scenes from the Street
Share your pictures from the office or the field with us by sending them to connecter@vnacarenetwork.org!
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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
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Length of Service Award Recipients - Leominster Office
Our employees are our greatest asset and best indicator of our success...and based on our HomeCare Elite status and 4-4.5 CMS Star ratings, we have an exceptional team! We are lucky to have so many dedicated employees who commit themselves to our organization and the patients we serve.
Over the next several weeks we will go office by office and recognize all those who have reached milestone anniversaries. Congratulations!
Leominster Office |
Nicole Delgiudice
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20 Years
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Rebecca Johnson
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15 Years
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Shirley Lucier
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15 Years
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Christine Beriau
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15 Years
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Susan Thompson
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15 Years
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Mary Cafarella
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15 Years
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Jeanne Wilson
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15 Years
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Erika Dellovo
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15 Years
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Ginette Bernadotte
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5 Years
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Ellen Templeton
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5 Years
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FDA Looks to Recall Grape Flavor
By Liz Dow, IV Services Manager
Applies to flavor added compounded medications (like liquid antibiotics for kids) RECOMMENDATION: FDA recommends that compounders not use the referenced lots of contaminated Syrspend SF and Syrspend SF Grape in compounding drug products for patients. Compounding pharmacies who have received the referenced lots of Syrspend SF and Syrspend SF Grape flavor should immediately discontinue use, quarantine the products, and return the products to Fagron, Inc. - Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
- Complete and submit the report online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report
- Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178.
- Read the MedWatch safety alert, including a link to the FDA drug alert by clicking here.
Please be aware as this may affect you or those in your home
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Inservice: Safety Issues For Home Health Care Providers
We are pleased to announce that Safety Education in-services, presented by our Security Consultant, Clare M. Schroeder, are now being offered organizational-wide and open to all staff. Below are additional scheduled sessions being offered. Title: Safety Issues For Home Health Care Providers. Leominster Office | Tuesday, March 8 | 8:30-9:30am
Southborough Office | Wednesday, March 9 | 8:30-9:30am
Danvers Office | Wednesday, March 16 | 8:30-9:30am
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Mantoux Testing in February/March
By Beverly Salate, Wellness Manager
BEGINNING IN 2016 ALL MANTOUX TESTING WILL BE IN FEBRUARY/ MARCH...MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! Please note that some dates have changed.
Wellness will be doing Mantoux testing for all licensed clinicians around the first quarter OASIS education sessions. This is a change for both VNAB and VNACN. We will be in each office 1-hour before the session starts and will stop 5 minutes before the program begins. We will also be available 1-hour after the program to administer Mantoux. We cannot plant a Mantoux on a Thursday, as staff would have to come in on the weekend to have it read, so I have added additional sessions in a few of the offices that are not around OASIS sessions. Wellness will also be available 2 days after the Mantoux is planted to read the results All licensed clinicians are required to have a yearly Mantoux (or complete a positive reactor's form). Mantoux can be safely given 7 days apart and it is recommended that pregnant women be tested as well. Questions? Contact Beverly Salate at 888-663-3688 ext. 5603 or bsalate@vnacarenetwork.org.
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February 2016
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Sun
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Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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21
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22
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23
Worcester 1:30-4:30
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24
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25
Worcester reads 8-11
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26
Southborough 8-11
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28
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29
Danvers
8-4
Southborough reads 8-10a
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March 2016
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Sun
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Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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1
Southborough 7:30-11
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2
Danvers
7:30-11 reads and admin
Needham 7:30-11
Charlestown 1-4
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3
Southborough reads 8-11
Leominster reads 12:30-4
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4
Danvers reads
8-11
Needham
reads
8:30-1:30
Charlestown reads 12:00-3:00
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6
Worcester 7:30-11
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7
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8
Needham
7:30-11
Worcester reads 8-11
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9
Quincy
8:30-10
Worcester 8:30-10a (to be read by Manager 3/11)
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10
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11
Worcester 7:30-11
Quincy reads 2-4p
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13
Needham 7:30-11
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14
Needham 7:30-11
Worcester reads 8-11
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15
Worcester
7:30-11
Danvers
7:30-11
Needham reads
8:30-3
Southborough 1:30-4:30
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16
Weymouth 7:30-11
Needham reads 1:30-3
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17
Worcester reads 8-11
Southborough reads 12:30-4
Danvers reads
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18
Weymouth reads 8:30-10
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20
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21
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22
Woburn
8-11:30a
Worcester
1:30-4:30
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23
Leominster 7:30-11
Woburn
1-4
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24
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25
Woburn reads
7:30-11a
Leominster reads 8-11
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27
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28
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29
Woburn
7:30-11:30a
Danvers
1:30-4:30
de Rham
10-12p
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30
Needham
8-12:30
New Horizons
8-9a
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31
Woburn reads
12:30-4
de Rham reads 11-1p
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April 1
Needham reads TBD
New Horizons reads 8-9a
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New HVAC System in Worcester
The Worcester office is installing an upgraded heating and A/C system over the coming months.We will need to relocate staff and Facilities and IT are working to get everyone accommodated in temporary locations while their area is being worked on.
The schedule is as follows:
- 3 North (HR, IT, Facilities) - 2/15 to 2/26 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m
- 1 South (main auditorium) - 2/29-3/11 after hours to accommodate daycare
- 1 North (daycare/reception) - 3/14 to 3/18 after hours to accommodate daycare
- 2 South (referral center) 3/21 to 4/1 (Time TBD after meeting)
- 2 North (clinical area) 4/4 to 4/15 (Time TBD after meeting)
- Boilers and other prep work 4/15 to 4/29
- Start up 4/29 to 5/20 (Pending on Weather)
Please contact Lorraine Potter, Director of Facilities, with any questions at LPotter@vnab.org.
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Rockland Trust Donates $5,000 to Tippett Home
The Rockland Trust-Peoples Federal Foundation recently awarded a grant to support the Stanley R. Tippett Hospice Home's charity care, bereavement services, and volunteer program. Pictured from left to right are Mary Ann O'Connor with Alicia Yeh, branch manager/bank officer, and Roberta M. Sousa, first vice president/district manager, both based at Rockland Trust's Westwood branch. Rockland Trust has locations in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
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Employee New Hire Referral Bonus Program
The new hire referral bonus program includes employee referrals for RNs, LPNs, PTs, PTAs, OTs, COTAs, and SLPs. If you would like to refer a friend, family member, or colleague, please inform the appropriate Human Resources Representative at your location prior to the applicant coming in for an interview. Please note, when two or more employees refer the same applicant, the referral bonus will be split equally amongst the employees. Referral bonuses are paid out after the referred employee's three and six month anniversary, as long as they are in a paid status at those intervals. Please contact Cheryl Milas at cmilas@vnacarenetwork.org or Debbie Brown at dbrown@vnab.org for more information.
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Job Postings - VNAB and VNAHC
To learn more about career opportunities listed in the links above, contact Debbie Brown, Human Resources Manager at dbrown@vnab.org.
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Job Postings - VNACN and VNAHC
To learn more about career opportunities, contact a human resources representative:
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Employee Advisory Team Suggestions
To suggest an area of focus to the Employee Advisory Team (EAT), please email your suggestion to EATSuggestionbox@vnab.org. Suggestions can include ideas to improve current processes and procedures, remove redundancies, or even to provide feedback on something you think is/is not working. Please feel free to discuss any issues that you would like brought to EAT with the following members of the committee:
- Liz Bourne
- Ray Brackett
- Linda Britt
- Kim Dio
- Kelly Frew
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- Mary Helen Mahoney
- Susan Marlin Procter
- Mary McCarthy
- Ilona O'Connor
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- Mary Ann O'Connor
- Mae Powers
- David Rose
- Danny Yang
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EAT is also on the lookout for new members. If you're interested in participating, or for more information on what EAT is all about, please reach out to any of the members listed above. Meetings are held monthly in the Charlestown office.
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IT Department On-Call Staff for Week of 2/22/16
For Encore issues including communications, Encore laptops, WebVPN and general technology
- Through Friday, February 26, 11:59 PM - John Severin (781) 775-7982
- Beginning Saturday, February 27, 12:00 AM - Gary Weller (774) 239-6064
For McKesson issues including iPads and laptops and general technology (support is provided weekdays 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, weekends and holidays 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM)
- Through Tuesday, February 23, 10:00 PM - Jose' Parra (617) 913-3003
- Beginning Wednesday, February 24, 6:00 PM - Cathy Langone (617) 913-3003
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| QUALITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT |
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Pain Assessment
By Patient Care Managers Maura Vitello and Surabhi Saxena
Pain is the 5th vital sign AND included in the OASIS when it is current OR in the recent pertinent past.
Please continue to capture pain assessment and add to your Best Practices. Documentation in EMR of our patient's pain is essential. Standardized, validated tools identified under Pain P & P (VNACN Policy # 2.5; VNAB Policy # 2:02:02) are to be used for pain assessment to consistently and accurately rate patient's pain and document response to pain management.
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Case Conferencing
By Patient Care Managers Kyra Mihalick, PT, DPT, COS-C and Elaine Gardner, MS, RN, COS-C
In the autonomous field of home health care, it is crucial to have the necessary supports in order to be successful. The PCM team, with the help and support of Donna Peters, Judy Walsh, Managers, Clinicians, and Staff, has worked hard to develop a telephone case conferencing process to support clinicians in care planning for those patients who would benefit from a team conference and plan. Given the positive feedback the Charlestown office received during the 6 month pilot, this program is being rolled out to the other VNAB and VNACN offices. The PCM in your office will provide more specifics on the format and structure.
We would like to share some of the positive feedback we received.
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Q1 OASIS Education
The QA Department is committed to providing continuing quarterly education sessions for OASIS guidance and accuracy into 2016. As we move into Value Based Purchasing, our care and the measurement of our outcomes is key to the future. Please see following Q1 schedule for the office dates and times. The sessions are 90 minutes and mandatory. As always, you may go to an office of your choosing to complete the education. Please coordinate with your manager. We look forward to seeing you at the sessions.
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Office
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Day/Date
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Time
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Presenter
| | Charlestown | Sunday, March 6 | 8-9:30am | Elaine/Kyra | | Charlestown | Wednesday, March 2 | 2-3:30pm | Elaine/Kyra | | Charlestown | Tuesday, March 15 | 8:30-10am | Elaine/Kyra | | Charlestown | Thursday, March 31 | 2-3:30pm | Elaine/Kyra | | Danvers/Gloucester | Wednesday, March 2 | 8:30-10am | Marilyn | | Danvers/Gloucester | Tuesday, March 15 | 8:30-10am | Marilyn | | Danvers/Gloucester | Thursday, March 24 | 8:30-10am | Marilyn | | Danvers/Gloucester | Tuesday, March 29 | 2:30-4pm | Marilyn | | Leominster | Thursday, March 10 | 2:30-4pm | Surabhi | | Leominster | Wednesday, March 23 | 8:30-10am | Surabhi | | Needham | Wednesday, March 2 | 8:30-10am | Maura | | Needham | Tuesday, March 8 | 8:30-10am | Maura | | Needham | Sunday, March 13 | 8:30-10am | Maura | | Needham | Monday , March 14 | 8:30-10am | Maura | | Needham | Thursday, March 24 | 8:30-10am | Maura | | Quincy | Tuesday, March 8 | 2-3:30pm | Kyra/Carol | | Quincy | Thursday, March 24 | 8-9:30am | Kyra/Carol | | Southborough | Thursday, February 25
| 2:30-4pm | Maria/Surabhi | | Southborough | Tuesday, March 1 | 8:30-10am | Maria/Surabhi | | Southborough | Thursday, March 3 | 2:30-4pm | Maria/Surabhi | | Southborough | Tuesday, March 15 | 2:30-4pm | Maria/Surabhi | | Weymouth | Wednesday, March 16 | 8:30-10am | Kyra/Carol | | Weymouth | Thursday, March 31 | 2-3:30pm | Kyra/Carol | | Worcester | Tuesday, February 23 | 2:30-4pm | Chris | | Worcester | Thursday, March 3 | 2:30-4pm | Chris | | Worcester | Sunday, March 6 | 8:30-10am | Chris | | Worcester | Friday, March 11 | 8:30-10am | Chris | | Worcester | Tuesday, March 15 | 8:30-10am | Chris | | Worcester | Tuesday, March 22 | 2:30-4pm | Chris |
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PATIENT CARE MANAGERS
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Name
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Email
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Cell
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Position
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Covering Office
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Bowden, Marilyn
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774-502-7478
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Patient Care Manager
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Danvers and
Gloucester
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Dunn, Maria
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508-688-2449
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Patient Care Program Manager
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Leominster and Southborough
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Gardner, Elaine
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617-680-1105
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Patient Care Manager
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Charlestown
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Gill, Christine
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774-502-5725
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Patient Care Manager
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Worcester
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Mihalick, Kyra
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617-913-6823
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Patient Care Manager
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VNAB Therapy
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Morris, Carol
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617-913-3006
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Patient Care Program Manager
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Quincy
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Saxena, Surabhi
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774-463-7336
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Patient Care Manager
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Leominster and Southborough
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Vitello, Maura
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774-502-7475
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Patient Care Manager
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Needham
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QI SUPPORT
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Covering Office
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Name
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Email
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Office Phone
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Position
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All VNAB
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Hughes, Kim
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617-886-6501 x5419
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QI Support Coordinator
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All VNACN
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Schultz, Chris
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617-886-6501 x6527
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QI Support Coordinator
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All VNACN
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Rao, Shamala
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508-756-7176 x6876
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QI Nurse
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| February 22, 2016 |
The Connecter
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Volume 5, Issue 8
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FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
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Confidentiality Notice: The Connecter newsletter is an internal communication intended only for employees of VNA Care Network Foundation and Atrius Health. Information contained within this newsletter includes confidential, proprietary, and privileged content. Unauthorized forwarding, printing, copying, distribution, and/or negligent handling is strictly prohibited and could result in disciplinary action.
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