RiverSpring Health Plans

Health care can only accomplish its purpose if the patient is kept safe, and that requires patient safety to be a bedrock principle embedded into all operations. ICYMI – Julieanne Lau, Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at RiverSpring, made this case in an op-ed for the Riverdale Press. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e6KYTPVg?

State lawmakers will soon head back to Albany for the legislative session. In anticipation, it’s a good time for a reminder about how important the Medicaid program is for serving New York’s most vulnerable residents. Here is RiverSpring Executive Director Susan Aldrich’s op-ed on the importance of aging in place programming published during the last legislative session in amNY: https://lnkd.in/eJmDUHYv

Meet Adele Pollack, a member who turned 103 years old last October! Adele is a lifelong music fan, and a longtime patron of the arts in New York City with lifetime memberships to the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet and Metropolitan Opera, among others. Among Adele’s favorite producers are Gilbert & Sullivan, particularly their comic opera “The Mikado.” She still remembers songs like “Three Little Maids from School" and continues to sing them. After raising three children with her husband, Walter, in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, Adele went back to school in the 1970s. She graduated from Brooklyn College before becoming a teacher at James Madison High in Brooklyn, where she taught speech, English, and of course, theater, where she advised students as they designed musicals. Adele also delighted in entertaining guests with Walter, where they hosted numerous clubs at their home. Adele continued driving into New York City into her late 80s. What’s her secret to longevity? Good friends, family, laughter and the arts – as well as her beloved frankfurters with mustard and sauerkraut. “It’s all about living in the present,” Adele said. Adele continues to live independently at home with the help of RiverSpring Health Plans. Join us in wishing Adele a Happy Birthday!

This week's Spotlight Series focuses on mental health and the racial disparities in access to resources and support. Check it out!

RiverSpring member Angelina “Angie” Torrisi, who turned 104 on Oct. 30, was highlighted in a profile piece by her local paper, the Hudson Independent! For Angie, strong relationships have been the key to her longevity.?"Things were not important, but rather the love of family and friends,” Joanne Ricciardi, her daughter, said. “The intangibles mean the most in life.” ? Angie continues to live independently at home with the help of RiverSpring Health Plans. Join us in wishing her a Happy Birthday and check out the full article covering this remarkable woman: https://lnkd.in/eVgedat3

Meet one of RiverSpring’s 2024 #AidesoftheYear: Delone Nicole Sebastian. Delone emigrated from Belize in 2001 to start a better life. Since then, she’s found a sense of purpose as a home care aide. “I find it meaningful helping and working with people who have health challenges,” Delone said. “My job is to assist members with their journey to recovery.” Delone works seven days per week caring for a member in the Bronx’s Wakefield neighborhood. “Each day, there could be something new and I must put my best foot forward and be of good courage and provide support to the member,” Delone said.

Meet one of RiverSpring’s 2024 #AidesoftheYear: Arlene Haywood. Haywood serves as a live-in caregiver to a married couple. “They adore her,” said Diane M. Velilla, the nurse care manager who nominated Haywood for the award. “Every time I visit, they’re eating and outgoing. Even when she has a lot to do, she always stops and gives day-to-day updates.” Velilla recalled a visit where food was cooking on the stove and the couple was clean, well-dressed and smiling. Working as a home care aide is difficult and demanding, Velilla said. Patience is a must, and Haywood’s mild-mannered demeanor is also an asset, serving as a calming presence. “This is a really hard position to have,” Velilla said. “To me, she’s top-notch. I never get a bad vibe. You can tell she genuinely loves her patients. You’ve got to be genuine, patient and a caring individual – that, to me, embodies what an aide should be. You’re always thinking about what’s best for the members.”

Meet one of RiverSpring’s 2024 #AidesoftheYear: Marine Jokhadze. Growing up Georgia, the Eastern European nation, Marine feels a special connection with the Russian-speaking elderly individuals she has cared for over the past 15 years as a home care aide. ? Marine treats her members as if they were her own parents, a mindset that not only helps her provide excellent care but also allows her to learn from their wisdom. "The people I work with are old and wise, so I like to listen and learn from them as well," Marine said. ? One memory Marine shared illustrates the personal relationships she builds with her members. She once cared for an elderly Italian woman who had an appointment in Manhattan. When the appointment was canceled at the last minute, Marine and the member found themselves with unexpected free time. ? They decided to visit a nearby Italian restaurant, where they enjoyed a delightful meal, chatting and laughing. The experience was so enjoyable that when it was time to leave, the member insisted they stay longer. They ended up spending hours together, with Marine feeling more like a friend than an aide.

We are starting a series of spotlight posts to highlight some of the most important — but not often talked about — topics in the worlds in which we operate: health care for New York’s most vulnerable and frail populations. We don’t expect to solve big societal problems, but we hope that by putting them under the spotlight and opening the door for discussion, we can raise awareness, encourage commitment, and keep working towards building a more equitable future. The first topic up in our Spotlight Series: Medicaid in New York New York’s Medicaid program enables us to provide holistic home care to members, allowing 300,000 New Yorkers with disabilities, as well as older residents who need full-time assistance and care to live independently and can no longer perform everyday activities on their own — including the more than 18,000 people served by our organization in the New York City metropolitan area.? Our approach transcends what is typically associated with healthcare by facilitating trust and comfort with members and their loved ones, in addition to comprehensive home care services that allow us to intervene early and prevent hospitalizations when health crises arise.?? This is particularly acute for Black Americans who grapple with health disparities that could result in trips to the emergency room if left unchecked, including higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.?Medicaid expansion has helped to reduce longstanding disparities in access to care for people of color over the past few years. There are countless stories we could document that would highlight how critical Medicaid-funded programs are to the well-being of so many New Yorkers. Regardless of who you are or where you live, you or someone you love has likely needed similar care services. While our programming survived, Medicaid is perennially on the chopping block in Albany and there will undoubtedly be tough choices to make in the future. New York state has one of the oldest populations in the country and a steadily increasing number of elderly and disabled residents, a number that is predicted to skyrocket as Baby Boomers age. As we kick off our Spotlight Series, we invite you to join us in recognizing the critical role that Medicaid plays in the lives of so many New Yorkers, especially as our population ages and the need for comprehensive long-term care grows. Together, let’s support policies and programs that keep Medicaid-funded care strong and accessible. Share your stories, spread awareness, and advocate with us to ensure that healthcare systems continue to serve the most vulnerable among us. The future of equitable, holistic care depends on all of us.

By the end of this year, the youngest of the Baby Boomers will have turned 60, a milestone accompanied by an increase in adult children caring for their aging parents. More than half of Americans in their 40s are now ‘sandwiched’ between an aging parent and their own children— a context that has led to this generational cohort being dubbed the “sandwich generation.” In an op-ed for amNY, RiverSpring’s very own senior member advocate Mariam Sukiasyan says that for those in the ‘sandwich generation’ who are feeling squeezed, the expertise and support of a patient advocate to help navigate the bureaucracy and complicate care system can make all the difference. Patient advocacy is a central component of our mission. Read the full opinion piece:?https://lnkd.in/e9GUVrKb