Spotlight on Your Funds

December 2025

Benefit Funds’ 2026 Member Calendar Spotlights Members’ Voices

The Benefit Funds will soon release their 2026 member calendar featuring 1199SEIU participants in the monthly Members’ Voices video series. Each member’s calendar page includes a QR code that links to their Members’ Voices video, in which they share why they began their health journey and encourage other members to commit to their health. The calendar also includes information about Benefit Funds services and programs, as well as healthy living information, resources and tips. The Benefit Funds will mail the calendar to Delegates and to members who participated in Wellness programs in 2025. Members may request a copy or download the calendar by visiting the Benefit Funds website. Visit the Members’ Voices page to view 2025 videos, as well as new videos of the members featured in the 2026 calendar each month.

Reminder: Open Enrollment for Spousal Health Coverage Begins January 1

1199SEIU members can sign up their spouses for the Greater New York Benefit Fund health plan from January 1 through January 31 for coverage beginning March 1, 2026. Members must submit a completed Spouse Coverage and Payroll Deduction Authorization Form to their employer by February 1, authorizing $25 weekly premium deductions from their paychecks. Members and their dependent children up to age 26 are eligible for coverage with no premium, whether or not the spouse is enrolled. If they have any questions, members can call the Member Services Department at (646) 473-9200.

Career Pathways Training Program Participants Excel Academically

Participants in the Training and Employment Funds’ (TEF) Career Pathways Training (CPT) Program demonstrate academic excellence and dedication to providing the highest quality care. Maguilna Volcy, a participant in the CPT Program, graduated as valedictorian from the Practical Nursing Program at Eastern Suffolk BOCES. “I never thought I would be at the top because of my background, my age and my responsibilities—raising a toddler at home,” Maguilna said. “Going to school is hard. Going to school and thinking about how to pay for your next semester is even tougher. Even if I worked full-time, I wouldn’t be able to afford school. So, without TEF, I wouldn’t be able to become a licensed practical nurse today.”

To hire CPT graduates, healthcare employers must complete a provider attestation form, which verifies that they are a provider serving a Medicaid or uninsured patient population of at least 30 percent or are contracted through one of New York State’s approved Social Care Networks. Completing the form does not obligate employers to hire. For more information, visit the CPT Program website.

Child Care Corporation Encourages Members to Register for 2026 Programs

The application periods for the 1199SEIU/Employer Child Care Corporation’s Anne Shore Sleep-Away Camp (ASC) Program and Joseph Tauber Scholarship Program (JTSP) are underway. The ASC Program allows eligible children ages 9 to 15 to attend one- to four-week summer sleep-away camps with such offerings as sports, arts, outdoor adventure and technology. Members can apply online via MyAccount through January 31, 2026. For more information, members can email AnneShoreCampProgram@1199Funds.org or call (212) 564-2220.

The JTSP supports the academic goals of children of eligible members by awarding scholarships to those attending accredited undergraduate colleges and universities in the New York City metro area. Members whose children are or will be enrolled in college during the fall 2026/spring 2027 term can submit a request for an application on the JTSP website by January 31, 2026.

The Institute for Continuing Education Presents Upcoming Programs

The Greater New York Education Fund strengthens the healthcare delivery system by offering 1199SEIU members training and education programs designed to help improve patient outcomes and provide quality care. Please share these opportunities with members at your facility. (The full schedule is available on the program calendar.) 

Cardiovascular Diseases

Sunday, December 7

8:45 am to 4:30 pm

This interprofessional symposium will focus on the management of stable coronary artery diseases, the field of structural heart disease, cholesterol management, developments in the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation, and the diagnosis and management of peripheral vascular disease.

For more information, members should visit the Institute for Continuing Education’s web page, call (212) 894-4390 or email Institute@1199Funds.org.

Check Out Our Podcast

Health Is the Key is dedicated to 1199SEIU members—healthcare workers who, all too often, put the health and well-being of others ahead of their own.

Meet Our Featured Member

Diana Suárez from the Pavilion at Queens for Rehabilitation & Nursing

Why did Diana Suárez begin her health journey?

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1199SEIU Funds News is a monthly email produced by the 1199SEIU Funds. Copyright 2025.

For further information, contact the Communications Office at Communications@1199Funds.org.