The Volunteer Voice
E-Newsletter
October 5th, 2018
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Welcome Dr. John Lease &
Dr. Mark Hilinski
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VIM welcomes
Dr. John Lease
to the clinic! Dr. Lease is an orthopedic surgeon and will be volunteering at the clinic
once a month
on Tuesday mornings.
Mark Hilinski, DDS
spent time overseeing students from LCCC's Dental Hygiene Program at the clinic this week. He
conducted exams
on patients and provided guidance to the students on completing proper dental
prophylaxis treatments
.
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VIM's 10 Year Anniversary
Band-aid Fundraiser
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In conjunction with
VIM's 10 Year Anniversary
, the clinic is hosting a Band-aid fundraiser. Local businesses and organizations can offer a band-aid cutout to patrons to purchase for $10, $5 or $1. Funds will help the clinic continue to
provide free healthcare services
to neighbors in need. There is no cost for offering the cutouts and this year there is a bar code on the band aids so businesses can track the donations. All materials including explanatory posters are provided by VIM.
Please contact
Amanda Ankner
at 570-970-2864 or [email protected] to receive posters and the cutouts.
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Health Coverage Progress Stalled
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An article recently published by the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
highlights the stalled progression for millions of Americans in obtaining affordable
health coverage
.
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VIM Attends Health Care Symposium at Misericordia University
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On Friday, September 21st,
Kelly Ranieli
, Executive Director, and
Chris Gaughan
, Nursing Director, attended the
9th Annual Healthcare Symposium
at Misericordia University presented by the Misericordia University Health Care Advisory Council. The day-long program featured various presentations from speakers which included
David Leonhardt
, weekly economics columnist for The New York Times,
Lucinda Maine
, Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and
Ted Meyer
, nationally recognized artist, curator and patient advocate.
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David Leonhardt
speaks to attendees.
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Lucinda Maine
presents "Putting Patients in the Center of Our Teams.
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Ted Meyer
presents
"Scarred for Life: A Patient's Experience"
, a visual presentation that chronicles events that suddenly changes people's lives such as rare diseases,
limb loss
and disfigurement.
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VIM Attends Kistler Cares Carnival
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On Saturday, September 22nd,
Chelsea Collins
, Social Care Coordinator and
Chris Gaughan
, Nursing Director, attended the
Kistler Cares Carnival
at Kistler Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre. The primary goal of the carnival is to
promote literacy
, encourage family involvement in the school's activities and help identify
resources available
in the community such as VIM.
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Volunteer Translators Needed
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The clinic is in
tremendous
need of volunteer, Spanish-speaking translators. If you or someone you know may be interested in
volunteering
, please call the clinic at 570-970-2864.
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Healthy Smiles Program Visits
the SHINE Program
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On Wednesday, October 3rd,
Darcie Schaffer
, Manager of the Dental Clinic, presented
Healthy Smiles for a Healthy Start
to students in the SHINE after-school program at State Street Elementary in Larksville. The students learned
proper brushing techniques
and the importance of oral hygiene. They also loved practicing on Katie the Kangaroo!
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Welcome to our New Students,
Residents and Volunteers
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Shyla Kissoon
began her six-week rotation at the clinic this week. She is in her second year of the
Physician Assistant Program
at King's College. Shyla is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has completed other rotations in OB-GYN and ER. She is interested in
practicing
Emergency Medicine upon completion of the program.
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VIM welcomes
Kayla Bulford
from
Luzerne County Community College's Dental Hygiene Program
.
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VIM welcomes
Calista Toczek
and
Jeannette Costa
from
Luzerne County Community College's Dental Hygiene Program
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Joseph Butkiewicz
recently began volunteering at the clinic and has been willing to help in all areas. He will be assisting as a customer service rep and helping with other
office duties at VIM
. Joseph chose to volunteer as he hopes to be a medical professional in NEPA some day and
enjoys helping
his neighbors in need.
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Lisa Lau
, a physician assistant student from King's College, completed her clinical rotation at the clinic last week. She
enjoyed
her experience at VIM - "I really liked working with the staff. Everyone is wonderful! The patients were always respectful." Pictured are
Lisa and Pamela MacNeely
, a professor at King's College in the Physician Assistant Program.
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Recently,
Chelsea Collins
, Social Care Coordinator, was able to successfully secure emergency medical assistance (EMA) for a patient who needed an ovarian cyst removed.
Pennsylvania Medicaid
only granted the EMA from 8/22/18-10/22/18, so there was little time to get this patient a consultation appointment and necessary surgery.
Luckily, the clinic was
able to work
with Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Gynecology/Oncology Department, who were sympathetic to this unique case. The patient successfully had
surgery two weeks ago
and is feeling much better. Chelsea will continue to work with EMA and LVHN to make sure she has coverage for a follow up appointment later this month. We’re grateful to
Dr. Mattison
and
Dr. Scott
was also very helpful with the process of getting this patient the care and procedure that she desperately needed.
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Patient Centered Medical Home Update
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During this week's conference call with the Americares team, VIM staff reviewed the
Plan-Do-Study-Act
worksheet. The issue reviewed was the difficulty staff and patients experience with communication due to
language barriers
.
The next assignment in the PCMH process is for staff to complete a
Practice Readiness Health Assessment
. This assignment will focus on the overall patient experience at the clinic and considers a
patient's current
and emerging needs.
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Wyoming Valley Aids Council
Presents at Clinic's Monthly In-Service
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On Tuesday, September 25th,
Gena Panatieri
, a licensed social worker and Community Support Liaison at the
Wyoming Valley Aids Council
spoke at the clinic's monthly in-service. She spoke to the staff and volunteers about the
services and testing
that is available at the WVAC.
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Save the Date
Upcoming Educational Community In-Services
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Learning about other Luzerne County
community agencies in order to refer patients
is one of the many ways that VIM provides case management services. If you would like to join us for the next presentation, please
RSVP to Chelsea at
[email protected]
or 570-970-2864
.
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T
uesday, October 23rd
9:00 am to 10:00 am
Patient Centered Medical Home
Presented by Kelly Ranieli, VIM's Executive Director
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Volunteers
in
Medicine
190 North Pennsylvania Avenue
Wilkes-Barre PA 18702
website www.vimwb.org
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