July - August Newsletter

Happy August, everyone! This year is flying by. July was filled with many exciting highlights including our recent town hall, team members volunteering in the community, and, of course, Eric Frieman and Eric Golnick's congressional testimony on behalf of Forge Health. More details about this incredible honor are highlighted below - pictured here is a powerful photo of Eric and Eric shaking hands after successfully delivering their moving testimony in front of Congress.

Amazing! With that, let's get to it. Here's a sneak peek of two action items included in the newsletter that we don't want you to miss:
  • We are rolling out Forge Health and KPC employee badges! Please send employee headshots (instructions below) to HR by August 15, 2022.
  • The new national Suicide and Crisis Line, 988, went live this month. All Forge Health and KPC employees are required to update their email signatures ASAP to include the new 988 line (instructions below).
New Hires, Birthdays & Work Anniversaries
New Employee Introductions
Welcome to the team!
Alfy Jimenez
Clinician
West Orange, NJ
Victoria Germano
Clinician
West Orange, NJ
David Oppman
Community Engagement and
Experience Coordinator
New Jersey
Diane Yacenda
Administrative
KPC - Hauppauge, NY
Work Anniversaries

Gared Deady
Clinician
His 3 year Anniversary is August 5th
Sheena Bice
Chief Clinical Officer
Her 5 year Anniversary is August 7th!

Cynthia Fox
VP, Engagement and Experience
Her 1 year Anniversary is August 30th!
Andres Reyes-Capo
VP, Technology
His 6 year Anniversary is August 22th!
All four of these anniversaries are something to be incredibly proud of. The remarkable achievements Forge has been able to accomplish in the last 6 years could not have been done without each and every one of you.

A special shout out to Sheena and Andres for their 5 and 6 year anniversaries! We are so fortunate to have all of you on the team - thank you for your contributions thus far. To many more!
🎉Celebrating our August staff birthdays!🎉
Happy Birthday!
Jordan Gruschow - August 9th

Merrit Hartblay - August 14th

Sydney Stennett - August 25th

David Duren - August 25th

Cassidhe LoFaso - August 31st
Employee Highlight
Adrienne Moore
This month we are highlighting one of our newest clinicians in Manchester. Adrienne Moore joined Forge one year ago as an intern and we are thrilled to have her join the Forge team as a full-time employee this month! Congratulations, Adrienne, and we are excited for all of your continued accomplishments to come!

Happy official welcome to the team!
Congressional Testimony
Earlier this month Eric Frieman, CEO of Forge Health, and Eric Golnick, CEO of Forge VFR, had the honor of testifying in Congress in front of the House Veteran Affairs Committee on behalf of Forge Health. Our two fearless leaders testified as to how Forge is leading the charge in driving innovation, improving care delivery, and shaping the future of behavioral health care so there is accessible, affordable, and effective mental health and substance use treatment for all.

To watch the full testimony, please click below and jump to 1 hour and 20 minutes:


Dalton McLaughlin and Casey Lancaster were also both in attendance and represented Forge with honor and integrity. This testimony was the culmination of each and every employee's hard work, a testament to the tremendously impactful work our clinical teams do, and an embodiment of your relentless dedication to our mission of ensuring that our Veterans and their families have immediate and effective access to quality healthcare. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Dalton and Eric G. at their follow-up meeting with Congressman (General) Bergman where they discussed building paths forward for mental health and substance use treatment for Veterans and their families.
Volunteer Time Off
This month, your Human Resources and Talent Acquisition team used their annual Volunteer Time Off to volunteer with the Edison Youth Center in Brooklyn, NY.

The mission of the Edison Youth Center is to facilitate mental health for the future generation with fun and engaging activities for a better life among peers of all ethnicities. Jamila Pough, Julie Berger, and Rachel Rodriguez spent the day at the Center's summer camp with children ages 3-15 doing various summer time activities including yoga, charades, painting, and volleyball!

See pictures below:
Gavrielle Canter, one of our fantastic Clinician's in Paramus, NJ also used her Volunteer Time Off this month to volunteer at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences Virtual Alumni Career Conference! Awesome work, Gavrielle!
As a reminder, every full-time Forge Health employee receives one day off per year to volunteer. Your Volunteer Time Off does not roll over, so please take advantage of this opportunity to give back to your communities. The VTO request form can be found on Forge's Intranet and the policy can be found in Gusto. Please submit a copy of the VTO Request form to your Manager for approval and then to Human Resources for final approval. If you have any questions, please contact HR at HR@forgehealth.com.
The 988 Lifeline
988 is now active across the United States. This new, shorter phone number will make it easier for people to remember and access mental health crisis services. 988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary.

The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available to people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis.

To reach the Veterans Crisis Line, Veterans need to Press 1 after dialing 988. Veterans and service members who Press 1 are routed to the same trained Veterans Crisis Line responders, 24/7. The Veterans Crisis Line is also available by chat (VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat) and text (838255). The Veterans Crisis Line’s 800 number remains operational for anyone utilizing the 10-digit number option.

For general information about the new 988 line, please click here. For Veterans, Service Members or loved ones who want to know more about how 988 will affect the Veterans Crisis Line, please click here.
Please Read:
Effective immediately, please replace the informational text beneath your email signature with the below information, using the formatting shown:

Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9am - 5pm Eastern Time. Email and phone are only monitored during office hours.
If this is an emergency, dial 911. 
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (24/7) 988, Press “1” for Veterans
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7) 1-800-273-TALK (8255), Press “1” for Veterans

Please note, you will need to change your email signature in both the desktop and online Microsoft 365 versions of Outlook. If you have any questions, please contact support@forgehealth.com.

Headshots for Employee Badges
Employee badges are coming to Forge and KPC! Not only will these new badges help with security and better allow patients to identify staff, it will also provide you with identification as a healthcare worker and unlock benefits and discounts from business that offer these incentives. With that, we are asking for new headshots from every employee to be used on our brand new employee badges. A few guidelines for your employee headshots:  

Headshot Photo Guidelines

Natural lighting is best! Take the photo near a window or a light source. 
 
Background: Use a simple, clean, and neutral background. We all love a good selfie! However, for employee badges, we ask that you have someone take your photo. Please take the photo from your shoulders and above.
 
Vertical photos are best, and no need to manually Zoom in or crop the photo. We’ll do that for you to best fit the badge. 

Headshots do not need to be professionally taken. A clear photo on your phone will work perfectly. Please submit your headshots by August 15th, 2022 to Human Resources at HR@forgehealth.com.
 
Please see examples below and reach out to Human Resources with questions. We’re excited to see your new headshots soon!  
Nilton Castro's Research Study
Calling all Forge Health and KPC Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors,
Post Graduate Counselors, and Mental Health Counseling Graduate Students!

Our very own Nilton Castro from the White Plains office is working on his doctoral dissertation and needs your help participating in his research study.

Nilton would like to invite you to take part in a survey related to the impacts of military knowledge, experience, and training on counselor confidence in working with veterans. 

Participation will include a chance to be randomly selected to receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card, sponsored by Nilton Castro.

Please click the following link to take the survey:
In the Community
Check out what our teams were up to in the community this month! From community events to presentations to matching outfits, our teams were busy.
Claudia Ragni & Liz Walker in Las Vegas at the LAP Conference (Labor Assistance Professionals).
Members of the Manchester team joined our very own Dalton McLaughlin at the annual Swim With a Mission Celebration of Heroes. Swim With a Mission is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to be a sustainable and successful not for profit that harnesses the creativity and networks of its principal supporters to raise money to strengthen and support worthy organizations that service, support and honor our Veterans. For more information on this fantastic organization, please click here.
Dalton McLaughlin and Eric Golnick accidentally showing up in matching outfits to a meeting with the VA!
Sue Brown, our Lead Clinician in Manchester, gave a fantastic presentation titled Thriving and Not Just Surviving, which focused on peer support and wellness at the Greenland Police Department. Way to go, Sue!
Tech Tip!
Welcome back to your newest recurring section – Monthly Tech Tips! Forgot your password to that one website? Your browser probably has it saved! Check out our guide in




Reviewing your stored passwords:
Go the settings of Microsoft Edge by clicking the 3 dots on the top right of the screen:



Click settings on the drop down box



Click passwords on the menu

Here you can see all your saved passwords that edge keeps for you. You can review the strength of your passwords here. If you find one that is low strength, we encourage you to change it to something more secure.
Lastly, click the eyeball to reveal your saved password (it requires you to enter your computer password before revealing). This is a great way to keep track of your passwords and make sure you are not using a password that leaves your vulnerable. 
You can always reach out to the Forge Support Team by emailing support@forgehealth.com. Let us know your favorite shortcuts or what tech tips you may want in the future!
We're back with our Pop Culture Corner! This month, Gavrielle Canter shares two of her recent pop culture recommendations:
Gavrielle Canter

The Great, Hulu
For those who love drama period shows this is right up your ally. It's loosely based on Catherine the Great's reign. It has all the drama and intensity of a soap opera.

Ms. Marvel, Disney +
This is fun for the whole family and those who love the Marvel Universe. Get ready to expect the unexpected.
 
  • Please send your employee headshot to Human Resources at HR@forgehealth.com by August 15, 2022.
  • Please add the new Suicide and Crisis Line, 988, to your email signature according to the parameters listed above.
  • Don't forget about Insight Timer! Every employee here at both Forge and KPC has premium access to Insight Timer, a leading mediation app. Instructions below on how to create an account:
  1. Step 1: Download the Insight Timer app
  2. Step 2: Create an Insight Timer account
  3. Step 3: Join our Workplace by clicking on the Work icon in the top left corner of the screen and entering your work email address. If you are a KPC employee, please use your current email address, but replace @kenpeterscenter.com with @forgehealth.com. For example, rrodriguez@kenpeterscenter.com would enroll as rrodriguez@forgehealth.com
  4. You can also click this link to join: https://insig.ht/vOUZPQ9Kmmb
Newsletter Submissions

Please remember, and a fresh reminder for our KPC staff, if you'd like to see your highlights, celebrations, wins, events, pictures of your pet, etc., included in next month's newsletter, please send your submissions to Rachel Rodriguez at rrodriguez@forgehealth.com. I look forward to your August highlights!
Until next month,
Rachel