CHS COVID Response
April 14, 2020
Safe in Our Care – Our Commitment to You
Our special fathers on Father’s Day….
The dads in our lives deserve to be celebrated in a special way. This year is different than most having to stay away from their family members but despite it all CHS did its best to bring a smile to all the father figures in our care.
Each father received a handmade card from Centro Mater kids along with a very heartwarming video was created for them with messages from Archbishop Wenski, staff and family members. The video was shown on a loop all day long in their rooms and some dads were able to video chat with their loved ones.
#ThankfulTuesday
#ThankfulTuesday – Keeping 300 acres and 45 Archdiocesan properties neat and trim takes teamwork! Our mechanics, Lionel Jean and Ray Pi can never let a day pass without inspecting our hundreds of pieces of equipment! We are truly thankful for their dedicated service and positive attitudes. Who are you thankful for today?
#ThankfulTuesday – Today we are thankful for Jessica Bernabei, Director of Recreation Therapy at Villa Maria, and her daughter who made “Thank You” cards for the employees and “I Love You” cards for the residents. Thank you for cheering up everyone’s day!
WE Are US – CHS is Separately Working Together
We just completed our successful “WE Are US-CHS” educational sales summit where our subject matter experts from our 6 CHS lines of business provided education to our sales teams. Stacey Patasnik; Director for Central Admissions, Katherine Ziadie; DMD-Strategic Accounts, and Conception (Conchita) Tovar-Bas, Regional Director of Market Development, thought that it would be great to bring our teams together so that they could get to know each other better. But, during these times of working remotely, the only way that this could happen was virtually. The “Meet Your POD” meetings served as a fun-interactive team building exercise for both our Account Executives from our Hospice and Palliative Care Teams, and our Clinical Intake Managers who represent our Home Health, IRFs, SNFs, and ALFs. These team members will collaboratively sell all CHS Service Lines together. Because together…WE ARE US – CHS!
Drive-Thru Food Distribution – How to get needed Groceries?
Click here for future distribution dates and locations
#ThankfulTuesday
#ThankfulTuesday – Nelson De Leon, Maintenance Superintendent and Rodelay Torres, Maintenance Worker at St. Andrew Towers. We would like to thank them for the great job they did in installing the safety Plexiglas around our front desk. Their hard work is now keeping our staff and volunteers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
#ThankfulTuesday – At the crack of dawn Javorick Hall and his crew leave our property to care for schools, parishes and CHS facilities. We are thankful for all their efforts to keep the outside beautiful, rain or shine! Who are you thankful for today?
Catholic Hospice Food Drive
Catholic Hospice in collaboration with Mayor Manny Cid, the town of Miami Lakes and Hope Miami Lakes United Methodist Church held a food drive for our patients and their families in the community.
Catholic Hospice staff and volunteers assembled and packaged the food which was later distributed in a drive thru set up at the Hope of Miami Lakes United Methodist Church parking lot taking the necessary precautions and following health safety guidelines. In an effort to ensure our most vulnerable benefited from this event, our Catholic Hospice team members made personal home deliveries. A total of 300 bags of food were distributed.
A special thanks to Farm Share for their generosity and donation of food and to Commissioner Esteban Bovo for his presence during the food drive and his words of gratitude towards Catholic Hospice staff and volunteers.
Mother’s Day Celebrations throughout CHS!
All of our mothers throughout CHS were able to celebrate but perhaps a little different this year. Being without their family members was tough but WE did our best to make them feel special on their day!
Each mother was treated to a special gourmet meal and a pop up Mother’s Day Card. Also, a very heartwarming video was created just for them! It had special messages from Archbishop Wenski, staff and family members and was shown continuously all day in their rooms. Also, some moms were even able to Facetime with their loved ones!
#ThankfulTuesday
#ThankfulTuesday – Valerie Hunter has been with our organization for twenty years. In her daily interactions with our prospective patients and family members she consistently reflects the CHS Mission and exceeds their expectations by treating them with the utmost dignity and respect. We are glad to have her as part of our #TeamCHS! Who are you thankful for today?
#ThankfulTuesday – Marelys Fleites, ARNP, Clinical Care Manager for Silver Team has worked for Catholic Hospice for nine years. Her dedication to the mission is her passion by helping her team and families with the very best care during end of life. Marelys is fearless in her head to toe PPE gear, preparing to visit and test one of our hospice patients for COVID-19. We are thankful for her bravery to care for individuals who are in need of hospice care. #healthcareheroes #healthheroes
#ThankfulTuesday – With more than 300 acres and another 45 properties of the Archdiocese under landscape maintenance by the Cemeteries, we are thankful for the skills of these two men who are certified by the International Society of Arborists and Broward and Miami-Dade Counties to care for the hundreds of trees across those properties. Left: Frisnel Pierre, licensed trimmer and Alex Fernandez, ISA Certified Arborist. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!
Separately Working Together throughout CHS
The CHS Human Resource department continues supporting our dedicated staff of over 2,500. We appreciate each one of our employees and value their important contributions” – Thomas J. Piszczatoski, VP Human Resources.
National Nurses Day!
Catholic Health Services admires, respects, appreciates, honors and LOVES our remarkable nurses!! We are grateful for all that you do!! Happy National Nurses Day!!
St. Anthony’s Rehabilitation Hospital
St. John’s receives tests from the National Guard
St. John’s Nursing Center was beyond grateful as the National Guard arrived yesterday, April 29, 2020, to test their residents and staff. Over 240 staff members and over 60 residents were tested after expressing an urgent need.
“We have been taking every precaution making sure our residents and staff remain healthy, that is our main concern”, states Rosemarie Bailey, Executive Director, for St. John’s Nursing Center. “Our staff has been working consistently making sure all safety measures are in place”.
St. Anne’s welcomes the National Guard
St. Anne’s Nursing Center and Residence welcomed the National Guard today, April 23, 2020 for testing our residents and staff. Executive Director, Sandra Cabezas, expressed the urgent need for more continuous testing as Joe Catania, our CEO/President, has repeatedly requested.
Our staff has been working tirelessly implementing appropriate safety measures to ensure that the majority of our residents remain healthy.
“St. Anne’s is grateful to the National Guard as we look forward to more accessible testing in the future to ensure our residents are safe and their family members have peace of mind” stated Sandra Cabezas.
Marketing Team Separately Working Together
“During times of uncertainty it becomes even more important to make sure the CHS brand remains strong and our message clear. Our team is committed to reaching our numerous audiences and delivering the information that continues to build on the confidence they have in our organization”… MA Miranda, CHS VP – PR….
CHS St. Anne’s was featured in Local10 News.
See how St. Anne’s Nursing Center and Residence is protecting their residents during Covid-19.
#ThankfulTuesday
#ThankfulTuesday – “I want to thank Tyana Louis who jumped in and helped open the recovery unit at St. Catherine’s Rehab Hospital.” – Joi McMillon, Regional Director of Nursing.
#ThankfulTuesday – We hear the heroic acts of many on the frontline. Art Hoff is a nurse on our Palliative Team who performs the selfless act of taking care of those impacted by the pandemic everyday. Art goes above and beyond to advocate on behalf of his patients by helping them to stay connected with their loved ones from a distance. We are honored to recognize the tireless efforts of Art as he works on the frontline. Thank you for all you do Art, your impact is invaluable to our team!
#ThankfulTuesday – This is the Funeral Crew from Our Lady of Mercy. We are especially proud of them in their efforts to help people during this crisis of loss when only 10 family members are permitted at a service. When people are afraid to leave their houses or commanded to stay at home, our staff is reporting for work every day. In particular we would like to recognize Carl Jones, our Ground Burials Manager and Andres Perez, our Customer Service Manager for the respect they give to the needs of all families in scheduling and preparing grave sites for the burials of loved ones. Our Burial crew handles up to 7 in ground burials each day, will assist families in finding locations of their loved ones, and will do their absolute best to fulfill any other customer service needs directed to them. THANK YOU, gentlemen for your dedication!
The National Guard arrived at Villa Maria Nursing Center on Wednesday April 15th to administer COVID19 testing on residents and staff.
“They are our Heroes today. Testing is the only way to know how to accurately proceed with our preventive and protective measures in caring for our residents. We have been searching for testing kits tirelessly for weeks, with no success. The entire staff has been eagerly waiting for them!” comments Nathaniel Johnson, executive director of Villa Maria Nursing Center.
According to Commander Zuluaga, there were 35 guards, 9 teams and 2 Command and Control personnel to oversee the medics performing the swabbing for the COVID19 nasal pharyngeal test. At the end of the day, 160 residents and 220 staff members, mostly clinical, were tested.
Catholic Hospice delivers over 450 lunches to local hospitals
Catholic Hospice has delivered over 500 lunches to Holy Cross Hospital and Aventura Hospital healthcare heroes since April 3rd. As a show of appreciation to our partners, Michelle Rezende, account executive, Wendie Nemeroff, community liaison, and Suammy Gonzalez, adm. RN have been coordinating boxed lunches to be delivered to the staff at both hospitals.
“I am very proud of the teamwork the staff has shown; and is continuing to show. Teamwork makes the dream work! We are CHS Strong!” – Concepcion (Conchita) Tovar-Bas, RN, Regional Director of Market Development
“Thank you Margalie Fontus, Assistant Director of Nursing and Guerda Valere, Director of Nursing, for their tireless efforts in keeping the appropriate safety measures in place for staff and residents at St. John’s Nursing Center!” – Rosemarie Bailey, BHSA, MBA, NHA, Executive Director/Administrator, St. John’s Nursing Center
Our IT department working together AND separately
We are working together and separately and every which way technology and resources allow us to support our teammates in this time of need.
**Special mention goes out to our Kforce contract team: Sean Love, Ailisha Jones, Carlos Contreras and William Gomez. Their help has allowed us to provide quick response at all hours of the day everyday of the week”. – Dario Achury, Vice President of Information Technology, Catholic Health Services
“At St. Anne’s Nursing Center, our dedicated team going above and beyond to keep the campus healthy and safe” – Robert Salvador, Director of Recreation, St. Anne’s Nursing Center.
CHS CBO working hard while Social Distancing
“Our CBO continues to work from our homes to ensure that our organization remains fiscally sound!” – Stu Schiffman, VP of Revenue Management
CHS Quality Team practices Social Distancing
“Our hearts and prayers are with those working in the facilities and in patient’s homes each day, we feel blessed to be able to work remotely to support their efforts” – Jeannie McCabe, VP Quality & Analytics / Performance Improvement
