VNSW Foundation Gala Honorees Recognized

From Harrison Edwards PR: With healthcare reform at the top of the nation’s agenda, this year’s VNSW Foundation Spring Benefit Gala Honorees have undertaken initiatives that provide greater access to high quality, affordable care; bring lasting improvement to population health; and help to prepare the next generation of healthcare leaders to tackle pressing issues.

For her outstanding healthcare leadership, legislative achievements, and advocacy for a healthy society, Congresswoman Nita Lowey will receive the organization’s Distinguished Service Award. VNSW will also honor healthcare innovator Dr. Amy Ansehl with its Community Leadership Award, for her tremendous contributions in advancing public health and for her dedicated service to the organization over the past several years. They will receive the awards at the organization’s 19th Annual Spring Benefit Gala, to be held Wednesday, May 10 at the Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison. Michael Gargiulo, Anchor at NBC 4 New York, will serve as emcee for the sixth year in a row.

“With so much uncertainty about healthcare, one thing is for sure: the demand for our services has never been greater,” says Timothy P. Leddy, president and CEO, Westchester Visiting Nurse Services Group, Inc. (WVNS Group), the nonprofit organization that oversees VNS Westchester, the VNSW Foundation and Westchester Care at Home. “This year’s honorees exemplify the leadership that is needed to improve the health and well-being of the patients, families, and communities we serve. It is our tremendous honor to salute their vision and commitment, and to thank them for spurring our success in serving a growing population of those in need of our care.”

The festive evening will showcase the important work of VNS Westchester, and inspire giving to its newly launched VNSW Foundation, created to support the home healthcare agency that has provided vital care services in the region for over 116 years. Proceeds from the Gala will support an array of programs for residents of Westchester, the Bronx, Dutchess, Putnam and Rockland counties, including free community health screenings, health education programs focusing on preventative care and chronic disease management, and home care services for underinsured patients.

“Charitable support is absolutely critical because many of our services, including our Telehealth remote patient monitoring program, are not reimbursed by government agencies,” says Leddy. “Through the VNSW Foundation we are stepping up our charitable outreach efforts to meet the growing needs of those we serve and ensure our financial sustainability in the future. To help us meet the challenge of caring for an aging population with more chronic diseases, we invite the Lower Hudson Valley community to support us on May 10, and to join us in thanking Nita Lowey and Amy Ansehl for their extraordinary contributions.”

Karen Herrero of Scarsdale, a WVNS Group Board Member, and co-owner of the NY Hospitality Group, and Mahopac resident Debra Swee, communications consultant and WVNS Group Board Member, are co-chairing the event. Wells Fargo Private Bank and Commercial Bank is the Presenting Sponsor. In addition to the awards ceremony, the event will feature a sensational silent auction, including gift certificates for dining out event tickets, luxury items, international wines and more. The evening also features a cocktail networking reception, gourmet dinner specialties and a sumptuous ‘sweet treats’ dessert and ice cream bar. Tickets for the event, which takes place on May 10 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison, may be purchased for $350 each at www.vns.org. For information on Sponsorship Opportunities, Journal Ads or contributions to the Silent Auction, please contact Joyce Infante, Director of Development, at JInfante@vns.org or (914) 682-1480, ext. 649.

ABOUT THE HONOREES

Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey is currently serving her fifteenth term in Congress, representing parts of Westchester and Rockland Counties. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988, she served in the Democratic Leadership in 2001 and 2002 as the first woman and the first New Yorker to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She is also the first woman to lead either party on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

A longtime proponent for education and a champion of health care services for women, children, and the elderly, Rep. Lowey is one of the Appropriations Committee's leading advocates of increased federal investments in biomedical research on diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s at the National Institutes of Health. She has received multiple honors from the National Breast Cancer Coalition and also recently received the Alzheimer’s Association Impact Movement Humanitarian Award, for her significant policy contribution to advancements in research and support for people with Alzheimer's disease, a growing epidemic in the region and the nation.

Rep. Lowey was also instrumental in securing a $9.8 million U.S. Department of Labor Ready-to-Work grant, known regionally as Jobs Waiting, to help train long-term unemployed workers for thousands of skilled jobs in healthcare in the Hudson Valley. VNS Westchester is a partner in this innovative public-private partnership to help meet workforce needs, establish a talent pipeline in the region, and provide opportunities for those entering, returning, or seeking to advance in the healthcare job market.

She has also fought to improve health care by authoring a bill to ensure that women in managed care plans have direct access to their ob-gyns; she supports legislation that will guarantee that doctors and patients—not insurance companies—make decisions about appropriate care; she authored the first-ever bill mandating clear, concise food allergen labeling; and she authored legislation to create a comprehensive pandemic plan and enacted requirements for federal and state preparedness plans utilized in the response to the April 2009 swine flu outbreak.

Rep. Lowey was born in the Bronx; graduated from the Bronx High School of Science; and received a Bachelor's Degree from Mount Holyoke College. She served as Assistant Secretary of State for the State of New York before being elected to Congress. Nita and Stephen Lowey have been married for more than 50 years and have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

Dr. Amy Ansehl, RN, DNP, FNP-BC, is assistant dean, and associate professor and executive director, Partnership for a Healthy Population at the New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice. A registered nurse, she also holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Leadership and Administration and is a Board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years of experience as a community leader, program developer, and educator. She serves as director of community education and outreach for the Children’s Environmental Health Center of the Hudson Valley, a Center of Excellence in the Institute of Public Health, School of Health Sciences and Practice. Dr. Ansehl also has a faculty appointment and teaches in New York Medical College’s School of Medicine.

Dr. Ansehl has provided dedicated service and outstanding leadership at VNS Westchester (VNSW) over the past several years, and currently serves as the chair of the Westchester Visiting Nurse Services Group, Inc. Board of Directors. She was instrumental in creating a sustainable Tobacco Cessation program at VNSW through her role as a director of the steering committee for the POW’R Against Tobacco Community Partnership. She also helped to implement a program in which VNSW professional staff are part of the clinical training rotation for medical students at NYMC. Her leadership and tireless efforts have helped VNSW advance its mission, expand programs, improve quality care initiatives, provide professional staff development opportunities, and maintain fiscal stability.

An innovator in population health, Dr. Ansehl has advanced numerous public health initiatives through strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations, public health departments and government agencies. She has also been instrumental in securing major grant funding for a range of academic and public health programs. She has received several honors for her service, including Volunteer of the Year from the American Lung Association and Outstanding Service Award for the Education of Medical Students in Foundations of Clinical Medicine from NYMC. She has authored numerous publications and has presented at national conferences on issues focusing on public health, women and children’s health and health care policy. Dr. Ansehl is also a member of the Board of Directors for Hudson Valley Community Servicesand volunteers on committees for the March of Dimes and the United Way.

Dr. Ansehl received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis; a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Nursing from Columbia University’s School of Nursing; and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Nursing. She and her husband currently reside in Chappaqua and have three children.

Find VNSW on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VNSWestchester.

Photos courtesy of Harrison Edwards PR