Maimonides, Visiting Nurse Service team up to promote health

Nurses embedded in doctor’s offices advise patients

December 20, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Dr. Arkadiy Izrailov and Chanell Perez discuss wellness strategies with Frank Rollo (right). Photo courtesy of Visiting Nurse Service of New York

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Maimonides Medical Center is one of the largest hospitals in Brooklyn, but part of its mission is to keep people healthy so that they don’t have to go to the hospital. As part of that mission, Maimonides has teamed up with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) on an innovative project designed to promote healthier lifestyle choices for chronically ill residents.

Under a new program called Community Care Brooklyn, Maimonides and VNSNY work with residents with illnesses like asthma and diabetes on ways to stay healthy.

The initiative involves the formation of coalitions among local health providers with the aim of reducing avoidable hospital admissions and emergency room usage.

As part of the project, VNSNY health coaches are embedded for two or more days a week in the offices of primary care physicians in Brooklyn. The coaches work with at-risk patients who are being cared for by the doctors, supporting them with health education and wellness coaching, officials said.

The idea is to reinforce healthy nutrition and healthy dietary practices, provide guidance to enable patients to properly take their medications and help residents understand how to address medical needs.

Community Care Brooklyn is funded by the New York State Medicaid Delivery System Performance Incentive Program.

Located at 4802 10th Ave. in Borough Park, Maimonides Medical Center is a 711-bed acute care facility that contains more than 70 medical specialty programs.

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York was founded in 1893 and is the largest nonprofit home care organization in the country. Its nurses serve patients in the five boroughs as well as Long Island and Westchester.

For more information on the Community Care Brooklyn program, visit ccbrooklyn.org.