As 2011 is winding down my gut instinct is to make a few of the familiar resolutions for the coming year. Does starting a new exercise plan or eating healthier ring a bell?

However, before I make any of those resolutions I took time to reflect on my experiences providing care in the greatest city on earth and here’s what I came up with.

The Value of Home Care

Having choices is good. Having choices when it comes to caring for the older adults in our lives is invaluable. Everyday I witness how home health care improves the quality of life…

Congratulations to Coco Lorenzo Beasley! She is the winner of our Ugly Sweater contest with her hand-made, 3-D reindeer sweater.

Our contest details:

Laughter really can be the best medicine! Enter VNSNY’s First-Ever Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest to spread some seasonal smiles and qualify for a chance to win.

Post your holiday sweater photo on Facebook or email it to contest@vnsny.org through December 26, 2011 (extended to January 1, 201).

Winner Selection: One winner will be chosen by the VNSNY Team to receive a $100 American Express Gift Card. Winners will be announced on Facebook on…

Did you know that as much as one million infants die each year from being born prematurely? The United States as a developed country has one of the highest rates of prematurity in the world. Sad, isn’t it? Amazing that in this day we still struggle to keep our most vulnerable citizens alive. They may not be able to vote (yet), but it is also true that they are our future!

To keep our future healthy and thriving, we need to do more to protect and ensure a healthy and safe…

A recent New York Times headline caught my attention: “Tennessee’s Summit Reveals Dementia Diagnosis”.

If you are not familiar with Pat Summit, she is widely considered the most successful college basketball coach of all time. Her recognition is well deserved after coaching Tennessee University’s women’s basketball team to a record eight national championships and more than 1,000 wins.

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post writes:

“Denial was followed by anger. For the first few weeks, Summitt would barely even discuss the subject. She told her doctors, ‘You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable…

Embracing change is hard. Imagine you had difficulty walking and your doctor told you it was time to start using a cane. Imagine he handed it to you right then and there. Would you use it?

Losing Independence

For many the very thought of using a cane signals the end of independence altogether. While I spend a good deal of my time trying to convince my clients it’s not, I do understand the feeling.

I’ve always had 20/20 vision and somehow expected I always would. When I look back I realize this expectation…

I was a young woman and a relatively new nurse when I began working for VNSNY in 1998. My days and years past are filled with precious memories and experiences as an employee of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. All of those professional experiences transcend to my heart and spirit to become an integral part of the person, woman, mother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, and nurse I have become. But THE day that stands out for me the most is a day that is full of sorrow…

Tomorrow, we have a big day that everyone is looking forward to at the center! Our seniors often express a desire to go to Atlantic City – they reminisce about going to casinos and enjoying that excitement in years past. Since it’s become more difficult for them to travel, we decided to bring the casino to them. Thanks to a corporate grant given to encourage community teamwork, we have 10 volunteers coming to our center to recreate that casino experience for our seniors. We’re bringing Atlantic City to Woodside, Queens!

The…

The facts:

Heart Disease, Cancer, and unintentional injuries are the leading causes of death among men in the U.S. according to the CDC website.

19% of men under the age of 65 do not have medical insurance.

33% of men 20 years of age and older are considered obese.

31% of men 20 years of age and older have hypertension.

12% of men 18 years of age and over are in fair or poor health.

(Data retrieved from CDC Website.)

It makes sense to talk about healthy activities that inspire change in some of these trends during Men’s Health Month.

I asked some…

In the case of Prince William, when every person on the planet feels a connection to your mother, how do you do remember her at your wedding with honor, respect, and most importantly, in a way that has meaning for you?

Did you know that May is Better Speech and Hearing Month? Well, it is! And as we venture out with our kids into the nicer weather, there is much that can be done to protect our hearing.

We all rely heavily on our sense of hearing to get us through the day. Why, then, do so many adults and children walk around with headphones on all the time? Not only are they missing out on the tweets of the birds and the buzz of the bees, but they’re also exposing their ears…