A Division of Cornerstone Family Healthcare
Our Kingston office staff members teamed up as a group costume in Cornerstone Family Healthcare’s annual Halloween Costume Contest. Human Resources conducts the contest and awards the prizes. The Kingston team always does a great job with theme days and costume contests (they also throw wonderful office potluck lunches) and this year was no exception!
HVCS is providing free Hepatitis C testing and a bag lunch on 4 dates in May (which is Hepatitis Awareness Month). Testing and lunch incentives will be given at our SEP van (or in the Monticello office, on May 16th).
Here is the full schedule:
Thursday May 12, 2022 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Municipal Parking Lot @ Mill St.
between N. Hamilton and Catherine St., Poughkeepsie
Friday May 13, 2022 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Parking lot behind 280 Broadway, Newburgh
Monday, May 16, 2022 from 12:00 to 2:00 pm
20 Crystal St., Monticello
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm Elmendorf St. between Broadway and Tremper Ave., Kingston
Support provided by United Healthcare. For more information, call or text (845) 522-5767 or email us.
Every day brings stark news of how the coronavirus pandemic has worsened hunger in New York State. Because we know hunger will remain a challenge throughout the economic downturn, we need to re-double our efforts to enroll people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). New York’s Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) provides free, confidential services to help people learn about and apply for SNAP benefits.
Thanks to NOEP, Hudson Valley Community Services has been able to provide SNAP application assistance to 400 individuals and 625 households each year so they can afford the food they need. NOEP is a critical front-line response for low income families, seniors, disabled and veterans who are food insecure and need help applying for benefits.
Since the start of the pandemic, requests for NOEP assistance have increased dramatically. With state budget cuts looming, funding for NOEP services is at risk and our community may lose these critical services. The state has rightfully invested millions of dollars into food banks to meet the immediate needs of New Yorkers who need food now. However, SNAP benefits will provide long-term relief to struggling families. NOEP services help people apply for SNAP and the state’s investment in NOEP is needed now more than ever. NOEP services across the State, including in the Mid-Hudson Valley, are at risk and are currently scheduled to end in June. We are asking that concerned citizens reach out to Gov. Cuomo now to help save these imperiled services.
In this episode Steph, Naomi and Andy debunk a few of the myths about sexually transmitted diseases or STD’s. You don’t want to miss this one!
Subscribe for more episodes or listen to each one on Spotify, iTunes and other platforms!
Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate the official opening of our new Kingston office on Thursday, April 12, 2018! We moved our existing Kingston office to a larger, brighter space and combined our staff with those who worked at a former Lake Katrine office. Special thanks to Congressman John Faso for sending a certificate of recognition and Jude McGrath from the office of NYS Assemblyman Kevin Cahill.
HVCS’ Syringe Exchange Program (SEP) is pleased to announced that it now serves Sullivan and Ulster counties, in addition to Dutchess and Orange. The New York State Department of Health’s Harm Reduction Unit recently approved our plan to expand our successful syringe exchange van program to Kingston and Monticello.
The discrete SEP van will be located in Kingston at Elmendorf Street between Broadway and Tremper Avenue on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 12 noon and 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
The van will also operate in Monticello on Mondays and Fridays from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm, but interested clients and referring agencies must call (845) 476-2190 OR (845) 234-5225 for location.
The SEP program has kept thousands of used syringes off of the streets and out of the Poughkeepsie and Newburgh communities thus far. Program staff regularly offer trainings on the overdose prevention drug Narcan/Naloxone, and have saved several lives. Staffers estimate that the clients they have trained to administer Narcan themselves revive between three and five overdosing peers each month.
For more information on SEP, please call (845) 476-2190 or (845) 234-5225.
It was Red Nose Day at HVCS’ Poughkeepsie and Kingston offices! Our Case Managers celebrated several months of not being “in the red” in their quality assurance data dashboard. This means that the program has been meeting or exceeding Department of Health performance standards. Way to go, Dutchess & Ulster case managers!
HVCS received special funding to conduct a comprehensive advertising campaign to raise awareness for our Medical Benefit Specialists, two staffers who work with local residents who are HIV-positive and uninsured or under-insured. The campaign, funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) via the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, consists of a billboard in Kingston, NY; transit shelter ads in lower Westchester County, Spanish language ads in free, widely-distributed Spanish newspapers and websites, and a Haitian newspaper.
The campaign will run through the end of the year, and its goal is to increase the number of people enrolled in New York’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Our program serves Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester counties. Medical Benefits Specialists can assist with the ADAP application, Medicaid paperwork, referrals for other services, and removing barriers to accessing available resources.
In Ulster County, contact Mary Beth at (845) 339-3281 x17.
In Putnam, Rockland or Westchester counties, contact Ramon at (914) 785-8264.
HVCS’ new billboard in Kingston advertises the Medical Benefits Specialist programs in English and Spanish.
Jen Brathwaite, our Assistant Director of Client Services, snapped a few pictures of our Ulster and Dutchess Health Home Care Management team meeting. Every other month, the teams have a “multi-county” Health Home team meeting and as part of the agenda they include team building activities. The staff have given a lot of positive feedback and enjoy these meetings, which are not only fun but also very informative.
Put life back into your life!
HVCS’ Kingston office is pleased to introduce a new peer-led support group for Ulster County residents living with complex chronic illnesses.
Living Healthy workshops help you:
The Living Healthy workshop is a six-session peer-led health education program for people with any type of ongoing health condition and compliments the health care that person may already be receiving. The purpose of the Living Healthy workshop is to enhance one’s skills and ability to manage their health and maintain an active and fulfilling lifestyle.
In addition, participants learn or enhance their problem-solving and decision-making skills which enable them to confront the ever-changing challenges of living with an ongoing health condition. The course is facilitated by two leaders, one or both of whom are trained volunteers who themselves have an ongoing health condition. Participants are invited to bring a family member or friend.
The program includes:
RESULTS:
Stanford’s Patient Education Research Center conducted a randomized, controlled test of the program with 1,000 class participants and found many to have the following outcomes for up to three years after attending the class series:
The Healthy Living workshops will be facilitated by two trained people in the Living Healthy NY program. This is a free workshop for Ulster County residents who have a chronic illness. The classes will be held in the conference room at 138 Pine St., Kingston from 2:30pm-4:30pm. The dates are Nov. 12, Nov. 19, Dec. 3, Dec 10, Dec 17, and Dec 23.