VNSNY CHOICE Health Plans Receive SAGE Platinum Certification in LGBT Cultural Sensitivity Training

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- VNSNY CHOICE Health Plans, the managed care affiliate of the not-for-profit Visiting Nurse Service of New York, has been awarded Platinum-level certification by the LGBT advocacy group SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders). Platinum is SAGE's highest certification level and the designation ensures that 80 percent of CHOICE employees or more have successfully completed the SAGECare LGBT cultural sensitivity training program.

SAGECare training covers topics such as LGBT elder-health disparities, confidentiality, the need to avoid making assumptions about a client's partnership or marital status, an overview of LGBT history, and the use of gender-appropriate terminology with transgender patients and clients.

VNSNY CHOICE is the first health plan serving all of New York City, Nassau, Westchester and upstate New York to receive SAGE Platinum credentials. Employees working with SelectHealth, a CHOICE plan originally established to serve HIV-positive New Yorkers and recently expanded to include transgender individuals who are HIV-negative, have completed the SAGECare training as well.

"This Platinum designation establishes CHOICE as the preferred health plan for LGBT New Yorkers," notes Dr. Hany Abdelaal, President of VNSNY CHOICE. "It represents a promise to the LGBT community that CHOICE, and VNSNY as a whole, are committed to providing a welcoming and respectful healthcare environment for all New Yorkers, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Our SAGE certification underscores that VNSNY as an organization is prepared to manage and treat the entire community—and that we understand that 'words matter.'"

With SAGE's announcement that CHOICE will receive Platinum designation, every part of the VNSNY enterprise is now SAGE-credentialed at the Platinum level. "This is terrific news—I am so proud of the commitment of VNSNY staff!" says Marki Flannery, VNSNY's President and CEO.

About the Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Now celebrating its 125^th Anniversary, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) has been at the forefront of health care innovation and coordinated care management in the home since it was founded in 1893 by Lillian Wald.

Serving the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, VNSNY is the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organization in the U.S. On any given day, VNSNY serves approximately 30,000 patients, and works to proactively promote their health and well-being by providing high-quality, cost-effective health care coordination to vulnerable individuals in their homes and communities.

Additionally, VNSNY Hospice and Palliative Care delivers compassionate care coordination at the end of life. The organization operates an array of community mental health services and also delivers private pay care management and home health aide services through Partners in Care. VNSNY also operates a selection of health plans through its managed care affiliate, VNSNY CHOICE. VNSNY is proud to be the largest home- and community-based care management organization in the NYC area credentialed with SAGECare Platinum level LGBT cultural competency across the entire organization. Visit: www.VNSNY.org.

SOURCE Visiting Nurse Service of New York

Related Links

http://www.vnsny.org