MC News - Mary`s Center

MC News
Dear Friends,
Happy February! 2015 has so far been an
active year at Mary’s Center as ACA
enrollment and the resumption of many
programs and classes, have kept us quite
busy. Our hope is that this newsletter will
give you a taste of the energy that thus far
has characterized the new year. The year has started busy
albeit without much turbulence coupled with lots of
renewed energy from staff and friends alike. The
tremendous feeling of support, guidance and innovation at
Mary’s Center never ceases to amaze me. It is a “dream
team” as my colleague Lynne Zaris reminds me every time
we speak. From the Board to the staff to our volunteers
there is a spark that figuratively sets this place on fire
everyday. One vivid example is our volunteer Lisa Chapin
who on her own decorated for Valentines Day the Women,
Infant and Children reception area with flowers, colorful
decorations and the most elegant stuffed elephant for
February, 2015
Celebrating Black History Month
children to admire. There is our Board Member, Matt Klinger,
who had a dream to establish a wonderland for our children in
the waiting area at our Georgia site and this month that
project will become a reality. Another one of our Board
Members, Edward Mariga, encouraged us to work on a Mary’s
Center App and in the next few weeks we will be launching it.
The Chair of our Board, Andrea Lindemann, saw an
opportunity to bring beauty and joy to Mary’s Center by
inviting the lead harpist at the National Symphony Orchestra,
Adriana Horne, to perform at Mary’s Center in January.
There are numerous acts of love that keep us caring and
encourage us to do more, do it better and to do it because it is
the just thing to do. Have a wonderful Valentines Weekend
and surprise your loved ones with many acts of kindness!
Warmly,
Maria Gomez
President and CEO
Monday, February 16th:
President’s Day (Enjoy
your day off)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
NEW Technology in 2015!
Very soon we will have 2
awesome
improvements in technology at
Mary’s Center:
A mobile app with all these great
features (pictured left), and a new
and fresh website with more options
to highlight our outcomes,
accomplishments, and stories.
We expect to have these new tools
available very soon. Stay tuned!
PS… did you know that we also have a
Patient Portal where patients can go
online and look at their lab results and
summary of their visits, and send
messages to the nurse?
This is HUGE!
Our partners from CCIN have just launched a
Health Information Exchange called Capital
Partners in Care (CPC-HIE).
The new system will connect the electronic
medical records from five community centers,
including Mary’s Center, and Providence Hospital
to give medical providers across the District of
Columbia immediate access to information about
their patients’ care received at other clinics. This
will allow them to provide more timely and
effective treatment while avoiding expensive
duplication of services.
Congratulations CCIN for your tremendous
achievement, and Kudos to our colleagues Gina
Pistulka, Anne Sclater, David Tatro, and the entire
CCIN team.
February, 2015
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Tips to Meet Your New Year’s Resolutions
From our very own Alis Marachelian, Senior Director for Health Promotion
Just click on Alis’s picture and enjoy her recommendations on how to
accomplish your 2015 resolutions. She will also tell you about her wonderful
department.
This is a video, click on it
Kudos to the ACA Team!
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Our ACA enrollment team in DC and MD has been working diligently weekdays, evenings and weekends to
support various enrollment activities before the Open Enrollment ends on February 15th.
Their knowledge of the community and the trust they exude is the key to the successful enrollment of 1,150 new
insured members. According to our latest report, more than 60% of our patients now have health insurance,
evidence that the ACA is getting people into care.
In DC, left to right: Dina Bayou, Grizelda Mejia, Andres Cruz, Gerardo Cruz
Because of the
excellent performance
of our DC team
during the first and
second Open
Enrollment seasons,
DC Health Link (the
ACA administrator
for DC) presented our
In-Person-Assisters
with this Certification of Appreciation last month.
Congrats!
In Maryland: Jesus Martinez, Karla Bonilla, Jose Almanzar
As recognition of the amazing work done by Grizelda Mejia (Bilingual
Health Access and DC Health Link Program Manager) in leading the
Open Enrollment efforts at Mary’s Center, the White House invited her
to attend the Healthy Young American Conference on January 15th.
Best WIC Program in DC
Because of our great performance in enrolling moms and children to the program, Mary’s Center’s
WIC program has been recognized by the WIC State Agency as the best WIC agency in the
District of Columbia. Congratulations to the entire team for such a wonderful achievement.
Akua Boateng, WIC
Program Director
February, 2015
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Art and Culture
On Saturday, January 10th, Adriana
Horne, lead harpist of the National
Symphony Orchestra (NSO) performed
at our Georgia location.
Our families loved the concert and the
children enjoyed the interactive
participation.
Thank You to our Board Chair, Andrea
Lindemann Gilliam for connecting Mary’s
Center with the NSO, and for her
commitment to promote cultural
activities among our community!
In the News
Domestic Violence Help Line
On January 22nd, Mary’s Center was invited by
Telemundo and Verizon to be featured as the
organization to support their Domestic Violence Help
Line.
From 6 pm to 9 pm, the telephones didn’t stop ringing,
and Telemundo did several live series with interviews and
information for victims of domestic violence.
Maria Andreina Vethencourt, family support worker
(FSW’s) did a great job as spokesperson talking about the
support provided by Mary’s Center to victims of Domestic
Violence. Our FSW’s are now doing follow up
appointments with the callers.
If you missed it, you can watch it here.
During 3 hours, Mary’s Center team answered Telemundo’s help line on
domestic violence issues.
Mary’s Center in the media once again!
Early Intervention Rocks!
The Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) which funds our
Early Intervention Program (EIP) published an uplifting message
in their newsletter recognizing Mary’s Center’s
Dedicated Service Coordinator, Veronica Samayoa,
for being a role model in ensuring that all families
stay in compliance. Congratulations Veronica!
Rosalia Villalta, Director of the EIP, also highlighted the deep
commitment of her team: Recently, Laura Heller, Patricia
Sanyer, and Luz Torres have helped covered 17 additional
families until new staff is hired. “I want to thank them for going
the extra mile to ensure our participants receive the care they
need,” said Rosalia.
We always love to hear about the great work of your staff. Supervisors: we encourage you to share the good news
with all by sending information to the Advocacy and Communications department.
February, 2015
SAVE THE DATE:
 Taste of Adams Morgan: May, date TBC
 4th Annual Golf Classic: May 19th
 Noche Tropical Annual Gala: October 16th
Don’t miss the opportunity to sign up for payroll
deduction to attend our gala.
Don’t wait! Contact Sofia Morales, Development
Manager x 7002
1 ticket is only $12.50 per payroll
2 tickets: $25
3 tickets: $37.50
4 tickets: $50
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Community Activities at Mary’s Center
Cooking Matters
Our interactive cooking and nutritional classes sponsored by Share
Our Strength and led by our nutritionist Mabel Hernandez, will begin
February 26th at our Georgia location. They are FREE, in Spanish, and
open to the community. For more information, contact Mabel at
(202) 420-7011.
Family Yoga Classes
Thanks to our friends
from Yoga Heights, we
are providing FREE yoga
classes for the entire
family. Classes are held
on Saturdays at 10:30 am
at the Kalorama
Conference Room
(Ontario location). Anyone in the community can attend. No
need to register.
Pop Up Shop
Please join us in congratulating the following staff
members for their anniversary of work at Mary’s Center
during the months of January and February.
Thank you for these years of service.
Thanks to the success of our first Pop Up Shop held on January
29th, we will continue to hold this event the last week of every
month. At the Pop Up Shop we sell new and lightly used items
received from donations at affordable prices. At our first one,
we raised $300.
Energy Assistance
Thanks to a grant from Pepco, we are still providing energy
assistance to families in Prince George’s County (only). To make
an appointment families should call (202) 545-2024.
16 years of service
8 years of service
5 years of service
2 years of service
1 year of service
Christie McKay
Lorie Preheim
Berta Perez
Silvia Arias
Andrea Arias
Walter Castillo
Lyda Vanegas
Mirna Guardado
Rosa Goyes
Curt Cupid
Bethlehem Muleta
Carlos Carcamo
Nancy Joya Escobar
Silvia Llanos
Maria Portillo
11 years of service
7 years of service
Wendy Guardado
Pilar Nunez
Rosa Martinez
Ruben Reyes
Lidia Argueta
Tawny Bush
Jennifer Cisneros
Courtney Hinton
Diana Miranda
Julius Suku
Gregory Brown
David Dzidzienyo
Noris Gonzalez
Paulette Johnson
Andrea Lozada
Vilma Veliz
Alison Coleman
Adrienne Collier
Jairo Rodriguez
Maria Turcios
Darryl Besley
Nathalie Gonzalez
Boris Venegas
Stephanie Mints
Denise Feliz
Marissa Parella
Jennifer Vargas
Rebecca Cruz
Melissa Estrada
Janelle Priestly
Jose Sandoval
Candy Cannon-Monk
Martha Hernandez
Jose Palacios
Eliza Ruggiero
Maiyu Fernandez
Mia Morrison
13 years of service
10 years of service
Gloria Cruz
Rosalia Villalta
Rosemarie Rollins-Folks
9 years of service
Bethany Sanders
6 years of service
Julie Law
Anne Sclater
Josephine Morris-Young
Vanessa Cordova
4 years of service
Cristin Reeder
Kathleen Shannon
Elizabeth Morales
Carla Cornejo
Faiza Ismail
Sidney Knight
Robert Guevara
3 years of service
Mable Dunne
Karen Grace
Marleen Aldana
Nury Sandoval
Ingrid Flores
Sandra Kim
Sulma Villalta
February, 2015
Welcome
Happy Birthday -February
February 1
Gretchen Gates (Mental Health)
February 1
February 3
February 3
February 4
February 4
February 5
February 7
February 8
February 9
February 10
February 10
February 10
February 11
February 12
February 14
February 14
February 16
February 16
February 16
February 17
February 18
February 19
February 19
February 20
February 25
February 25
February 26
February 26
February 27
Martha Hernandez (Front Desk)
Jose Majano (Health Promotion)
Juan Pablo Munoz (IT)
Victoria Carbajal (Front Desk)
William Smith (Nursing)
Lissette Amparo Javier (CCIN)
Michelle Singleton (BFSWC)
Carlos Munoz (Administration)
Lourdes Benavides (Briya)
Nury Sandoval (Briya)
Cindy Flores (Mental Health)
Lauren Reay (Medical)
Shiela Escamilla (Briya)
Yolanda Sauls (Briya)
Treon Baird (Medical Records)
Jennifer Velasquez (FSW)
Yesenia Palacios (MA)
Veronica Nunez (Mental Health)
Jennifer Vargas (Mental Health)
Josephine Morris-Young (CFO)
Lindsay Comstock (Nursing)
Alejandra Granados (Briya)
Edward Mariga (Board Member)
Darryl Besley (Facilities)
Victor Claros (Dental)
Wendy Zelaya (Dental)
Maria Ramos (Home Visiting)
Shauna Stupart (Medical)
Angelica Alvarez (Dental)
Thank you Facilities!
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A warm welcome our new family members.
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Cristina Moyer, Administrative Medical Director, MD
Katie Gass, Digital Literacy Instructor
David Loeser, HIT Implementation Specialist
Andrea Morris, Mental Health Therapist
Raquel Farah, Student Services Coordinator
Maria Bhatti, Post Release Services FSW
Nayeli Mendoza, MA Instructor
Eunice Espinal, Adelphi Patient Support Manager
Isolina Joya, Mental Health Program Assistant
Yael Kiken, CCLP Program Coordinator
Jane Luceno, Life Cycle Health Educator
Elizabeth MacLaughlin, HR Generalist
Jorge de Campos, Front Desk Receptionist Georgia
Ingrid Andersson to Director of Nursing
Ingrid Y. Flores to Medical Assistant II
Kathleen Metcalf to Senior RN Care Coordinator
Nurse Excellence Award of the month:
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January:
Will Smith
MA of the Month:
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Once again, big Thank YOU to our Facilities team for their
hard work in keeping our buildings clean and safe, and for
putting beauty to our walls. Keep up the good work!
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November:
Claribel Salgado (Georgia), Pilar Nunez (Ontario),
and Esperanza Montes (Adelphi)
December:
Karina Calix (Georgia), Marta Claros (Ontario),
Elizabeth Bonilla (Flower)
January:
Cindy Reyes (Georgia), Eulalia Gonzalez (Ontario),
Glenda Corado (Adelphi)