Northwell Relay: Employee’s passion to honor a colleague gives birth to a new labor and delivery room
Wellness & Benefits
Over the span of six weeks, follow along with us during our first-ever Northwell Relay. Hear stories from our team members who are passionate about giving back to Northwell to support what matters most and making a real difference in patients’ lives.
Marianne DiStefano never counted the number of babies she delivered in her 30-year career, but it’s safe to say there were thousands. Everyone she encountered — coworkers, patients and families — recognized how much she loved her job as head nurse in labor and delivery at Staten Island University Hospital. It brought her indescribable joy.
This spring her coworkers honored her passion through the 2019 Northwell Health Walk at Staten Island. After Marianne’s passing in February 2018, her colleague Linda Spadafina set a team goal of raising $25,000 to name a labor-and-delivery room in Marianne’s honor within the new Gruppuso Family Women & Newborn Center, slated to be open late 2021.
“Marianne was a mentor and leader to many nurses during her career at Staten Island University Hospital,” says Laura Wenzel, senior director of maternal and child nursing. “It was heartwarming to see Linda and the staff collaborate with Marianne’s family to keep her legacy alive. Marianne continues to live on in the hearts of the nurses and families she impacted over the years.”
A star fundraiser raises the bar
Since the inception of the Northwell Health Walk at Staten Island in 2016, Linda Spadafina has been an exemplary committee member and team player who is made for unwavering support. As captain of Team Baby Steps, Linda raised more than $34,000 in the walk’s first three years to benefit Staten Island University Hospital. From “Taco Tuesdays” and “Waffle Wednesdays” to hosting big-ticket raffles and events, Linda’s fundraising tactics exemplify her creativity.
With 2019’s walk goal to honor Marianne, Linda took ownership of the challenge, bringing the hospital community together. “Even though we are part of a large hospital system, Staten Island University Hospital is still very much a community hospital,” Linda says. “The support that was shown at that walk in May is certainly proof of that.” With her persistence and dedication, and support from the walk committee, fellow employees and community members, the team surpassed their goal, raising nearly $30,000.
Employee generosity benefits our communities
Linda and her team exemplify the dedication that Northwell Health employees bring to their patients, each other and the places they work.
Northwell’s employee giving program — What matters most — offers team members additional ways to help us meet our $1 billion Outpacing the Impossible campaign goal. They can make a one-time gift, enroll in payroll deduction or contribute their myRecognition points to support the program or hospital of their choice.
Through their generosity and passion, Northwell Health employees like Linda are leading the way in helping push boundaries and redefine health care.
“Simply put, it’s a labor of love,” Linda says. “I do all of these crazy things because I love raising funds for this hospital and the community it supports.”
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Our commitment to our team members’ well-being continues to evolve
Wellness & Benefits
Just as much as we’re focused on improving the wellness of our patients and communities, we’re committed to improving the emotional and physical health of our employees through a robust offering of well-being programs and resources. This year we worked to find new and innovative ways to do this and introduced several new confidential programs that use assessments, coaching, and follow-up resources to aid our team members in improving their well-being.
These resources were designed to assist employees in building personal healthy habits, manage stress, sleep better, plan care, and more conveniently and confidentially. It’s just one more way that we show our commitment and support for their physical and emotional health.
The newest web-based resource myHealthyBody helps individuals prevent and manage aches, pains and injuries through two different plans. The Prevention Plan helps all team members prevent common aches and injuries (musculoskeletal conditions dealing with muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones) through a series of exercise videos. The Recovery Plan offers a comprehensive online health assessment for team members and their dependents 16 years of age or older who are enrolled in a Northwell medical plan and suggests the appropriate care setting for treatment or provides an exercise program to self-manage recovery.
myJoyable is a web- and app-based tool behavioral health resource designed to help individuals with everything from day-to-day stress to more challenging behavioral health experiences for full-time employees. this digital behavioral health resource is provided by the experts at Joyable, at no cost to our non-union, full and part-time benefits-eligible employees. With myJoyable, team members self-assess their level of well-being and select from a choice of services to pursue an eight-week, well-being journey. Services include basic tools or activities, digital coach therapy, or a referral in-person therapy.
Learn more about our benefits at jobs.northwell.edu/benefits
Northwell Relay: Northwell runner races for caregivers in TCS New York City Marathon
Wellness & Benefits
Over the span of six weeks, follow along with us during our first-ever Northwell Relay. Hear stories from our team members who are passionate about giving back to Northwell to support what matters most and making a real difference in patients’ lives.
Our employees support the mission of Northwell Health every day with their energy, their enthusiasm and their expertise. On November 3, 2019, some will also support our mission with their feet.
As an official charity sponsor of the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon, Northwell Health secured 15 guaranteed entries for employees who wished to run the marathon as part of Team Northwell. Runners support Northwell by raising at least $3,000, designating the funds for What matters most to them. In addition, this year we are expanding Team Northwell. Employees who received their own lottery entry to the marathon are also eligible to join Team Northwell and fundraise for an area close to their heart.
First-time marathoner Michael Goldberg, MBA, MS, executive director of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, shared with us what inspired him to take up the challenge:
What’s the best part of your role at Northwell Health?
The best part of being the executive director of Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ) at Northwell is the opportunity to interact with team members, patients and families, and the community. Each day I’m inspired by the accomplishments our team members share with me throughout the hospital. I see the pride they have in their accomplishments and in health care that represents a meaningful impact we’ve made in someone’s life.
This is further reinforced when I speak with the patients and their families, and they validate and share with me how our teams impact their lives. Seeing the results of our actions to constantly make how we deliver health care better makes this role at Northwell so rewarding.
What inspired you to run the TCS New York City Marathon?
Running the TCS New York City Marathon is recognized as a significant physical and mental challenge. I’m determined to run and finish the New York City Marathon because of how difficult it is. I’ve never been a runner, nor do I enjoy running; however, it’s the idea that I can work to achieve something so difficult that interests me. When I complete in the New York City Marathon, I want to show my daughters that with hard work and focused effort anything is possible.
Why is it important to you to give back to Northwell?
I’m proud of Northwell Health and the ways in which our organization makes an impact in the lives of so many. Over the past 19 years, I’ve had the opportunity to grow from an intern in the finance department to now serving as LIJ’s executive director, and for that I am forever grateful. Northwell offers our team members jobs that enable them to have a rewarding career and provide for their families. Additionally, Northwell invests in many ways to make our community a better place. I can’t think of a better organization to give back to.
What area are you fundraising for at Northwell Health? Why does this area matter most to you?
I’m running to help fundraise for and raise awareness of the need to expand the resources we provide to caregivers. Working at LIJ Medical Center, I see caregivers throughout our facility. They accompany a loved one to the Emergency Department. They occupy our waiting rooms while their friend or family member is in surgery or having a procedure. They are a patient’s ride to an appointment, they are their advocates and they are the ones by the bedside hoping for everything to be OK.
Most of what we do centers around the clinical services we offer to our patients, and I think we have an obligation to create a greater service to those who generously give their time, energy, and sometimes financial support to their loved ones.
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Recipe for Success: Northwell’s teaching kitchens provide nutrition education for employees
Wellness & Benefits
At Northwell Health, we’re committed to the health and wellness of not only our patients and the communities we serve, but our team members as well.
Food is a foundation for maintaining good health, preventing sickness and maximizing clinical benefit. To help our staff learn the power of healthy food, Northwell has established free teaching kitchens across our healthcare system.
Making Nutrition Fun
Teaching kitchens combine culinary instruction with education to help participants learn which foods they should be eating more or less of and the best techniques for cooking them. Our nutrition education covers various topics including heart health, low refined sugar and high fiber. Team members are encouraged to use the same healthy and whole ingredients that Northwell chefs are using in our hospitals’ kitchens.
Employees who attend receive hands-on instruction from Northwell chefs and have the opportunity to sample a variety of nutritious food. These chefs partner closely with Northwell’s registered dietitians to host events that are not only informative but also fun. Samantha Gitlin, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian at Lenox Hill Hospital, says: “Northwell’s teaching kitchens provide the staff and community with exciting and interesting ways to include fresh, nutrient-dense ingredients and new cooking techniques into their daily lives.”
And these aren’t your typical meals! Recipes include everything from one pot Italian quinoa to Asian lettuce wraps with avocado cilantro slaw.
Bringing People Together
“We receive a lot of positive feedback,” says Katrina Hartog, MPH, RD, CDN, CHES, clinical nutrition manager, “but the most satisfying is when a participant says they’ve never tried the featured food or item, then walks away with the recipe to make it at home and sends their colleagues to participate!” The teaching kitchens have grown in popularity, and are also leveraged for for internal team building events as well as community outreach.
These lessons are just one of the education tools organized by the Food & Nutrition teams to expand cooking confidence and nutrition education for Northwell employees. Other initiatives include recruiting and developing chef and dietitians, implementing Northwell Healthy Choice nutrition criteria and staff education.
“My favorite thing is seeing how it brings everyone in the hospital together. We get participation from doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, dietitians, food service workers, and various ancillary staff,” says Bethany O’Dea, RD, CDN, CNSC, assistant clinical nutrition manager, “it is fun seeing everyone get excited about nutrition.”
