The Volunteer Voice
E-Newsletter
November, 2021
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On behalf of the board members and staff of VIM, we would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving with family and friends. We sincerely thank all our volunteers that are dedicated to the mission of helping the underserved by providing quality, compassionate health care services. Many of our volunteers have been coming on a weekly basis for over 13 years! We thank our supporters and appreciate the generosity which makes it possible for staff and volunteers to provide helping hands and caring hearts to our neighbors that need it most.
Warmest Regards,
Kelly L. Ranieli
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Dates to Remember
Holiday Party for Volunteers-Friday, December 10, 2021
Annual Appreciation Luncheon- Tuesday, February 9, 2022
Annual Gala- Friday, June 17 , 2022
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(All events are dependent of the COVID pandemic status. ) |
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Dr. Kimmy Nguyen Awarded
Distinguished Young Pharmacist
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Dr. Kimmy Nguyen was presented with the Pharmacist Mutual Insurance Company “Distinguished Young Pharmacist” Award at the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) Annual Conference! This award recognizes a new pharmacist for their dedication to and participation in PPA, commitment to the practice of pharmacy, and involvement in community activities.
During the acceptance speech, she expressed her gratitude to VIM and the ability to work with and give back to the community while serving as a role model for healthcare students and trainees. The collaboration with Wilkes University allows Dr. Nguyen to be at VIM three days a week to provide chronic disease management, medication review and education to patients.
Dr. Nguyen and her students, Brianna Price and Leeann Mahalick, were also the recipients of the 2021 Practice Grant to create a new pneumonia vaccine program at VIM. The funding will be used to establish a sustainable student- and volunteer-led protocol that will help increase patient access to important routine vaccines.
We are honored and proud to have Dr. Nguyen as part of the VIM team!
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Flu Shots Available at VIM |
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Volunteers in Medicine is fortunate to have generous community partners...we thank Sheehans Pharmacy and Wilkes-Barre Department of Health for providing free influenza vaccinations to VIM. The Clinic is experiencing a higher demand this year from patients requesting the vaccine compared to previous years. |
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November is Diabetes Awareness Month |
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Diabetes is a class of diseases associated with decreased insulin signaling in the body. It can either be caused by low insulin secretion from the pancreas (Type I) or a decreased resistance to insulin (Type II). Since Type II is partially caused by lifestyle choices and environmental factors, there are ways to prevent or manage the condition. Even for those people who acquired the disease genetically, a happy, healthy, and normal life is easily possibly. Dr. Nguyen and the pharmacy students created the above informational sheet for patients.
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Lung Cancer Screenings Now Available
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and people who smoke are at the greatest risk. Lung cancer screening detects 80 percent of the disease at an early stage when it is more curable. VIM is partnering with Northeast Regional Cancer Institute to provide our patients with free screening.
Patients must meet certain criteria to participate; and if eligible, will receive a free cat scan (CT) of the lungs. If the results are normal, patients will have a repeat CT scan in one year. If the imaging shows an abnormality, further diagnostic testing is also available at no cost. VIM has provided several of these screenings; and although no lung cancers have been found, we were able to diagnose another serious medical issue in one patient.
A 56 year old female smoker who participated in the lung cancer screening in October had a cat scan that did not show any evidence of lung cancer. It did show severe blockage (atherosclerosis) in the main artery of her heart (also known as the widow maker). Because of these findings, the patient started medications to prevent progression of her coronary artery disease and has appointments scheduled with VIM's Clinical Pharmacist for the smoking cessation program. She is also meeting with the Social Care Coordinator to get financial help to see a cardiologist for further management.
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VIM Receives Funding from Anonymous Donor |
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Volunteers in Medicine received a generous donation of $25,000. The funds will help immensely in providing free comprehensive healthcare to the underserved in the region. We sincerely thank the donor who wishes to stay anonymous.
VIM is unique in that it is not federally funded and operates solely on grants from foundations, donations from business and individuals and proceeds from special events.
We hope you find a healthy community worthy of support during this Holiday season. Donations in a loved ones name as a holiday gift, makes an everlasting impact.
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United Way of Wyoming Valley |
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The United Way of Wyoming Valley and Volunteers in Medicine are offering the "Healthy Smiles for a Healthy Start" dental program. The program includes educating children on good oral hygiene including proper brushing, healthy eating and the importance of visiting the dentist. It also includes the dental staff providing evaluations to youngsters enrolled in pre-K programs. Program bags are provided free to each child with a toothbrush, toothpaste and educational material.
The funding from United Way of Wyoming Valley assists Volunteers in Medicine with providing oral hygiene education to approximately 3,000 preschool and school age children across the Wyoming Valley on an annual basis.
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United Way of Wyoming Valley recently held their annual "Day of Caring", when members of local businesses visit nonprofit organizations in the area to provide help with a variety of projects. Staff from Highmark provided various landscaping and cleaning tasks, including weed pulling, cleaning the windows, and sanitizing the inside office space. In total, United Way estimated a value of $50,000 of volunteer work across the Wyoming Valley on their Day of Caring. This program each year helps VIM with some upkeep of the grounds that would otherwise be costly to the nonprofit.
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Volunteer and Student Corner |
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Michael Carone joins the VIM clinic as our new student from Marywood University's Master of Social Work program. Originally from Hawthorne, NJ, Michael is in his 1st year for his Masters degree. He thinks the mission statement of VIM is really inspiring. Michael says he's excited to be here, and we're excited to have him.
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Hunter Maxwell, a resident of Forty-Fort, PA, is at VIM for one of his fourth year (P4) rotations at Wilkes University School of Pharmacy. Upon graduation, he plans to work as a pharmacist, possibly for the U.S. Navy. He chooses to be at VIM to help the underserved population in the area, since public health is something that interests him greatly. Fun fact, Hunter was a collegiate soccer player at Wilkes, but he now helps coach the team! |
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Shataya Buxton comes to VIM from Williamsport, PA. She is currently in her fourth year (P4) at Wilkes University School of Pharmacy. Shataya hopes to practice pharmacy somewhere in Pennsylvania, but is open to travelling elsewhere. She enjoys both the patient interaction at VIM and helping underserved patients. Shataya thinks the staff and patients are warm and welcoming, and we are glad to have her here |
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Dev Kothari is from Plains, and is a P4 at Wilkes University. He would like to get a job in community Pharmacy after graduation. He enjoys being at VIM due to the diversity of the patient population. He feels the VIM mission is a noble cause and wants to continue to volunteer.
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Dallas Kendra of Mountaintop, PA is a 4th year Wilkes University Pharmacy student She hopes to pursue a career in Ambulatory care. She enjoys VIM because she loves being able to help patients who might not have access to services otherwise.
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Kieran Collins is a P2 Pharmacy student at Wilkes University. He eventually wants work in ambulatory care. He is enjoying his time at VIM.
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Kara Izzo is currently in her 5th year of PA school at King's College. Coming from East Haddam, CT, she plans on working in Neurosurgery somewhere in the Northeast. She enjoys being here because she grew up volunteering and is glad she can help our organization.
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Fiona Taylor is currently in her 5th year physician assistnat student at King's College. Originally from Staten Island, NY, she remains unsure of the type of medicine she wants to practice but is leaning towards emergency medicine, hopefully in Boston or New York. Fiona was placed at VIM by her school program, but she has heard great things from other students who did their clinical rotations here. |
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Elise Fellerman joins the VIM Dental Clinic after her recent graduation from PSU in May 2021. Though she is a Wilkes-Barre resident, Elise hopes to practice Dentistry in Florida in the future. She is happy to be at VIM to gain dental and volunteer experience prior to her matriculation into dental school.
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"Working here gives you exposure to treating under-served patients. It provides you with knowledge and skills that you can use in any setting."
"Diverse patient interaction, as it provided me with the skills to provide personalized care to each patient."
"I would highly recommend this rotation to my fellow students. The staff was very welcoming! Thanks for everything!"
"Take advantage of every opportunity here at VIM! It's hard to come by this many specialties with so many nice people in one office. Time your schedule so you can work with as many volunteers as possible. Everyone has medical insight and compassion to offer."
"Dr. Feudale has been the most formative in my clinical growth and experience here. She has been an excellent preceptor by being constructive and allowing me to build confidence in my skills and knowledge as a student provider. The nursing, behavioral health and dental staff have been so kind and willing to let me learn from them. I'm very glad and grateful I got to do a rotation here!"
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Volunteers in Medicine
Volunteers in Medicine
190 North Pennsylvania Avenue
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
570-970-2864 phone
kranieli@vimwb.org email
website: www.vimwb.org
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