Nonprofit Talk: Providing behavioral health services across New York
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Sherry Tucker is the CEO of WellLife Network. Photo courtesy of WellLife Network
By Sherry Tucker as told to the Eagle
Sherry Tucker serves as the CEO of WellLife Network, a large non-profit serving New York City and Long Island. Founded in 1980, WellLife Network delivers critical services in the areas of behavioral health, intellectual/developmental disabilities, housing, substance use, children and family support, vocational training and more. These services meet the needs of 25,000 individuals and families annually.
We are now about six months since the pandemic essentially shut down most of New York City. How has your organization adapted during this time?
Our professional and personal lives have been upended. The way we work, study, and socialize, and care for the most vulnerable in our community have fundamentally changed. Unlike crises of the past, this pandemic affects the entire WellLife family.
This pandemic has also required us to rethink how we provide and enhance our basic services. Our Accounting, IT, Facilities Purchasing and Communications infrastructure departments enable us to be flexible and turn challenges into opportunities.
We have entered the telehealth field and conduct both inter and intra-agency communication via Zoom. WellLife Network has honed problem solving to become a competitive advantage to survive and thrive in this challenging environment. We have become more efficient and nimble.
How are you now adjusted in serving your patients and program participants?
Where possible, WellLife Network has incorporated the use of telehealth services (either by telephone or video) so that patients and program participants can receive the same high level of care without coming to our clinic or programs. For the protection of our team members and program participants, we will continue to promote remote working for our non-residential team members and improve and enhance the telehealth technologies for our program participants. At our residential facilities, we have instituted strict adherence to following CDC guidelines to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all those we serve.
How are you balancing the needs of your clients with the level of risk to your employees?
Our extensive array of residential and housing services demand that we heighten the safety of both our dedicated staff as well as the residents they serve. WellLife provides each facility with hand sanitizers, antibacterial soap, and masks. We value our staff, our frontline workers, and have provided N-95 masks, surgical masks, gloves, gowns and faceshields to prevent the spread of the virus.
We also provide all residences with “no contact infrared thermometers,” pulse oximeters, and require the use of surgical masks by all visitors while in our residential facilities and institute CDC quarantine protocols if we suspect exposure to the virus.
What, if any, new services or programs have you launched in response to the pandemic?
WellLife Network has launched a Drive-Up Food Giveaway at each of its four food pantries located in Smithtown, Coram, Huntington and Wyandanch. These weekly giveaways address the food insecurity needs of our neighbors, friends and program participants. Some 500 people are assisted each month with nutritious food items, household supplies and personal toiletries. This program is made possible through our partners at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Long Island Cares and Island Harvest Food.
As you look the remaining part of 2020, what are your expectations and hopes?
I am so proud of the extraordinary effort our team is exerting. We have learned that social distancing does not mean that we work in isolation. Our focused efforts of working together as a nurturing community – the WellLife community – helps to keep us all safe and productive.
My hope is that our team will continue to do an outstanding job attending to the needs of the people who rely on us to provide support, care and compassion. COVID-19 is teaching us the difference between wants and needs and to never lose sight of the values of integrity, quality, person-centered, compassion, accountability – and assisting people to become more independent in the community.
What types of support do you most need support now?
The COVID-19 experience has been a rollercoaster of emotions and turmoil for the health and human services sector. The support that is most needed by our sector is the continued support of government at the Federal, State and local levels. We need to be assured that funding will not be cut that would adversely affect the critical services that we provide to the most vulnerable in our community.
Learn more at WellLifeNetwork.org.
