Eloise Goldberg: Innovating to Help VNSNY Reinvent Itself

If a historian wanted to research pivotal moments that helped shape VNSNY over the past four decades, there would be no better place to start than with Eloise Goldberg.

Eloise began her VNSNY career as a staff nurse for Home Care in south Queens. “I loved it,” she says. “In those days, we cared for both adult and child patients. This was before computers. We showed up in the office every morning to get our work assignments and paper intake forms. There was really a community feeling.” She went on to become a Home Care team manager in Queens, then in the late 1980s helped launch VNSNY’s Congregate Care—a VNSNY Home Care program in which nurses and home health aides worked onsite at city-funded adult homes for disabled individuals. Eloise eventually helped extend the Congregate Care model from Queens to the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. After 10 years with Congregate Care, she was tapped to help design a managed long-term care (MLTC) plan that would be administered by a new business unit, VNSNY CHOICE Health Plans. In 1998, CHOICE MLTC was launched in Queens, where it enrolled 500 members in its first year.

As fascinating as that experience was, however, Eloise missed her contact with patients, and when VNSNY Home Care’s Nassau Regional VP slot opened up in 2002, she took it. Within a year, she had worked with VNSNY Business Development to grow the region’s census several times over. She has been managing the Nassau region ever since, including overseeing its recent expansion into neighboring Suffolk County. In 2003, Eloise took on the VP role for the Bronx region in addition to her Nassau duties, going on to manage the expansion of the Bronx region into Westchester through VNSNY’s acquisition of White Plains Hospital Home Care.

In 2012, following the retirement of Marilyn Liota, Eloise stepped down from her Bronx/Westchester post to take over Marilyn’s position as VP of VNSNY Home Care’s Queens region (while continuing to manage the Nassau region next door)—an experience she says was like “returning home.”

“Everything I’ve done has been an exciting challenge,” says Eloise. “As I told my manager back in my early days as a visiting nurse, I can’t believe they’re paying me to do this job!”

“An Amazing Ability to Bring People Together and Move Things Forward”

Staff Tributes to Eloise:  We asked a few of Eloise’s colleagues to share their reflections about what working alongside Eloise has been like. As you can see, the tributes were, not surprisingly, keenly heartfelt and poignant. We know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’d like to contribute a tribute to Eloise, please send your quote to Frontline and we’ll post it.   

A Warm, Steady Source of Support and Inspiration

“Eloise is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that the needs of her team’s patients are met, and is always ready to take on additional opportunities to help in VNSNY’s care delivery. Everything she does is carried out with total commitment and careful attention to detail. With her warm, steady presence and unwavering determination, Eloise has also been an ongoing source of support and inspiration for me personally, for which I’m eternally grateful.”

—Marki Flannery, President and CEO

Incredibly Knowledgeable Clinician and Leader

“Eloise is an incredibly knowledgeable clinician and leader. She has created and supported the development of a committed and talented team, and has also been extremely proactive in building strong links with our customers.”

—Susan Northover, Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services

A Brilliant Visionary

“I’ve known Eloise since the late 1970s. She has the ability as a leader to give somebody the tools, knowledge and guidance they need to meet their goals and objectives. She can look at problems and extrapolate exactly what will work, and why. When I think of Eloise, I think of her style, her respect, her compassion, her fairness, her equity, and her approachability. Everything is agency- and patient-related, and she supports us on a professional and personal level. Eloise has taken us on a trip through the home care arena. She is a brilliant visionary—very intuitive and extremely knowledgeable. Through all the changes VNSNY has gone through, Eloise has always been there as the honest voice of reason. Even though she may not be here, we’re still going to rely on everything we have learned from her.”

—Alice Weinberg, Home Care ICT Manager, Nassau Region

There is No Problem She Can’t Solve

“Eloise has a tremendous trust and faith in the people she works with, and an uncanny ability to tune into people and know just what they need. She’s always looking to do what’s best for the organization. She never loses sight of the mission and the clients, and she always supports the staff. She has an amazing ability to bring people together and move things forward. There is no problem she can’t solve. You can bring anything to her, no matter how complex and complicated, and she will always find a way to resolve it with grace, dignity and humanity, so that everyone comes out of it feeling that they were supported and that they learned from the experience.”

—Debbie Stricoff, Manager, Program Development, Brooklyn Regional Office

What Excellence Looks Like

“In the years I’ve worked with her, Eloise has been that person who is always willing to teach someone. She’s been there to mentor me and provide me with good guidance, and has become a friend as well. One of the things she’s imparted to me is the importance of education, and of staying abreast of the latest developments in the field to ensure that you’re providing the best possible leadership to your staff. To me, she sets the example of what excellence looks like in a nursing administrator, and I strive to live up to that example every day.”

—Rochelle Pinnock-Herring, Home Care Branch Director, Brooklyn Region

She’s Kept Me in Good Standing!

“Every year, I would request the Jewish holidays off and submit my request to Eloise. Now mind you, there were only two or three of us that were Jewish…and every year Eloise would call me and tell me my dates were off, and request the correct holiday days I needed! She’s kept me in good standing with God for the last 20 years!”

—Amy Schwalberg, RN, VNSNY Home Care Nassau Region

 The Kind of Leader Everyone Aspires to Be

“Eloise is the kind of leader everyone aspires to be. She has always been supportive of her staff and always approachable. There have been many times over the past 17+ years where I have received a call, ‘Hi, it’s Eloise, I need you to…’ I have never thought of saying ‘No,’ or ‘Why me?’ or ‘What now?’ Eloise always made you feel part of something bigger, and you always understood that if she needed you, you would do what she asked—because at the core, she is not only a leader of her staff but a champion for all of our patients. During Superstorm Sandy, Eloise tirelessly led clinicians in the Rockaways for weeks on end. One Sunday after Sandy, we were experiencing issues with the gas shortage. Eloise called me and asked if I could go to Manhattan and pick up a rental car with a full tank of gas so we could ensure that our nurses had a way to visit their patients in Nassau County. I quickly said yes and elicited a colleague to do the same. We were not the only ones getting a car—Eloise was leaving on her Sunday afternoon to do the same. I have always respected her leadership, and she will be dearly missed.”

—Debbie Starace, RN, VNSNY Home Care Nassau Region

Always on Your Side

“One thing I remember about Eloise is when one of the nurses in Nassau had a very serious car accident on her way to see a patient who wasn’t on the regular schedule for a visit. When Eloise heard about the accident, she stopped everything she was doing and went directly to the hospital with another manager so the nurse would not be alone in the ER. That showed me and the other people in our Nassau office that not only does Eloise care about the patients, she also cares about everyone in the office, like a family. Many times, when we work out in the field, you can feel as if you are alone. But with Eloise as a VP, you feel like you always have someone on your side.”

—Kathy Zimberlin, RN, VNSNY Home Care Nassau Region

An Exceptional Person and Exemplary Professional

“I cannot remember when I first met Eloise: it feels as though I have always known her. She was always an exceptional person and exemplary professional—honest, exuberant, empathetic, innovative, knowledgeable, reliable, and every other adjective that describes an outstanding person. She had worked in Queens as a part-time nurse because of family responsibilities, and the moment she became available to work full time, I pounced at the opportunity to hire her. When I announced my retirement, everyone was apprehensive about who my replacement would be. My response was: ‘There will be dancing in the streets—you will be very happy when I announce the person’s name.’ And they were. I cannot imagine VNSNY without Eloise!”

—Marilyn Liota, former Regional Vice President for Queens (whose post Eloise took over following Marilyn’s retirement)

She Was Always There for Us

“I have had the honor and privilege in my almost 34 years working for VNSNY to work for two great visionaries: First, Marilyn Liota and, upon her retirement, Eloise Goldberg. When Marilyn announced her retirement, I was devastated. When she announced her replacement, I was elated. Never did I think that I would be so lucky to work alongside two such great role models. Eloise’s commitment to VNSNY and the patients was evident every time you spoke with her. Not only was she there for the patients, but she was always there for her staff. She has always had an open-door policy and made you feel comfortable speaking with her about anything. I have tears of sadness when I think of her leaving and then tears of joy for her and her family. I will miss our talks, and I will miss you more than you know.”

—Michele Nation-Cupid, Assistant to Vice President, Queens/Nassau/Suffolk

A Blast from the Past

A trip down memory lane with some candid photos.

—Marvette Turner, Account Manager