Granite VNA (formerly Concord Regional VNA) and CATCH have a strong collaborative relationship and some of their leaders have served on the board of directors including current member Beth Slepian who began her service in April 2019.
As president and CEO of Granite VNA, she oversees the largest home health and hospice provider in the state with a highly-talented and compassionate staff of employees and volunteers.
Serving as a member of the CATCH board is a role that Beth takes seriously.
“As a not-for profit-leader in the community, I understand the importance of Board service and the impact that CATCH has on the persons it serves,” she said. “I initially got involved when I had the privilege of working with the late Rosemary Heard on the development of the collaborative PATHS (Positive Aging Through Home Supports) program, which brought together wellness and housing in an innovative way.”
With the state of the current housing market, CATCH plays an even larger role in strengthening our communities.
“Affordable housing is critical to the health and wellness of our communities, and as a community provider, we see firsthand the impact of housing on healthy lifestyles and addressing health challenges,” Beth said.
As a healthcare clinician, she had very little knowledge on the complexity of housing, and how affordable housing is developed and promoted in our communities.
“By serving on the board, it helps me understand the challenges our patients have when seeking housing,” Beth said. “It also helps to identify opportunities for innovative programming for both organizations to address these challenges.”
Home health, hospice, and community health teams at Granite VNA have been supporting residents of CATCH housing for many years. “Historically we have offered community health services such as foot care, flu clinics on site, and in 2017 we began our PATHS program collaboration,” she said.
PATHS offers an opt-in membership for residents of Friedman Court II to have support from a community health educator and wellness registered nurse to improve quality of life through lifestyle and behavior change education and coaching. Evidence-based programming on fall prevention, chronic disease self-management, and wellness topics are also offered on-site through this partnership.
Granite VNA is in a position to further explore congregate housing locations and opportunities to pilot programming that helps residents improve their quality of life and skills to manage their health conditions.
“We are looking forward to potentially expanding our programs to meet the needs of more residents,” Beth said.