HERKIMER, N.Y. — Valley Health Services (VHS) and LeadingAge New York recently recognized Kathleen Cimino, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and hairdresser at VHS, for her extraordinary service with a 2021 Employee of Distinction Award. Lisa Betrus, president of VHS and senior VP at Bassett Healthcare Network, presented the award at a caregiver celebration in […]
HERKIMER, N.Y. — Valley Health Services (VHS) and LeadingAge New York recently recognized Kathleen Cimino, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and hairdresser at VHS, for her extraordinary service with a 2021 Employee of Distinction Award.
Lisa Betrus, president of VHS and senior VP at Bassett Healthcare Network, presented the award at a caregiver celebration in November. LeadingAge New York then recognized Cimino during its virtual annual awards ceremony in early December.
“When I learned about this award, I cried,” Cimino said in a release. “We kind of lose track of why we’re here in the day-to-day rush. You don’t go in each morning to do something good — you do it because you have to. Getting something like this focuses you again.”
Cimino had a 24-year career as a hairdresser at VHS when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. Rather than just closing shop during the lockdown, she chose to enroll in certified nursing assistance classes in order to serve VHS residents in a new capacity. She was certified in August 2020.
As a CNA, Cimino monitors residents’ vitals, charts progress, and helps them eat, use the restroom, and maintain good hygiene. She also volunteers her own time with the activities department and continues to provide hairdressing services.
“Kathy was among the first at VHS to volunteer to care for COVID-positive patients,” Betrus said. “She is a family member of a VHS resident, so she understands at a very personal level how crucial it is for residents to have someone close on their toughest days. She put herself in the path of the virus to be the liaison they needed to listen, understand, and help them. She has been an important source of comfort and support for our residents.”
Valley Health Services is a 160-bed long-term care and rehabilitation facility that is part of the Bassett Healthcare Network, an integrated health system that provides care and services across a 5,600-square-mile region in upstate New York.
LeadingAge New York, formerly the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging, represents more than 600 not-for-profit continuing-care providers across the state. Nominees for its annual Employee of Distinction awards came from membership organizations, but LeadingAge selects the recipients. Cimino is the 2021 winner for the 11-county Central/North Region.
