2024
In Review
2024 Highlights
New Health Centers
Sun River Health hosted several ribbon cuttings and open houses this year, including at our new health centers in New Rochelle, White Plains, Poughkeepsie, and Brooklyn. These events gave elected officials, our organizational partners, and community leaders the opportunity to tour the facilities, learn more about the services we provide, and hear about the impact we are making in the communities we serve.
Improving Maternal Health Outcomes
In August, Quratulain Zeeshan, MD, Sun River Health Quality Medical Director of Women’s Health, was invited to speak at the National Association of Community Health Centers’ Community Health Institute (CHI) & Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Zeeshan presented on integrating social drivers of health screening with hypertension management and self-measured blood pressure.
Clinical Research
Aarathi Nagaraja, MD, Sun River Health Medical Director of HIV and Hepatitis Programs, published a prolific amount of clinical research in 2024, including a data analysis of HCV testing and treatment, COVID-19 vaccination acceptability among people living with HIV, and a presentation with fellow Sun River Health staff members on the Mpox vaccination at the 2024 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment.
Nancy Jenks, MS, CFNP, MFTM RCPS (Glasg), FAANP, Sun River Health Director of Research Initiatives, presented clinical research on our quality improvement project to screen OB patients for Chagas disease. With presentations given at Rockefeller University, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) national presentation, Sun River Health continues to lead the way on research in this area.
New Health Centers
In September, Sun River Health acquired our first pharmacy in the Bronx. Reflecting our commitment to expanding access to affordable medications and improving care coordination for our patients, the Sun River Health Pharmacy has been fully integrated into our clinical operations. The pharmacy has played a key role in enhancing medication adherence, and there has already been a steady growth in prescription volume.
The pharmacy’s goal is to expand our footprint through additional locations in New York City, on Long Island, and in the Hudson Valley.
Additional Notable Accomplishments from 2024
On February 2, Sun River Health was officially awarded Gold Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International, the global leader in advancing person-centered health care solutions. The highest level of certification offered by Planetree International, Gold Certification recognizes an organization’s achievement and innovation in the delivery of person-centered care. Sun River Health is the first and only Federally Qualified Health Center in the world to earn this prestigious award. Sun River Health has been a Planetree International affiliate since 1996 and established the Sun River Health Planetree Institute in 2012 to provide state-of-the-art staff training on delivering compassionate and personalized care.
In 2020, Sun River Health was awarded Silver Certification.
The Sun River Health Jeannette J. Phillips Community Health Center in Peekskill was proud to present Art of Resistance, an art exhibition in honor of Black History Month, in the health center’s atrium. A tribute to the late Sun River Health Founding Mother Rev. Jeannette J. Phillips, the exhibition included work by local artists who all drew on the theme of resistance. The exhibition’s opening reception was hosted by author, spoken word artist, and community activist Tom Ray and included remarks from former Peekskill Mayor and youth advocate André “Noodle” Rainey and 10 local spoken word artists. In May, Colores De Mi Tierra, an exhibition featuring the work of Oaxacan artist Eduardo Guzman Valverde, opened in the health center’s atrium. The opening reception featured a talk and demonstration by Mr. Valverde as well as performances by El Grupo Folclórico de Poughkeepsie.
Sun River Health hosted the Migrant Health Best Practice Conference at Mohonk Mountain House from June 9 to 12, 2024. The conference brought together 10 community health center organizations from across the country to share insight and information on how to best administer and manage the health of migrant workers. Top executives from each health center presented on a variety of topics, including: the importance of strategy, incorporating AI, using data to drive engagements, staff satisfaction and its impact on providing care, and the important connection between art and health. The health centers also shared their own specific best practices, advances in use of technology, and findings upon putting new ideas in place. Attendees left the conference energized and armed with new information on how to provide complete patient-centered care and services for the migrant communities they serve.
On May 1, Sun River Health nurses Samantha Gleeson, RN, Carol Hicks, RN, Liliana Luongo, LPN, Rasheed Ali, RN, Carissa Munoz, RN, Ashley Awn, RN, and Samantha Ramos, RN were honored at Hudson Valley Magazine’s Excellence in Nursing Awards ceremony at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie. Samantha Gleeson received a special recognition after being named to the magazine’s “2024 Top 20 Nurses” list. Coinciding with National Nurses Week in early May each year, this ceremony honors local nurses who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. All of the nurses who receive awards are nominated by their direct supervisor and selected by a panel of expert judges.
On May 1, Roberta Kelly, FNP-BC, CIC, Sun River Health Chief Nursing Officer & Senior Vice President, received the Outstanding Contribution for Public Health Organizational Service Award on behalf of Sun River Health at the New York State Public Health Association’s 2024 Public Health Partnership Conference in Saratoga Springs. This prestigious award recognizes a public health organization that has excelled in providing vital services to New Yorkers in need.
Hosted by the New York State Public Health Association annually, the Public Health Partnership Conference is designed for public health leaders, clinicians, academic staff, county health officials, and state health employees to gather together for education sessions, networking, and sharing ideas around promoting and protecting public health. The New York State Public Health Association, an affiliate of the American Public Health Association, advocates for policies at the national, state, and regional levels that support equity in health status and an end to health disparities for all.
At Sun River Health, they treat me very well and the quality of care is incredibly good. They take care is incredibly good. They take everything about me into account and are very attentive. I feel good at this health center. They give me the best service with the kindness and respect that I deserve as a person. My doctor treats me so well and the staff make me feel like family. I have recommended Sun River Health to several people, and they have all felt comfortable there as well.
2024 Events
On August 29, Sun River Health was proud to lend it’s participation with the 2024 Caribbean Music Awards at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. This annual awards ceremony serves as a platform to recognize, honor, and celebrate Caribbean musical talent as well as expand the reach of the Caribbean creative community in the United States. On the night before the event, Sun River Health hosted several of the nominated artists and New York City Council Member Rita Joseph at our health center on Bedford Avenue for an exclusive pre-event reception, featuring a surprise performance from artist and co-host of this year’s awards ceremony, Spice. This vibrant partnership between organizations highlights both the empowerment of Caribbean women leaders in the music industry and the legacy of the four African American Founding Mothers who launched Sun River Health with CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH in 1975.
On September 25, Sun River Health was proud to host an ecoAmerica Climate and Health Equity in Action event at our health center on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. Panelists Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH, CEO of Sun River Health, Zoya Teirstein, Staff Writer at Grist, Jessica Hinshaw, Environmental Health Director of the National Association of Community Health Centers, Ben Fulgencio-Turner, Director of Climate for Health at ecoAmerica, and Katherine Catalano, Deputy Director of the Center for Climate & Health Equity at the American Public Health Association, gathered together to discuss climate solutions that center on the needs of low-income and marginalized communities who are the most vulnerable in the face of the climate change crisis. With over 86% of community health center patients living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, Anne Kauffman Nolon shared the pledge of the Sun River Health Board of Directors to do their part to meet the challenge posed by climate change by reducing our own climate footprint, preparing for climate impacts, and leading the way to a low carbon future.
Juneteenth, celebrated each year on June 19, is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Sun River Health staff and volunteers participated in multiple events across the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island to celebrate this year, including Juneteenth parades and festivals in White Plains, Peekskill, Brooklyn, and Hauppauge.
Every August, Sun River Health joins the National Association of Community Health Centers to celebrate National Health Center Week – an opportunity to highlight the commitment and passion of our health center staff, board members, and supporters, as well as spread the word about the incredible work we do in the communities we serve. During National Week 2024, we hosted an Agricultural Worker Health Ice Cream Social at Pine Island Elementary School as well as Community Health Days at our health centers on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, in Brentwood, and at the Family Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie. With hundreds attending each of our Community Health Day events, attendees were able to taste local food, listen to music, engage in family-friendly activities, and learn more about the services that Sun River Health offers in their community.
