Monticello's Julie Palazzo Wins Planetree Award

HRHCare Community Health is pleased to announce that Julie Palazzo, a Patient Navigator at the HRHCare Health Center at Monticello, will be presented with the April 2016 Planetree Spirit Award for excellence in patient care. The HRHCare Planetree Institute presents these awards to employees who go above and beyond to make health care more personalized and create a warm and welcoming environment for all.

Julie Palazzo first came to HRHCare through the AmeriCorps Community HealthCorps Program in 2009. Drawing on her time as an AmeriCorps and previous volunteer experience with the migrant farmworker community in Orange County, she brought her love of service to HRHCare in her role as a Patient Care Partner, and later Patient Navigator, in 2010. She has consistently exemplified the Planetree Spirit in all of her interactions with patients and staff, particularly in her work with the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) initiative for which she is the point person for her team. Going above and beyond to make sure that all HRHCare patients have complete and equal access to care, she has even personally visited the homes of patients to make sure they have what they need. Julie also submitted the idea of offering Spanish language classes for all interested staff to help them better connect the growing numbers of Spanish-speaking patients. Thanks to her efforts and those of the HRHCare Training Department, these classes are now available and have proven to be a great success.

“Julie exemplifies the Planetree Spirit in all her interactions with patients and colleagues,” said Miriam Zapata-Popoca, Nurse Manager at HRHCare Wallkill Valley Health Center at Walden. “Her patient-centered care is well known by her team and gratefully acknowledged by our patients and community partners.”

Julie continues to be very involved in efforts around diabetes and hypertension at the Monticello Health Center and also recently earned a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor Certificate from Orange County Community College. In her spare time she enjoys music, dancing, and going out for walks. A Zumba instructor during her time as an AmeriCorps, she is always tackling new dance techniques and currently has her sights set on learning the rumba.

Planetree is the global leader in advancing patient-centered care solutions, integrating the technology of modern medicine with the healing dimensions of compassion, comfortable surroundings, shared knowledge and freedom to make educated choices. HRHCare has been an affiliate since 1996 and remains the only Federally Qualified Health Center to be a part of this alliance. The HRHCare Planetree Institute was established in 2012 and provides state-of-the-art training to prepare staff in delivering passionate and personalized care. The HRHCare Planetree Spirit Award honors employees who have been nominated by their colleagues for going above and beyond to provide individualized patient care and enhance health care services in their respective facility.

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