VillageCareMAX celebrates new center
The nonprofi t organization will help the elderly with their Medicare needs in Flushing
From left: Mary Ellen Connington; VillageCareMAX Executive Vice President,Robert Goldman; VillageCare Vice President of Branding and Marketing Communications,Marilyn
McAndrews; District Manager of Community Board 7,Councilman Peter Koo,Emma DeVito; VillageCare President and CEO,Shaun Ruskin; VillageCare Chief Growth Officer,Jing
Shui; Vice President, CAIPA Health Economics,Sherry Dong; VillageCareMAX Director of Cultural Market Development,Kelly Kwok; CAPIA Comptroller Photos by Jenna
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A nonprofit organization
that offers Managed Long-
Term Care (MLTC) opened its
first storefront in Flushing.
VillageCareMAX, part of
the VillageCare organization,
celebrated the grand opening
of its community center at 41-
80 Main St. on July 18.
VillageCare leadership
along with leaders from
the Chinese American
Independent Practice
Association (CAIPA),
Councilman Peter Koo
and Community Board 7
District Manager Marilyn
McAndrews commemorated
the center’s opening with
a ceremonial lion dance
symbolizing good fortune
and longevity.
According to the nonprofit,
those seeking health care
insurance will now be able
to visit the VillageCareMAX
storefront to receive detailed
information and enrollment
assistance from a live
Medicare representative, free
of charge.
“This is an opportunity
for us to serve the community
because we have number
of members that live in this
community,” said Emma
DeVito, VillageCare president
and CEO. “We’re gonna
be focused primarily on
the Medicare products for
people that come in who have
questions. They bring in their
mail. They don’t understand
what was sent to them by
Medicare. So we really want
to make sure that we can
provide that service. And
individuals that are interested
in enrolling in our products,
we would want to provide
them with information so that
they could make an informed
decision.”
More than 13,000 members
in the VillageCareMAX
network will have these
services available to them.
DeVito added that for elderly
members, the in-person
interactions are more effective
than communicating online
or by phone.
“I think in particular,
with the elderly, a lot of
times they may not have the
opportunity to do things
online and it could be a little
bit difficult for them. I also
think there’s nothing like
the face-to-face because you
really are connecting with
people. So I think this gives
them and us an opportunity
to interact and make that
Bagcal/QNS
connection,” DeVito said.
In 1977, a group of
community volunteers
founded VillageCare in an
effort to rescue a for-profit
nursing home from closing.
VillageCareMAX began
operating in July 2012 and is
one of the largest and fastestgrowing
MLTC plans in New
York City.
To learn more about
VillageCareMAX, visit
villagecaremax.org.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
TIMESLEDGER,TIMESLEDGER.COM JULY 26-AUG. 1, 2019 3
/villagecaremax.org
/qns.com
/TIMESLEDGER,TIMESLEDGER.COM
