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  • March 24, 2021 10:09 AM | Michael Guyre

    Rochester, NH:  Cornerstone VNA, your local nonprofit home care provider, is pleased to announce that the COVID-19 vaccine is now being administered to their homebound patients. On March 17, Cornerstone VNA’s Quality Improvement Director, June Gallup, RN, MS, made her first stop at a patient’s home in Farmington, who was thrilled to receive her first dose. New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) reporter, Alli Fam, joined Gallup to document this important milestone in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to homebound patients. 

    When the patient was asked by the NHPR reporter what it meant to get the vaccine in her home, as opposed to going elsewhere, Audrey replied, “Oh, wonderful! I was so worried. I don't walk well anymore, and I get extremely tired every time I have to go out. I kept thinking, ‘how am I going to get to a clinic to get my shot?’ And when they told me I could get it at home, I was very happy.” Audrey added, “It's made a world of difference. The walking would have been very difficult for me to get to a clinic. It's wonderful.”

    Cornerstone VNA has been working closely with the State and Regional Public Health Networks, as well as the Home Care, Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance of NH on a plan to get vaccines for truly homebound patients, and their eligible caregivers, who cannot get to a fixed vaccine distribution site.  Due to strict COVID-19 protocols, administering vaccines at home takes an extremely coordinated effort. Cornerstone VNA nurses travel to patient homes, fill out the required paperwork, and then wait 15-30 minutes after the vaccination is given to be sure the patient does not have an adverse reaction. Additionally, with any of the COVID-19 vaccines, there is a time limit of 6 hours to use all the doses from the time the first dose is drawn up from the vial. 

    Cornerstone VNA’s COVID-19 Response Coordinator is managing a list of patients who have documented their desire to get vaccinated at home. Due to the time sensitive nature of administering the vaccine, the Response Coordinator is scheduling patients who live within a close proximity to one another.  In addition to Gallup, Sandy Powers, RN, Wellness and Gerontology Nurse, and Home Care Team Manager, Lisa Romanovitz, RN, will join in the effort to administer vaccines to patients at home. In a significant and poignant show of support, two Cornerstone VNA retired nurses have offered to temporarily return to assist the COVID-19 vaccination team if needed.

    According to Gallup, “I am very excited that we as an agency will be able to help get people vaccinated. I am grateful to the State of NH, Public Health Networks, and more importantly the staff at Cornerstone VNA who have worked together to make this a reality.  I am proud to do my part to be part of the solution.” Gallup adds, “The opportunity to administer the vaccine to our most vulnerable homebound citizens is a reward in itself, but the hope that we all feel in moving past this pandemic is what gets us all through these challenging times.”

    To learn more, call 800-691-1133 or visit cornerstonevna.org/covid-19

    About Cornerstone VNA:

    Cornerstone VNA is a nonprofit home health and hospice care provider, currently serving Rockingham, Strafford, Belknap and Carroll Counties in New Hampshire and York County in Maine. The team at Cornerstone VNA provides award-winning care and support through five distinct programs: Home Care, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Life Care-Private Duty and Community Care. For 108 years, Cornerstone VNA has been committed to bringing services to people of all ages so that families can stay together at home, even when facing the challenges of aging, surgical recovery, chronic or life-threatening illnesses or end-of-life care. To learn more about Cornerstone VNA, visit www.cornerstonevna.org or call 800-691-1133.



  • March 19, 2021 10:12 AM | Michael Guyre

    Mark your calendars! The 16th Annual Seacoast Half Marathon, one of coastal New Hampshire’s longest-running half marathons, has been set for Sunday, October 31st in Portsmouth, NH. This year, the Seacoast Half Marathon is offering a hybrid model, giving runners the opportunity to participate either in-person or virtually. Virtual participants can select from three distance options, which can be completed on the route of their choice between October 23rd and October 31st.

    Each year, 100% of the net proceeds from the event are donated to a mindfully selected seacoast nonprofit organization. Traditionally, the Seacoast Half Marathon committee selects a new nonprofit beneficiary each year, but this year is different and has been billed as a rerun! Since the 2020 race transitioned to a virtual event due to COVID-19, and did not produce the same level of fundraising for Cornerstone VNA, the Race Committee decided to remain with Cornerstone VNA as their 2021 beneficiary. This all volunteer committee is proud to continue this beloved autumn race tradition, as well as maintain their philanthropic tradition of supporting a local nonprofit beneficiary.

    This year’s beneficiary, Cornerstone VNA, is an independent nonprofit organization providing home care, hospice, palliative care, private duty services, and community health and wellness programs. As a local health care provider, Cornerstone VNA has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for patients of all ages, from birth through end-of-life. “The pandemic certainly posed some unique challenges for last year’s event, so we are deeply honored that the committee has chosen us as their beneficiary once again,” states Erika Lee, Advancement Director at Cornerstone VNA.

    According to Bruce Hurley, longtime Seacoast Half Marathon committee member, “We feel like Cornerstone VNA certainly deserves a shot to do this when there is not a global pandemic underway and would like to have them continue to be the beneficiary for 2021 when hopefully, maybe the world is closer to normal.” Jay Diener, Seacoast Half Marathon Race Director adds, “We are looking forward to working with our friends at Cornerstone VNA again this year, their frontline work this past year has been paramount to the wellbeing of our communities and we cannot think of a more powerful way to illustrate that than to once again partner with them on our historic race.”

    Visit seacoasthalfmarathon.com to learn more about the race and how participation, either as a sponsor or as a runner/walker, helps Cornerstone VNA.

    Cornerstone VNA is a nonprofit organization currently serving Rockingham, Strafford, Belknap and Carroll Counties in New Hampshire and York County in Maine. The team at Cornerstone VNA provides award-winning care and support through five distinct programs: Home Care, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Life Care-Private Duty and Community Care. For 108 years, Cornerstone VNA has been committed to bringing services to people of all ages so that families can stay together at home, even when facing the challenges of aging, surgical recovery, chronic or life-threatening illnesses or end-of-life care. To learn more about Cornerstone VNA, visit www.cornerstonevna.org or call 800-691-1133.


  • March 13, 2021 7:05 AM | Michael Guyre

    ROCHESTER, NH – HRCU has announced promotions for four members of their management team. Tyler Hudson has been named Senior Vice President of Operations and Digital Services, Travis Bissonnette has been named Vice President of Member Business Services, Nicole Huntress has been named Director of Operations and Carlynne Pouliot has been named Director of Branch Administration.

    “Our staff is a key to our success. These staff members have made such a difference in our operations, servicing our members and being great co-workers, it gives me great pleasure to announce their promotions. As HRCU grows so does our staff in meeting their career goals”, said Brian Hughes, HRCU President and CEO.

    Hudson has been with HRCU for since December 2019 and has been key to HRCU’s growth in digital services, including June’s successful conversion to a new online and mobile banking platform. Tyler will now also have additional responsibilities within the entire HRCU Operations Department and help to set HRCU’s direction for the future.

    Bissonnette has been with HRCU over five years and has been overseeing consumer lending throughout his tenure, building a strong lending team in the process. In this new role he will be responsible for building member business programs and overseeing business development, including business lending and relationships. Travis will also oversee relationships with local auto dealers through our indirect lending program and working on building our team of outside mortgage originators.

    Huntress has been with HRCU for 16 years and has held several roles including Teller, Teller Supervisor, Branch Manager, Branch Operations Manager and Operations Manager, which included becoming the Bank Secrecy Act Officer. She is a key leader in the growing Operations Department. Nicole’s expertise in operations help support staff and members with many complex situations that may come up.

    Pouliot has been with HRCU since November 2018, joining the team originally as the Dover Branch Manager, which included overseeing both the downtown Dover and Dover Point branches. More recently, Carlynne has served as the Branch Administrator, making noticeable improvements to branch operations. Her contributions have also been key to keeping HRCU branches operational throughout the pandemic.

    HRCU is a state-chartered and federally insured community credit union that has been serving the New Hampshire community since its inception in 1962. With several locations throughout the seacoast, HRCU prides itself on helping its members achieve their financial goals through convenient, technology-driven, services and a compassionate, personalized approach.


  • March 13, 2021 7:04 AM | Michael Guyre

    (Concord, NH) New Hampshire Federal Credit Union (NHFCU) announces the retirement of John R. Young, President/CEO. Mr. Young plans to retire at the conclusion of 2021 after having served NHFCU and its membership for more than thirty-five years, the last twenty-seven as President/CEO.

    In his tenure, Mr. Young led NHFCU’s growth from a $60 million organization to nearly $315 million today. In addition, he championed financial education and financial wellness for the both the Credit Union’s members and the surrounding New Hampshire communities, including the award-winning CU 4 Reality® financial education program and the inception of NHFCU’s own Centers for Finance & Education, where financial education and coaching are provided for all.

    NHFCU, established in 1941, is a consumer-oriented full-service cooperative financial institution with offices in Concord and Lee, New Hampshire. To learn more about NHFCU and the Centers for Finance & Education, call (603) 224-7731 or visit their website, www.nhfcu.org.

    NHFCU’s Board of Directors has engaged Humanidei + O’Rourke to assist them with their search process. Humanidei’s executive search division, O’Rourke & Associates, has been the gold standard for executive recruiting in the credit union space for over 35 years. www.humanidei.com


  • March 08, 2021 3:52 PM | Michael Guyre

    The Barrington Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) is having a Read-A-Thon in hopes of encouraging more reading and raising some funds to update their playground.

    The Read-A-Thon is through a platform called read-a-thon.com. Students will log in and track the time they've read and invite their family and friends to sponsor their reading.

    One aspect of the website is business logos. Local businesses can donate a minimum of $100 and have their logo seen each time our readers, families and friends login. They'll see your logo and learn more about you and your business and see that you're supporting our reading project.

    If you're interested, check out the flyer attached for the email and code. PLEASE know, there is no pressure to do this. This is the first time we've tried this. It officially launches this coming Monday, March 8th and will run for 2 weeks. They sent out a preliminary email last week and we've already had enough traffic on the site to raise almost $1000.

    If interested, just check out the attached flyer and follow the link and use the code.



  • January 28, 2021 3:30 PM | Michael Guyre

    Two years ago, Mary Bouzan and her husband “hit rock bottom.”  They were $50,000 in debt. She and her husband turned to the Centers for Finance & Education for help.  Nine months later, during the NHFCU 77th Annual Meeting, in March, 2019, Mary spoke in front of a crowd of 200 people. They’d already successfully achieved two of their biggest goals:

    • Removing $11,000 of their total debt
    • Moving into their own apartment after relying on family for some time. 
    •  Mary and Steve continued toward their goal of being debt free … “rock-bottom” is no longer!  Where are they today…?

    Here’s what they’ve accomplished:

    •  They both purchased new vehicles.  A first time for “new” versus “pre-owned.”
    • They closed on their first home the summer of 2020.
    • They adopted two “furry” children.
    • They have emergency savings.
    • Mary became a Certified Financial Social Work Coach last summer.
    • Mary was just promoted to Head Teller at NHFCU.
    • Their dreams have become reality!

    https://nhfcu.org/media/Marys%20dogs.jpeg
    Mary and Steve's "furry children," Sassy & Bindi strike a pose.
    https://nhfcu.org/media/Resized95FB95IMG951609255546085001.jpg
    Here are Mary and Steve now, enjoying home sweet home.

     Mary - Congrats
     Above-NHFCU's President/CEO, John R. Young congratulates Mary on her Certification.

    “Get a financial education and work with someone who will hold you accountable. It’s a life changing event!”
    -Mary B.


  • January 12, 2021 9:19 AM | Michael Guyre

    ROCHESTER, NH – HRCU is pleased to announce that Donna West has been hired as their Director of Human Resources. West takes the lead on overseeing the credit union’s HR efforts companywide.

    West brings nearly a decade of HR experience to HRCU. Most recently, serving as the HR Manager at RiverWoods Durham, in Durham NH. In this role, West oversaw HR, while facilitating professional development, managing all benefits, and onboarding new employees. Prior to RiverWoods Durham, she also ran HR for Anchor Insurance Managers in St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as, ReEnergy Holdings LLC, of Latham, New York.

    “Donna brings a great deal of human resource experience to HRCU. With the growth we have experienced and the challenging times we are in to keep staff well informed and safe, Donna will be a tremendous asset to our organization”, said HRCU President & CEO Brian Hughes.

    West is a member of both the Society of Human Resource Management and the Southeast Human Resource Association. She and her husband Mike reside in nearby Alton Bay, NH.

    HRCU is a state-chartered and federally insured community credit union that has been serving the New Hampshire community since its inception in 1962. With several locations throughout the seacoast, HRCU prides itself on helping its members achieve their financial goals through convenient, technology-driven, services and a compassionate, personalized approach.


  • January 08, 2021 9:25 AM | Michael Guyre

    On October 15, 2020 Cornerstone VNA, a nonprofit home health and hospice care organization, broke ground on an important capital project to expand their building and renovate their existing space. This project marks a pivotal moment in the organization’s 108 year history, and positions them for continued success in the future.

    Cornerstone VNA has been in their current location at 178 Farmington Road, Rochester, NH since 2001. Over the last 20 years, Cornerstone VNA has experienced significant growth. According to Julie Reynolds, RN, MS, President/CEO of Cornerstone VNA, “Over the past ten years, we have more than doubled our service area from 19 to 43 communities, and the number of patients served each year continues to climb - from 1,750 to over 5,500 in the last 10 years.” Reynolds shares that the organization has also grown in staffing from 85 employees in 2010 to over 170 employees today.

    “As we’ve grown, we have managed our spatial needs by reconfiguring offices and renovating our basement in 2018, but the time has come to expand our building to better support our staff, our patients and our community”, says Reynolds. This project will ensure the continued success of Cornerstone VNA’s award-winning programs and services, the care provided by their frontline workers, and essential training of all staff.

    In the words of Rochester NH Mayor, Caroline McCarley, “The City is so excited that Cornerstone VNA is doing this expansion. I began my time with the VNA way back when I first moved to town, as a volunteer in the well-child clinic, and the work they have done and the expansion is just amazing.”

    Cornerstone VNA is proud to be working with SMP Architecture of Concord, Groen Construction of Rochester, and First Seacoast Bank, who have all teamed up to build a new wing for the Hospice, Palliative Care and Intake Departments, as well as larger community meeting and training spaces. Additional renovations will be made to the existing building to address administrative staffing needs, for improved family support, and to enhance building safety and accessibility.

    President of Groen Construction, Fenton Groen is thrilled that Cornerstone VNA selected Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) for their new addition. “Compared to conventional wood construction, the use of ICFs will minimize the total cost of the building by increasing the speed of construction, higher safety ratings and increased energy efficiency,” he explains.

    In fact, the new ICF addition with continuous insulation and solid concrete walls will assist in reducing the long-term operating expenses for Cornerstone VNA by reducing heat and cooling costs of that space by at least 30%.

    Tamara Crooks-Faulkingham, RN, BSN, Hospice Director says , “It will be extremely helpful to have the added space to better serve our patients. It will allow us to work more efficiently as a team, which will lead to enhanced coordination of care.” Barb Boulton, RN, MSN, Program Support Director & Compliance Officer adds, “The Intake Department’s role as the initiator of the patients’ electronic health record and our active participation in coordination of care requires a detail-oriented mind and calm work environment with minimal interruptions. Our new space will create an environment which encourages high quality work that is essential to documentation integrity.”

    Cornerstone VNA’s goal is to raise $2 million for this important project. To date, the organization has garnered support from their Board of Directors, the Cogswell Benevolent Trust, local businesses and over 100 generous donors. As the 2020 beneficiary of the 15th Annual Seacoast Half Marathon, Cornerstone VNA has dedicated the race proceeds to support this expansion and renovation.

    According to Advancement Director, Erika Lee, “We are a healthy organization, but the support we receive will help us reduce the debt and length of debt incurred.” Lee adds, “Donations for our capital project will be key to our success. They will enable us to focus on investing in emerging opportunities to benefit our patients and to be prepared to weather unexpected challenges, such as the current pandemic.”

    Cornerstone VNA recognizes that the heart of healing begins at home and stands poised and committed to providing home health and hospice care to their New Hampshire and Maine service area communities for generations to come. For those who are interested in supporting Cornerstone VNA’s important building expansion and renovation project, Cornerstone VNA offers a variety of flexible giving options and can guide donors in making a meaningful investment that aligns with their philanthropic goals. Additional details and project photos can be found at cornerstonevna.org/buildingourfuture.

    About Cornerstone VNA:

    Cornerstone VNA is a nonprofit home health and hospice care provider, currently serving Rockingham, Strafford, Belknap and Carroll Counties in New Hampshire and York County in Maine. The team at Cornerstone VNA provides award-winning care and support through five distinct programs: Home Care, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Life Care-Private Duty and Community Care. For 108 years, Cornerstone VNA has been committed to bringing services to people of all ages so that families can stay together at home, even when facing the challenges of aging, surgical recovery, chronic or life-threatening illnesses or end-of-life care. To learn more about Cornerstone VNA, visit www.cornerstonevna.org or call 800-691-1133.


  • January 08, 2021 9:20 AM | Michael Guyre

    (Concord, NH) NH Federal Credit Union’s Santa for Seniors Giving Tree donation drive was held Monday, November 30, through Friday, December 11, 2020. The community responded by contributing gift cards and homemade holiday cards, which were placed on “Giving Trees” in each NHFCU lobby for two weeks. In Mid-December, Santa delivered over $1,500 in gift card donations and homemade cards to nine senior facilities in the NHFCU services areas. Though most facilities are in lockdown due to COVID-19, many residents and staff had the pleasure of waving to Santa from inside.

    Contributing to Santa for Seniors this year was an opportunity to deliver hope and holiday cheer to seniors in our communities. Hundreds of seniors in long-term care facilities have not been able to visit with family since last spring.

    NHFCU is grateful to our members, staff, and the public, who generously helped make a difference for seniors in an especially challenging year.

    Your donations helped put smiles on the faces of seniors and those who care for them during the holiday season.

    NH Federal Credit Union (NHFCU) is a $300 million full-service cooperative financial institution with offices in Concord, and Lee, NH, offering free financial education and one-on-one coaching through its Centers for Finance & Education. To learn more about NHFCU and the Centers for Finance & Education, call (603) 224-7731 or visit their website, www.nhfcu.org.

    At Riverside Rest Home in Dover, Santa delivers donations to Maria Ayer.

    At Riverside Rest Home in Dover, Santa delivers donations to Maria Ayer.

    At Harris Hill Center in Concord, Chrissy Avila accepts donations from Santa as residents enjoy the exchange from inside their rooms.

    At Harris Hill Center in Concord, Chrissy Avila accepts donations from Santa as residents enjoy the exchange from inside their rooms.

    L to R, LuAnn Chapman, Santa, Karen Murphy and Carolyn Allhiser hand off Donations to Santa

    L to R, LuAnn Chapman, Santa, Karen Murphy and Carolyn Allhiser hand off Donations to Santa

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