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The Healthcare Executive Forum (HEF) of Western New York is showing their appreciation for the “angels and heroes” that have kept all of us in the WNY community safe through all their hard work during this pandemic. HEF is very proud to recognize and award the following amazing individuals as “WNY Frontline Heroes.”

Carol Czuprynski: The Calm in a COVID Storm

When first speaking with Carol Czuprynski, a registered psychiatric nurse on the Admissions team at BryLin Behavioral Health System, WNY’s premier place to help patients facing mental health challenges, one gets the feeling that this she is a master of staying calm in the storm that COVID has kicked up. She seems to have seen everything. You just know that next to nothing phases her or keeps her from helping those most in need of emotional comfort. Having served at BryLin initially as Charge Nurse in the adult unit, prior to moving to the Admissions department for almost 14 years as the main day shift admissions nurse triaging new patients, Carol seems to be that kind of person mentioned when people use terms like ‘bedrock of the organization.’ When discussing how to initially care for patients in various states of mental distress, Carol makes it sound easy saying, “I try to get them in, I request help if needed, and if I can’t get them the help they need here, I arrange to send them on to one of our partners.”

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3lByOpy

Kim Winde: More Than a Triage Nurse

“We are really full-on triage nurses,” explains Kim Winde, sharing that after years as Admissions Director dealing with the already difficult task of figuring out how best to admit patients in distress ‘by phone’ to Western New York’s top mental health facility, BryLin Behavioral Health System, that she now also has to ascertain if they also pose a COVID risk.

“We need to do a quick, but thorough, phone triage to see if they can safely come here on their own, often involving crisis services when they can’t—posing additional risks to others during the pandemic,” says Kim.

At a time when events like those in Rochester, NY and across the country are sparking a national debate on how best to handle those facing various states of mental challenges, especially during COVID, Kim Winde and her team are at the funnel’s end, taking in patients from all over WNY facing a broad array of mental health issues.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3iLy4fK

We are incredibly proud of both Carol and Kim, and all of our “Healthcare Heroes” who work here at BryLin Behavioral Health System, who have worked so hard under very challenging conditions throughout the pandemic. From all of us here at BryLin Behavioral Health System… THANK YOU!

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