Melanie is an inquisitive, passionate, and committed Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has experience in both the digital and on-premise health space. She takes great pride in the work being accomplished at Kandu, and in empowering Survivor and Care Partners to take control of their life, health, and happiness.

• Experience working with doctors, nurses, dieticians, technicians, hospitals, and inter-disciplinary teams.• Counseled patients, addressing issues such as stress management, smoking cessation, difficulty sleeping, social isolation, helplessness, grief, and Trypanophobia.• Managed facilities with operational census of over 129 patients.• Reviewed records, completed consents, and accepted/denied patients in Admissions system, within requested time frame.• Served as assessment manager, scheduling assessment deadlines and ensured completion by all members of the Inter-Disciplinary Team, as well as plan of care conferences.• Provided information on local resources and grant programs.• Collaborated with patients, and the interdisciplinary team, on addressing the side effects of dialysis, causes of missed treatments, and hospitalizations.• Home Ambassador at facilities, resulting in the clinic having its first modality conversions, exceeding the Network assigned facility goal of home transitions by 1.15%.• Served as Home Social Work Champion for all Brooklyn and Bronx facilities, working to help other Social Workers address barriers to Peritoneal Dialysis and Home Hemodialysis conversions/growth.• Documented and resolved all patient grievances.• Functioned as a Kidney Smart Educator.• Collaborated with various transplant centers, to exceed monthly CMS goal of active patients, exceeding the Network’s facility goal by 5.6%, and surpassing the National Rate, per the Network, by 4.95%, despite seven patients being transplanted in 2022.• Educated patients, on a monthly basis, topics included modality, access, fluid, and compliance.• Educated staff on topics including modality, grievances, policy and procedure.• Assisted patients in obtaining required Durable Medical Equipment, Home Health Aides, transitioning to Hospice, and mental health resources.• Screened all patients for depression.

• Established new Peritoneal Dialysis/In Center Hemodialysis facility and helped grow the clinic and programs, resulting in Peritoneal Dialysis census of over 12 patients.• Home Ambassador at both facility, resulting in both clinics having their first Home Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis conversions.• Engaged patients, with the Empowering Patients Program, to improve compliance (with both In Center Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis), and to address barriers to remaining on their modality of choice.• Participated in Kidney Smart Program, educating chronic kidney disease patients.• Managed, as a social worker, two facilities with a census of over 115 patients (also covered a third facility, for two months, during which the operational census was over 155 patients).• Ensured continuance of care, helping patients apply (or keep) Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance plans.• Worked as assessment manager, organizing and generating assessments, ensuring their completion by deadlines, as well as scheduling Facility Health Meetings and Plan of Care Conferences.• Provided patients and family members with information on local resources, grant programs, and worked to make dialysis a more pleasant procedure, such as creating crossword puzzles utilizing dialysis information to entertain and educate patients.• Completed new patient forms and Start Smart Welcome with new patients at the clinic.

• Initiated enrollment of Adult Day Service Program members in the Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return Program.• Served those suffering from all stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s.• Explored different activities that could be added to stimulate and engage Adult Day Service members.• Empathized with caregivers about the unique challenges of taking care of, and/or living with, someone with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.• Identified the particular strengths of each member of the Adult Day Service Program.• Assisted members with entitlement programs, services, and resources.• Provided supportive counseling to both Center and Adult Day Services members.• Co-facilitated three groups: Women’s Wellness, Adjusting to Change, Clutterer’s.• Completed intakes and forms to ensure continued support from the Department of Youth and Community Development.• Aided in the daily upkeep and functioning of the center.• Worked with members in advocating for policies and social action.• Organized a survey to conclude member satisfaction and areas of improvement in the cafeteria.• Aided in the daily upkeep and functioning of the center, as well as the socialization of members.• Participated in organizing trips and activities.

• Managed a caseload of 10 clients and fostered relationships of trust and respect. • Applied appropriate interventions and performed outreach and contracting with clients. • Conducted mental health intakes and referrals to appropriate co-workers and resources when required. • Completed all accompanying paperwork and submitted it into CPRS. • Participated in weekly intern meetings and PTSD staff meetings. • Helped temporarily co-facilitate an Anger Management and PTSD group. • Worked in multi-disciplinary teams. • Educated clients on additional resources and benefits available to them.

• Created strong therapeutic alliances with many residents and fostered honest communication. • Performed rounds and completed assessments. • Witnessed tracking meetings and triaged client issues, ensuring that their needs were met. • Employed various practical theories and interventions. • Wrote process recordings and actively participated in supervision.

• Scoured the Internet looking for means through which agents attempt to unjustly cheat our clients.• Crafted quarterly reports, cataloging every check performed and the corresponding result.• Analyzed information, looking for patterns as to who systematically and knowingly took advantage of our clients, orchestrated how much they had stolen, and collected supporting evidence for the lawyers to present.

• Managed a rewards program for returning clients. • Recorded the information of every new applicant to the rewards program and determined which benefits and samples were applicable to them. • Created databases to record the quantity distributors sold of various products in their regions, and tracked changes.

• Employed Cision to create various media lists for organizations ranging from non-profits, such as the Center for Food Safety, The Waterkeeprs' Alliance and the Access Project, to Penguin books, Sports Illustrated for Kids, and TV guide. • Wrote press releases, created Pitches and Op-ed articles for publications including the New York Times, Forbes, the Huffington Post, USA Today, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, Sports Illustrated, Wall Street Journal, ESPN, and Sports Center. • Orchestrated media plans to better publicize and clarify the goals of companies, such as the National Mental Health Association. • Co-organized the golf event for the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, contacting beat writers and all media outlets for the Dodgers as well as non-profits. • Scheduled interviews for Joe Torre after the passing of George Steinbrenner and assisted him in crafting his statements.

• Researched and contacted new companies, and their board members, regarding fundraising opportunities. • Created relationships with numerous contacts by dispersing informational packets and newsletters.• Organized a database for all donations, monetary and substantive.• Recorded where donated items were sent, when, and how an item was received, as well as what monetary funds were used in the process. • Played with the children while their parent met with attorneys. • Crafted the template about how to inform scholarly institutions, police stations, ambulatory services, and firehouses to the signs of domestic violence.

• Created Excel Spreadsheets on past donors, donations gifted, where items were given, where they were sent, and what is still needed.• Combined various spreadsheets into one coherent database.• Researched companies, executives and boards of trustees to contact regarding the organization.• Created donor profiles.• Assisted in organizing and preparing My Sisters’ Place All-Staff day. • Supervised ten volunteers into efficiently putting together informative packets and invitations to an upcoming fundraising event.

• Organized and formatted a database to record the volunteer hours and information of over 700 volunteers.• Assisted in the rehabilitation exercises of residents.• Supported residents by spending one-on-one time with them beyond my volunteer hours. • Planned and organized birthday celebrations for residents.

• Scheduled the pick up and drop off of materials.• Reorganized the Habitat Store, leading to an increase in the store’s revenue. • Initiated a new fundraising idea.• Contracted with local elementary and middle schools to organize fundraising events. • Supervised the pick up of furniture donations at the store and the transportation of those donations to the warehouse.