Last summer, the southeast corner of Longwood Avenue and Southern Boulevard had a severely broken sidewalk, and before 2023, Mount Sinai Health Systems had little to no presence in the South Bronx. VillageCareMAX changed that.
Since opening a community center at 798 Southern Blvd., the only one in the Bronx, the corner has been repaired, and Mount Sinai’s mammography van has been making the rounds through the southern part of the borough.
“A year ago, we opened this location, not knowing how the community would take it, and it’s great to be here a year later and see that we are accomplishing our mission,” said Vanessa Fernandez, senior vice president of operations for VillageCareMAX a subsidiary of VillageCare, a community health plan that offers care and resources to their more than 30,000 members. “We’re available not only to educate on health plan education and insurance, but to teach you English, to read your mail, to be someone in the community that you feel comfortable with.”


When VillageCareMAX cut the ribbon on its new location last July, it did so with the intention of integrating itself into the neighborhood through active outreach and frequent events done with a personal touch.
“We think it’s really important to give back to the community that we are working with,” said Emma DeVito, president and CEO of VillageCare.
In addition to their “Wellness Events” that feature mammograms and hearing exams, VillageCareMAX also hosts days where members can enjoy playing bingo and dominoes. Furthermore, the facility has helped bring visibility and more resources to a historically impoverished neighborhood, according to Alexander Lewis, program manager for Mount Sinai Health Systems.
VillageCareMAX is also a friend of the NYPD41st precinct, which patrols the area. The organization has made a point of working with the precinct’s leaders to promote health and wellness.
“Having proper medical care changes the whole dynamic for a family, particularly seniors in that family who are the patriarchs and the matriarchs,” said Raymond Arroyo, president of the NYPD41st precinct community council. “So, when you do that here today with the elderly, you’re making it better for the future by indirectly impacting those kids.”
Providing for those in most need, VillageCareMAX focuses on senior citizens and those who suffer from cognitive impairment, multiple chronic illnesses, and/or functional deficits that require daily assistance.

One of their members, who is affected by chronic illness and did not want their name published, was at the anniversary celebration on Monday, July 29. The member has been with the health program since 1996 and could not be more satisfied with the services provided.
“These people made me feel like I was part of a family. I had somebody calling me once a month, checking on me to see if I was okay and this was very, very important to me as a single person,” she said. “When I joined, I was in my fifties. Now I’m 79, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying with VillageCare.”
At the end of the speeches, one of the VillageCareMAX workers was visibly upset over a perceived faux pax, and tears were streaming down her face. Immediately, several employees rallied around her, offering consolation and words of encouragement, and continued to offer the employee kindness until she felt better.
That kind of treatment and sympathy, the members say, is what puts the “care” in VillageCareMAX.
This article was updated Wednesday, July 31 at 7:59 p.m.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes