News12 Brooklyn gave a special shoutout to VNS Health for our Nurses Month Brooklyn Celebration that was held Wednesday, May 22. Special guest, New York City Council Member and former VNS Health nurse, Mercedes Narcisse attended the celebration with our team members. She issued a proclamation, thanking us for our over 130 years of public service and commitment to helping New Yorkers of all ages.
When she was a teenager, Mercedes immigrated from Saint Marc, Haiti to New York City. She attended public schools in Brooklyn and saved money while working as a security guard at the United Nations to pay for college. She eventually graduated from Baruch College, CUNY. She then went to receive her Juris Doctorate from the Brooklyn Law School.
Mercedes worked as a registered nurse for VNS Health from 2000 – 2009. Like many of our nurses, she helped her patients get the care they need in the comfort of their home. She has always been dedicated to supporting her community and neighbors. She has also worked as a legal aid associate, a public defender, and child advocate.
Mercedes now serves as a NYC council member, representing the 46th council district in Brooklyn covering many South Brooklyn neighborhoods. During her first term, she built a reputation for her advocacy and tremendous work ethic. Her office is one of the highest in serving constituents in NYC. She has secured millions of dollars in funding for renovating public parks, schools, and libraries in her district. Some of her accomplishments since taking office include breathing new life into the West Bronx by supporting local business through several initiatives, pressuring local government for a desperately needed subway repair project, championing a bill for enhancing health outcomes for people with sickle cell disease, and the New York City Affordable Housing Trust Fund. She was re-elected in November 2023, to serve another 2-year term beginning January 1, 2024.
While she has achieved many goals in her career, Mercedes is always striving to make New York a better place for everyone, never forgetting her roots as a home care nurse.
Want to make a difference in the lives of New Yorkers as a nurse? Explore our open nursing positions and find your home care career today.
