Concerned citizen. Community board member. Outreach facilitator. Any of these descriptions can readily apply to Helen Montero. As Community Health Manager for the Department of Population Health at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital (EHS), Helen’s role not only encompasses her professional skills, but her passion for the Far Rockaway community. She is actively involved with the Bayswater Civic Association and is on the board of Queens Community Board 14. A lifelong resident of the Rockaways, Helen is committed to making sure the community is heading in the right direction, emphasizing, “I live here, my family’s here, my son’s growing up here. I’m here to fight for my community.”
Helen began working at St. John’s in 2013 and has been in her current position for the last year. Since joining the hospital, she has noticed its upward trajectory, starting with new management, new ideas, and the expansion of many different offices and services throughout the peninsula. “It has turned completely around within the years that it’s been under new management and the community has definitely seen that,” she says.
The establishment of the St. John’s ICARE Foundation in 2021, which benefits and supports the charitable and educational activities of EHS, is another move forward in Helen’s view. “I love the fact that there’s this foundation the hospital formed in order to provide for our patients.” When asked to join the foundation’s Advisory Committee, Helen readily accepted.
A major part of Helen’s responsibilities within the Department of Population Health involves managing the schedule for the hospital’s mobile health unit. Since 2020, the mobile unit has been a staple in the community. Its travels throughout the Rockaway neighborhoods have become a familiar sight, bringing health screenings and information right into the communities. Helen acknowledges how the mobile unit, “just opened up St. John’s in the community even more.” Helen’s outreach also extends to setting up wellness events in schools, churches, and other community buildings. She collaborates with different hospital departments and attends local meetings to ensure the community is aware of upcoming programs.
Helen’s enthusiasm for St. John’s is further defined by personal experience. She mentions her sister’s children being born there and the compassionate care her mother received at St. John’s before her passing in 2017. “My mom was treated like family, the nurses found someone to pray with her and saw to her every comfort.” Helen recounts the difficulty her father endured while learning to walk with a prosthetic after having his leg amputated last year. At nearly 80 years old, he was struggling with his initial physical therapy sessions outside the St. John’s system and was losing hope. Helen encouraged him to try therapy at St. John’s, where he still works with the same physical therapist, who Helen says, “is amazing. Within a few months of working with her, my father is now walking with a cane, when last year at this time, he didn’t even want to get out of bed.”
When it was suggested that Helen is an “ambassador” for St. John’s, she agrees. Citing her parents’ experiences, she is dedicated to supporting EHS’ and the ICARE Foundation’s activities to guarantee the funding is available to provide the community with the kinds of services her family received. And she feels this goes beyond the patients. “Everyone works hard and this not only for the patients, but helps the staff know they have resources and places to turn to so they can care for their patients’ every need. Doctors, nurses, and social workers can all feel good having the resources to help their patients.”
Helen wraps up by saying, “It’s always a good thing to work where you actually care. I love that they (St. John’s) care for the community as much as I do. It feels good coming to work.”
