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We empower people to live their best lives now.
December 20, 2019
Good afternoon, Team!
On behalf of all of Prospero, I would like to offer thanks to the Optum Supportive Care team for participating
– both in person and remotely - in our Town Hall and brand launch last week in New York City. The feedback
and energy were terrific and I’m confident our collaboration will strengthen Prospero’s mission of
empowering people to live their best lives now.
Thank you, as well, to the entire Prospero team who watched the brand presentation from their
workstations. Launching our brand – it feels good to finally place our logo on this communication! – was an
important step forward for us, and many more remain. I’m honored to be taking them alongside our entire
team.
Below are a handful of photos from our brand launch and attached are selected slides from the brand launch
(including a link, on slide 9, to one of our videos). In the remainder of this communication, you’ll find
interesting news and features from various corners of OSC and Prospero.
I hope everyone has a safe and meaningful holiday season.

CLINICIAN SPOTLIGHT ON MARIANNE HALDERMAN – NORTHEAST SENIOR SOCIAL WORKER
Prospero carefully guards against defining people by a single story. Marianne Halderman, a Licensed Clinical
Social Worker with Optum Supportive Care, is a perfect example of why avoiding the single-story stereotype
matters.
Marianne was a medical biller and surgical coordinator for an otolaryngologist practice during her first career.
In early 2001, she was a bit restless after realizing she had been in the same position for 25 years, but she
wasn’t considering a switch because she wasn’t sure what a change would look like. At that point in time
Marianne could have felt trapped with the bias of a single story, because an outside observer might not have
realized her full potential.
Then, later that year, tragedy struck. Her dad passed away in August 2001, and one month later her brother,
a firefighter, died on 9/11. Marianne’s life was turned upside down, and over the next few years she took
time to reflect on where she was and what she wanted to accomplish.
“Having a tragic loss made me take a look and decide, am I going to go on the path I have been on, or make
some drastic change,” Marianne explained. “I need to make a change in my life and I wasn’t sure what that
was.”
The first step of change for Marianne included taking non-credit courses at a local high school, where she was
inspired by a teacher to consider college. At first, the goal was an associate’s degree, but Marianne persisted,
changed schools, and ultimately earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, New
York. Along the way Marianne was inspired by several classes taught by law professors and social workers,
and these educational pursuits created momentum that catapulted her to consider furthering her education
by attending either graduate school for social work, or law school.
Marianne realized her passion and pursued a graduate degree in social work, at Adelphi University, where
she graduated with high honors in 2012. During her second-year internship at Adelphi, Marianne served as a
bereavement counselor for a hospice agency. It was then, about a decade after 9/11, that a light went on
inside of her. She discovered her purpose.
“I love this,” Marianne said. “This is my calling.”
Marianne’s supervisor at the hospice agency was Lisa Vitucci, and Marianne credits Lisa with “helping,
guiding, and inspiring me to grow in the field of social work.” The two remained in touch after Marianne left
Adelphi and in 2015, Lisa offered Marianne a position in palliative care social work with ProHealth.
“Working in palliative care social work has enriched my life,” Marianne offered, “and working with my
patients and their families to help write and change their own stories has been rewarding and fulfilling.”
Lisa Vitucci, of course, is now Prospero’s National Director of Social Work Training and Education. She bursts
with pride when talking about Marianne’s growth in the social work field.
“It has been an amazing experience to have the opportunity to see Marianne grow from a social work student
at hospice to now one of our Senior Social Workers in the Northeast,” Lisa said. “Marianne was the first social

worker to join me at OSC. She helped organize our process, supported our volunteer program and has built
close relationships with her Pod nurses, which continue to this day.
Throughout all the challenges Marianne faced since 9/11, she also endured a divorce. But just over two
months ago, she remarried, with Dan. Marianne also has a son, Charles, and a 12-year-old granddaughter,
Esther, who Marianne describes as “the light in my life.” Esther has many qualities that make Marianne
proud, but not surprisingly, Esther’s compassion and willingness to put others first tops Marianne’s list.
CARE SUPPORT CENTER IN MEMPHIS STEPS IN EARLIER THAN ANTICIPATED, SUCCESSFULLY
MAINTAINS PATIENT ENGAGEMENT WORKFLOW
On the morning of Tuesday, December 10 th , Prospero’s leadership team learned the call center making
outbound engagement calls to potential Optum Supportive Care patients no longer had the capacity to make
these calls. This was a major disappointment, especially considering the negative impact of not engaging
patients who are seriously ill who would be denied the opportunity to receive our services in New York, New
Jersey, and Connecticut.
Faced with this challenge, our Care Support Center staff in Memphis developed a plan to begin making
outbound calls sooner than anticipated. Within 48 hours, the Memphis team was on-line and began
scheduling initial appointments with patients across the northeast markets. At the end of the first day of calls
(December 12 th ), the team had made 543 calls, reached 113 people, and booked 11 initial home visits.
The Operation team’s ability to confront this problem and develop a timely solution is a testament to their
innovative spirit and ability to act as one team. Thanks to Kathryn Burress, Cathy Tannehill, Fedra Sanchez-
Salinas, all their teammates, and everyone in the Care Support Center. Their ability to get the job done,
flexibility, and exceptional coordination embody the values we hold dear at Prospero.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT ON LINDA GRIGLUN,
PROSPERO’S VICE PRESIDENT OF CLINICAL SERVICES
If you ever need reassurance that Prospero has the right leadership in place, find your way into a meeting
with Linda Griglun. You’ll walk away confident about our mission and motivated to meet the highest
standards.
Linda’s experience in healthcare – both professionally and personally – is boundless. A Connecticut native
(born in New Haven, raised in North Haven, current resident of Wallingford) who grew up surrounded by
dozens of cousins, aunts and uncles. Linda followed her childhood dream of becoming a nurse to Western
Connecticut University, where she earned her undergraduate degree. After college Linda promptly joined the
cardiothoracic ICU team at Yale New Haven Hospital, where – among other accomplishments - she eventually
became the primary ICU nurse for the first heart transplant in Connecticut.
Always hunting for a new challenge, Linda later joined Anthem, where she began in Marketing. While working
full-time at Anthem Linda figured she would one day return to bedside nursing, so for seven years she
remained working at Yale on the weekends. Despite her limited time after two jobs, Linda also managed to
earn her MBA, from the University of New Haven.
At Anthem, Linda’s ability to manage people and processes skyrocketed. Over a prestigious 31-year career
Linda was passionate about driving affordable healthcare, advancing through many roles before becoming
Vice President, Enterprise Cost of Care. Her positive influence was recognized in 2017 when she was chosen
as an Anthem One Ambassador by all Anthem associates, who put her name forward as one of the company’s
top 100 employees. As Anthem stated in a note to its staff, “Linda was identified as a leader, doer, and
influential member of the Anthem team. This is an extraordinary honor, placing her in the top 0.1% of the
company in terms of the impact she has had on others.”
Linda’s professional acumen is complemented by her compassionate nature, a quality she has tapped into as
a nurse and as a caregiver for close family members. She cites her mother as her role model “because she
was hard working, dedicated, loving, and her tireless commitment to her family never wavered.” Linda
assumed those qualities naturally when loved ones experienced serious illness.
“In my personal life I have been the primary caregiver of both my parents and my father-in-law,” Linda
explained, “and I helped fulfill their wishes so all three died with hospice, peacefully at home, and with the
full support of loving family around them. Last year…I lost my only sister to pancreatic cancer when she was
only 63. I saw how difficult it was for her to express her wishes to her husband and daughters and once again
I was that champion for her – and her family – to ensure her wishes were heard.”
If you think those words sound like someone who embodies Prospero’s mission of empowering people to live
their best lives now, you are correct.
“We are so thankful to have Linda Griglun as a part of Prospero,” said Michael Scarbrough, Prospero’s
President and Chief Operating Officer. “Linda is a passionate leader, nurse, mother, wife, and sister. Linda has
personally experienced loss and seen how the health care system as it currently operates can come up short
in providing the best care for patients at a time of great need. Linda and her family have a story worth

hearing and understanding, and that’s what motivates her to make Prospero Health the best it can be for the
patients we serve and the clinicians she supports.”

When she is not advocating for those patients and clinicians, Linda’s passion is directed at her husband
(Michael) and her three children: Catherine (25 years old), Sarah (24) and Andrew (23). If she’s out of the
office it’s likely because she is traveling – Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, and Portugal have all been
recent destinations.
In the meantime, as Prospero’s Vice President of Clinical Services, Linda will continue working to ensure the
voices of patients and families are not lost as they navigate the challenges of serious illness.
NEWSWORTHY: PALLIATIVE CARE PHYSICIAN DRAWS ON HIS EXPERIENCES TO PROVIDE
COMFORT AND SUPPORT
We thought you would find this National Public Radio podcast – with an accompanying summary –
compelling. Dr. BJ Miller, a palliative care physician, lost both legs below the knee and half of one arm during
a 1990 accident, when he was a sophomore at Princeton University. As NPR describes it, “Coming close to
death and dealing with pain and disability inspired him to go into medicine and the field of disability rights.”
Dr. Miller joined the “Fresh Air” podcast to promote his new book, ‘A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical
Advice for Living Life and Facing Death.’ Click on the below link to learn more, and to listen.
After A Freak Accident, A Doctor Finds Insight Into 'Living Life And Facing Death'
HUMAN CAPITAL UPDATE
As we mention during every communication, Prospero Health is hiring, so if you know of candidates who fit
our mission of empowering people to live their best lives now, please click on this link - job posts - to view
our open listings. Referrals wanted!
Questions? Please email us at Questions@prospero-health.com.
Thank you for all you do in service of our patients!
Doug Wenners