New Statewide Director and Assistant Director Named for SASH

Cathedral Square has named two women with long-standing experience in the Support and Services at Home (SASH®) program to the top leadership posts of the statewide program.

Liz Genge of Montpelier (photo, left) is the new director, and Casey Doerner RN of East Ryegate (photo, right) is the new assistant director. They will oversee SASH teams throughout Vermont that provide support and coordinate personalized care and programming for the approximately 5,000 Medicare recipients enrolled in the program.

Genge comes to SASH with 20 years’ experience at Downstreet Housing & Community Development in Barre, where she has served as director of property management since 2011. She was an early champion of SASH who helped launch the program in Washington and Orange counties 10 years ago and has overseen SASH operations in Downstreet’s housing communities since.

Genge says she felt called to the director position of SASH after witnessing the benefits of its person-centered approach to health and well-being firsthand.

“I was intrigued from the start with this innovative way to deliver services to individuals right at home while also strengthening community collaborations with our partners,” she says. “I still feel that excitement and enthusiasm about SASH and am proud to lead SASH teams throughout Vermont in building on the program’s many successes.”

Doerner, a licensed registered nurse, has been affiliated with SASH since 2015, starting as a SASH wellness nurse for RuralEdge Community Development, where she worked with SASH participants in eastern Orange County. In 2019, she joined Cathedral Square as the SASH health systems educator and wellness nurse lead, working with SASH programs throughout the state. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Doerner has played a lead role in developing Cathedral Square’s procedures to mitigate the coronavirus, which have been viewed as a model by public health officials.

“I am so honored to step into the very big shoes of the amazing people who have built and led the SASH program all these years,” says Doerner. “I am excited to help lead SASH as we continue the vital work of keeping people in their homes –safe, healthy and connected.”

Cathedral Square CEO Kim Fitzgerald says she couldn’t be happier that Genge and Doerner will be leading SASH into the future.

“We are always pleased when we can promote strong, qualified staff, and Casey Doerner amplifies that definition,” she says. “Casey has done a fantastic job teaching and leading SASH wellness nurses and coordinators throughout the pandemic and made us all proud. She will be an excellent assistant director.”

The role of SASH director is a challenging position to fill because it encompasses so many responsibilities, Fitzgerald says, “so we really have hit the jackpot with Liz. We are so fortunate to have someone of her caliber who has been engaged in SASH from the beginning and has a deep passion for the vision of SASH.” Genge also brings a wealth of expertise in property and staff management, Fitzgerald adds.

SASH is a nationally recognized, award-winning program of care coordination and prevention created by Cathedral Square and implemented statewide in 2011 in partnership with Vermont Area Agencies on Aging, member affiliates of Vermont Care Partners and the VNAs of Vermont, nonprofit housing organizations, primary and community health care teams, and local and regional hospitals. It is available free of charge to Vermonters on Medicare living in affordable housing and surrounding communities. SASH has been documented to improve health, save Medicare and Medicaid dollars, and help people “age in place” at home. For more information, visit sashvt.org.