Meet the C.A.R.E. Program Team

Meet our Family Caregivers Team

Every member of our family caregiver team is attentive, dedicated, and well-trained when it comes to caregiving and caregiver concerns. Our team is a wonderful group that loves what they do and knows the importance of uplifting spirits and assisting with a smile. They are very gentle, reliable, caring, honest, capable, patient, experienced, and interactive.

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Vanessa Mona
Vice President, Consumer Insights and Experience

As a dedicated mother of three, a relentless advocate for improving the patient experience, and her family's center point for coordinating healthcare, she personally experienced the challenges of caregiving and advocating for patients within her family. This firsthand experience ignited her passion for making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients and their families. Vanessa's personal connection to caregiving has driven her to create real and sustained change in the healthcare system.

Combining her extensive operations experience with her knowledge of quality improvement, Vanessa has been instrumental in implementing innovative strategies to enhance patient care. She understands the importance of integrating the consumer experience journey, encompassing all touchpoints and stakeholders, to generate engagement and foster a patient-centered approach throughout the healthcare system.

Vanessa's enduring tenure within the organization has allowed her to build deep and meaningful relationships, enabling her to effect change through genuine engagement. Her dedication and expertise have been instrumental in transforming the patient experience and advocating for the well-being of all patients and their families. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Wayne State University, which has provided her with a strong foundation to leverage technology and data-driven insights in her pursuit of improving patient care and overall healthcare experiences.

Veronica Bilicki, R.N., BSN, B.A.
Manager-C.A.R.E. and Senior Navigator Programs, Henry Ford Health

With experience as a caregiver for different family members, a degree in nursing, and a passion for teaching, Veronica Bilicki is a vital part of the C.A.R.E. Program and maybe the person you communicate with when calling or emailing. Currently the caregiver for her parents, she was also a patient herself, and says, “I know where patients and caregivers have been, because I’ve been there too.” 

Bilicki offers caregivers current resources and helps break down the barriers that they may run across. “Because I know the health care system, who to call, and where to go, I can assist caregivers with navigation. I can also help caregivers better communicate with the medical team and interpret medical information so it’s easier for each person to give care to his/her loved ones.” 

As a registered nurse, she has been with Henry Ford Health since 2004, working in Interpreter Services, Henry Ford Home Health Care, the Office of Clinical Quality and Safety, and as a bedside nurse at Henry Ford Hospital. She is certified in Respecting Choices Advance Care Planning. 

Bilicki has a Bachelor of Arts in Health Policy Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She received the Henry Ford Health Focus on People Award in 2015/2016 and the Henry Ford Home Health Care Jeanette Gronda Award for Excellence in Leadership in 2014.

Veronica is currently serving as the Vice-President for the Henry Ford Health, iCare4U, Employee Resource Group.

Shawn Bennis, MSN, R.N., CHC
Faith Community Nurse
Family Caregiver Specialist, C.A.R.E. Program, Henry Ford Health

If you contact the C.A.R.E. Program, your first interaction may be with Shawn Bennis, who has been the program coordinator since it began in 2015. She has worked with many individuals and departments at Henry Ford to grow the C.A.R.E. Program into the robust, extensive service it has become. Through phone calls, emails, social media, and her presence in the community, Shawn creates new relationships with caregivers daily.

With nine years of experience as a home care nurse, Shawn has unique insight into the diverse backgrounds of patients. Her role is not just a job, but part of who she is every day. She understands that caregiving is not something most people are prepared to do. It’s a tough job and the responsibilities can be difficult to balance. She wants caregivers to know there is support, and Henry Ford’s C.A.R.E. Program is here to help.

Shawn has an associate degree in nursing from Macomb Community College, a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Detroit – Mercy, and a Master of Science in nursing from Wayne State University. She is a trained Faith Community Nurse and serves her own congregation in this role. She is a Certified Health Coach with the National Society of Health Coaches. She was part of the team that received the 2021 Schwartz Center National Compassionate Caregivers of the Year Award. In 2013, she was the recipient of the Nightingale Award for Nursing Excellence in the Community and the recipient of the Clara Ford Award for Nursing Excellence in Quality and Safety.

Shawn is currently serving as President for the Henry Ford Health, iCare4U, Employee Resource Group. 

Kelly Darke, ATR-BC, M.Ed., BFA
Art Therapist, C.A.R.E. Program

Kelly Darke is a board-certified art therapist, published author, certified K-12 art teacher, professional artist, and speaker. Darke has extensive experience working with groups and individuals of all ages with various developmental and emotional needs for over a decade. She has presented at the Expressive Therapies Summit national conference on the topic Using Digital Tablets & Tools in Creative Therapy, and has a chapter published in the book, Digital Art Therapy: Material, Methods, and Applications, all based on the case study she developed from her experience providing art therapy services to adults with traumatic brain injuries.

Darke has presented at local and national conferences, both in person and virtual, on the use of art therapy with transgender youth, and the neuroscience of art in art therapy for self-care. She co-authored the book, Art Therapy with Transgender and Gender-Expansive Children and Teenagers, which was published in 2020.  

Bridget Daly, Occupational Therapist, OTRL
Henry Ford At Home, Downriver Area
Henry Ford Health

Bridget Daly, OTRL began working with Henry Ford Home Care serving the Downriver Area in the Spring of 2014. She is a longtime Downriver resident, growing up in Allen Park and continues to reside there. 

Bridget has been practicing Occupational Therapy for the last 28 years and is Certified in LSVT BIG, a specialized exercise program for people with Parkinson’s Disease. In addition to her career at Henry Ford, she is also part of the Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels, Care on Wheels Program that helps the older adult to remain safe and independent in their home. 

Over the years, Bridget recognized her true passion is helping people and their families support the aging process, whether at home or as support persons for the older adult. Bridget enjoys problem solving and brainstorming with folks to figure out what can work best for a person and their family to support this process. 
Part of a large, close-knit family, Bridget has been a caregiver/support person for her Aunt who passed from Alzheimer’s, her Uncle who passed from Parkinson’s and acts as a support person for her mom as she navigates memory challenges and now lives in a memory care home.

Bridget shares a home with her husband and their dog, Rosie. She enjoys hiking, kayaking and being outdoors.

Carl Fraser, LMSW
Ambulatory Case Manager at Henry Ford Medical Center - Sterling Heights 

Carl Fraser, LMSW, is the Ambulatory Case Manager at Henry Ford Medical Center - Sterling Heights.  With over 11 years of clinical experience, he has practiced in a variety of settings and worked with a wide array of client populations.  He is a graduate of Michigan State University (2012) and Central Michigan University (2009) and the proud father of two rescue dogs.

Julia Swanson is the Senior Vice President Planning and Transformation at Henry Ford Health. She reports to the President and Chief Executive Officer and provides overall senior leadership and direction for planning, transformation initiatives, and alignment of strategic and operational plans within the health system resulting in the long-term growth and viability of the organization. She advises on and leads the development of plans while coordinating organizational efforts to ensure efforts are aligned and integrated.  Prior to this, Julia held the role of Vice President for System Clinical Operations, in support to the System COO, President Healthcare Operations and the Chief Clinical Officer, where she had overall organizational responsibility for driving operational plan development; performance goal development, establishing and monitoring initiatives; and leadership systems. She simultaneously led multiple cross functional complex System wide initiatives.

Julia has 28 years of experience in improving integrated health care operations with expertise in strategy development, deployment, measurement, organizational performance review, disciplined execution and identifying operational interdependencies to bridge silos and levels in organizations to increase efficiency and effectiveness and drive results.

Julia has held various leadership roles within the organization including System Vice President, Enterprise Transformation; the System Vice President, Performance Analytics, and Improvement; and Administrator for Innovation and Quality at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.  Throughout her career at Henry Ford Health, she has led teams across the organization that were responsible for effective organizational performance measurement, review, and project execution through development and deployment of strategy deployment, transformation, and performance improvement methodologies including the creation of an enterprise-wide project management hub.  

Prior to these positions, Julia worked throughout Henry Ford Health organization as a project manager with a focus on process improvement and new initiative implementations.  She has a Bachelors, Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Masters, Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan. 

Julia served as a Senior Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and on the Easter Seals of Michigan Board of Directors.  She currently serves on the Oakland University Pawley Lean Institute Advisory Council.  She participates in activities and speaking engagements with multiple disability-based organizations and currently is the Executive Sponsor for the Henry Ford Health, iCare4U, Employee Resource Group.

Julia is married with two children.

Cindy Tyzo has over 36 years of nursing experience with most of her practice in home health care as a visiting nurse and nursing supervisor. This provided Tyzo a unique perspective on the everyday struggles, as well as the joy, caregiving provides. Tyzo also works as a clinical nursing instructor at Madonna University working with nursing students to focus on care for the older adult. This experience brings a wonderful new outlook on caregiving that she can share with others. She also volunteers as a member of her Parish Nurse team at her church. 

Tyzo has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University. She is the recipient of the Clara Ford Award for Nursing Excellence in Finance in 2017. She has been part of the C.A.R.E. Program team since 2018 as a support group facilitator, community liaison representative, and iCare4U Employee Resource Group member.  

Senior Care Navigator Program

Philesha Marie Frances Gough is no stranger to serving others. In fact, it runs in her “DNA”! Her mother, Helen, was a social worker, community activist, and   educator. Her grandmother, Mama Louise/Ms. Warren was Detroit’s Northeast Neighborhood’s go to person and made her home the “one stop social service hub” at 14006 Goddard Street. 

Philesha has an extensive and diverse employment background, which includes manufacturing and community arts programing to alternative education. She eventually found her niche in 2008, when she completed the Henry Ford Health Macomb Faith Community Nursing Prep Course. This course and her Community Health Worker certification training has laid the solid foundation for her to serve   her church’s congregation and as a Spiritual Care Health Ministry leader. A brief stint working at a Macomb County skilled nursing /long-term care facility as an activities aide and patient advocate helped to further fine tune her knowledge   about the older adult population and dementia.

Since 2021, Philesha has worked at Henry Ford Health as a Senior C.A.R.E. Navigator in the Patient Care Experience department. She currently works with family care and primary care clinics at the Commerce and Farmington locations, where she can draw on a wealth of lived and shared experiences. This empowers her to serve with passion, engaging others who are on their health and wellness journey.

Philesha has previously held positions in Henry Ford Health where she worked on several innovative projects. These projects include the CDC’s Diabetes   Prevention as a lifestyle coach, Advance Care Facilitator Consultant, and as a Community Health Worker. She also conducted telehealth video visits for Metro- Detroit’s homebound seniors and the Knock and Check Project to reduce loneliness and isolation among Detroit’s older adult population. In partnership with the University of Michigan School of Public Health, she assisted with the program design and implementation of the Senior Using Technology to Engage in   Pain Self-Management pilot project (STEPS). She was a co-facilitator with Macomb County Senior Services and the Area Agency on Aging 1b, where she presented evidence-based courses such as Matter of Balance Fall Prevention, Personal Aim Toward Health, and Aging Mastery. 

Philesha holds a M.S. in Instructional Technology from Georgia State University and a B.S. in Industrial Technology (Manufacturing) from North Carolina A&T State University. She is a Certified Community Health Worker and Advance Care Planning Facilitator.

For self-care, she mediates on God’s word and engages in lifelong learning. She enjoys flower gardening, the wonders of nature, physical activity, listening to music, arts and crafts, world travel and fellowshipping with friends and family. 

Nubia Brewster is a Senior Care Navigator who has been working in healthcare for almost 16 years with Henry Ford Health (HFH). She started her career in the West Pavilion Kitchen at Henry Ford Hospital Detroit as a tray-passer for patients.  During that time, she worked towards earning a Bachelor’s in Public Relations with dreams of working in television and/or radio.  However, her journey took an unexpected turn and led her to a career in healthcare. Nubia remembers “When I started at Henry Ford Health in 2007 as a food service worker, I never considered having any longevity in working in healthcare. I was simply working a part-time job as an undergrad so that I could have enough money for schoolbooks and gas.”

In 2011, Nubia left HFH. She returned in January 2013 as a Clinic Service Representative (CSR) where she was in the float pool for various clinics which ultimately led her to become part of the CSR team at the Henry Ford Hospital Detroit outpatient lab. She then joined Population Health in 2015, as part of the Henry Ford Physicians Network, where she worked for six years before transferring to the Medical Education Department.

In January 2023, Nubia joined HFH in the role as a Senior Care Navigator. Nubia states “I love healthcare and I love how I have been able to use HFH as a place to constantly grow and excel in my healthcare journey.” In addition to many years of working in healthcare, Nubia has a Bachelor of the Arts and Masters of the Arts from Wayne State University. She is a certified Health Communications Professional. She also is a certified Community Health Worker. 

Nubia is proud of her academic accomplishments. She followed in her dad’s footsteps when she completed her master’s degree program. Her dad is a retired Detroit Public Schools social worker and was the first person in her family to hold a master’s degree. He graduated from Wayne State University with his master’s in social work.