Team

Family medicine physician Dr. Kevin Cope oversees MVHPC clinical practice and quality assurance as Medical Director of both the Hospice & Palliative service lines. A positive force behind Mohawk Valley health and wellness for years, Dr. Cope operates a very busy primary care practice with St. Mary’s Healthcare, in addition to community work helping those in need of opioid recovery. Dr. Cope is also the Medical Director for Lexington ARC. Dr. Cope is very active with his church, including a focus on mentoring youth.

Until his employment with MVHPC, Dr. Cope served on the MVHPC Board of Directors as Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) Chair, Nominating Committee, and Palliative Care Steering Committee.

He lives with his wife in Broadalbin.

Dana joined the MVHPC team in 2011 as the Nancy Dowd Hospice House Nurse Manager. She knew from the beginning of her career she would welcome the opportunity to assist patients and their families facing life-limiting illnesses with a focus on comfort, quality, and dignity. Of her career at MVHPC, Dana states, “It’s the most rewarding job I’ve had…those I’ve cared for along the way have taught me so much more than I could ever teach them.”

Dana graduated with an Associate’s in Applied Science/Nursing in May of 2004. Already working in the Special Care Unit of a local hospital, she was offered a transition from her Unit Coordinator/Monitor Tech position to the RN role. Dana attended the Critical Care Consortium and became certified in telemetry monitoring during her tenure in the hospital setting.

Celeste Farnham, MSN, RN joined MVHPC in 2020 as Director of Clinical Services. Celeste recently relocated to Gloversville from the Washington, D.C. area to be closer to family. In Washington, Celeste was the director of the neuroscience unit at the Washington Hospital Center. A nurse for almost 30 years, Celeste has her Master’s degree in Nursing.

Cora Jones joined Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care as a part-time Human Resources Manager after a 14-year hiatus as a stay-at-home mom and housewife. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge of employment law from her former life as a corporate litigator. As an attorney, Cora represented employers in legal matters, and developed and participated in client seminars regarding compliance with labor and employment laws.

Prior to attending law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cora graduated from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and worked in advertising in South Florida. Cora has always had a special interest in human behavior and employee relations. She is enthusiastic to continue developing her skills in these areas and is working towards earning her certification as a human resources professional with the Society of Human Resource Professionals.

Cora lives in Cooperstown with her husband, three teenagers and their menagerie of two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and three cats. She equally loves traveling and adventure and cozying up on the sofa with her family to read or watch movies.

Brigitta (Bri) joined the MVHPC team in 2024 as the Executive Director of Advancement. In this role, Bri serves as a champion for MVHPC by identifying, developing and executing a strategic plan with the overall objective of increasing MVHPC’s reputation and revenue through community/donor relationships and various methods of fundraising. Her goal, as is the vison of the organization, is for MVHPC to be everyone’s first thought for those in need of comfort, compassion, dignity, and quality of life. She brings with her experience from working in non-profit healthcare fund development sects from the Foundation of St. Mary’s Healthcare in Amsterdam and the Friends of Bassett in Cooperstown. Born and raised in Amsterdam, Bri is committed and excited to continue to develop, steward, and flourish relationships in the place she calls home. She is thrilled to be working alongside an incredibly dedicated team and honored to have taken on this role.

Bri earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Siena College in 2010 and went on to earn a Masters of Public Health from SUNY Albany’s School of Public Health in 2012. Shortly after graduating from SUNY Albany, she worked at the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York for about 3 years as their Western Capital Region Program Manager, where she oversaw support groups in 17+ counties, managed the Helpline, and provided both in-services and community programming centered around the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. In 2015, she began work at St. Mary’s Healthcare as the Director of Community Benefit and Outreach. She later transitioned to the Executive Director of the Foundation of St. Mary’s Healthcare from 2018-2022. In July 2022, she worked for the Friends of Bassett out of the Bassett Healthcare Network as their Development Manager of Corporations, Foundations and Individuals. There, she was able to hone in on her grant-writing and solicitation skills, as well as continue to develop relationships with individuals in the Herkimer County region.

Bri has been a member of the Amsterdam Rotary Club since 2017, serving on the Board of Directors from 2019-2024, and as President from 2022-2023. She also co-directs the annual Amsterdam Rotary Club Variety Show, which has been a staple for the past over 25 years and raises over $40,000 for worthy causes in our community. In her spare time, she loves performing in community theater in the Capital Region, trips to Disney World, cooking, exercising, and spending time with family and friends. She resides in Amsterdam with her husband, Pete Rose, their two children, Taryn and Jack, and their beloved French Bulldog, Gaston.

Justin serves as the Chief Finance Officer at Universal Bookkeeper, Inc., a distinguished remote accounting firm specializing in small business accounting, payroll, and tax services, with a particular focus on Hospice clientele. Co-founded by Justin and his wife Beth in 2015, the company seamlessly blends their profound commitment to community business support with extensive expertise in accounting and customer service.

Justin’s unwavering zeal lies in empowering small business owners to expand their ventures while nurturing their passion. His dedication to assisting them in streamlining their back-office operations has been instrumental in the establishment of Universal Bookkeeper. Headquartered in New Hartford, NY, the firm boasts a dedicated team of five full-time accountants.

With a rich professional background, Justin has previously held pivotal roles including CFO at Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc., Controller overseeing Restaurant and Retail operations at Par Technology, and Senior Auditor at D’Arcangelo & Co.

Justin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Rochester Institute of Technology and earned his Certified Public Accountant designation in 2012. He remains an active member of the NYS Society for CPAs.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Justin cherishes family time with his wife and their two sons and daughter. An avid golfer, occasional Peloton rider, and dedicated reader of self-development literature, he continually seeks growth and fulfillment in both his personal and professional spheres.

Sean was born and raised locally in Montgomery County, in the Town of Glen, where he still resides today with his wife and son. In his younger years he was out in the fields in the summertime doing farm work, grounds care and mowing lawns at a local cemetery.

He then attended Fulton Montgomery Community College where he earned an A.A.S. in Construction Technology in 1998. While attending college Sean worked as a site manager for Amerada Hess Corp. managing the corporation’s convenience store/gas station located in Perth, NY. Prior to joining the team at MVHPC, Sean was an over 20 year employee at Community Health Center working as their Facilities & Purchasing Manager and then at FMCC as their Assistant Director of Facilities for almost six years.

Sean has a very strong commitment to volunteer work, having served nearly 30 years in the fire service. He is currently a Life Member of the Town of Glen Volunteer Fire Department. He has held just about every position there and is still an active firefighter as well as a board member currently serving as the department Treasurer. Sean previously served as a Deputy Fire Coordinator for Montgomery County and was a member of the Mont. Co. Fire Investigation Team. He is also a long-time board member with the Fulton County Community Heritage Corp. His newest volunteer role is serving as Treasurer of the Glen Cemetery Association.

In his not-so-much free time Sean enjoys spending time with his family camping, fishing, hunting, off-roading, and watching NY Giants football. Sean is looking forward to traveling more and doing some woodworking in his retirement years.