Change

Change from Sandy

As I watch the aftermath of post-tropical cyclone Sandy unfold on the internet, I am grateful for my health and safety, and I am relieved that all of my family members and friends are now safe and sound (after a rescue in NJ!). This post will be centered on changes in healthcare that are occurring over time, yet change in this regard is unthinkable. I'm sending prayers and thoughts to those in areas that experienced a direct hit from Sandy and subsequent destruction. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be thrust into this state of uncertainty and experience such devastating conditions.  

Sandy changed millions of people's lives forever in a matter of hours over these past few days. All of us around the globe have spent these days thinking about those in the path of the superstorm, praying, and hoping for our loved ones to stay safe and for the storm to subside. Clean-up and recovery will take many months and too many resources to list. Yet, based on the response to previous hurricanes and natural disasters, I hope that with coordination of aid and teamwork, the states affected will be able to adapt and overcome the multitude of challenges Sandy has left in her wake. 

Change in Health Care

Most of us have an aversion to change. But what do we do if we do not have a choice? Health care organizations have reached that pivotal point: the point where they must adopt health care reform and change the way care is delivered. The status quo is not sufficient any longer. The cost is too great.

Health care organizations have been faced with change for years now. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed by President Obama in 2010 and with this new law, many improvements have been made to increase access to care and lowering cost for consumers. A great resource for information about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is: http://www.healthcare.gov/index.html. 

Health care delivery is changing from caring for the ill to keeping the populations well. It is changing from fee-for-service to value-based care delivery, and the system is being turned around. Primary care is used as the driver of this change. Two models used to facilitate this change are the patient-centered medical home model and accountable care organization model. The medical home model involves teams of providers coordinating care between primary care providers, specialists, and behavioral medicine. Accountable care organizations are systems that are assigned vulnerable populations (ex: Medicare beneficiaries) for which they are responsible for providing cost-efficient, quality care.

In addition, changing the health care system in the United States to one that supports healthier communities that are centered on wellness is now a priority. This is a highly complex challenge and will not be solved overnight. Grassroots efforts to make sustainable change that addresses social determinants of health are extremely important. Social determinants of health are defined by the World Health Organization as.. "the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources." 
(source: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/) 

A resource for information about social determinants of health and health inequity in the United States is the documentary series "Unnatural Causes." The first episode, "In Sickness and In Wealth" dictates the consequences poverty can have on your health. You can find information here: http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/episode_descriptions.php

Social determinants of health cause significant health inequities within the United States and throughout the world. Making improvements in public education, access to healthy foods, and recreation opportunities for communities is vital work. I am excited to see where the Alliance for Community Transformations can go this year. It is inspiring to see a group of dedicated people come together to improve the health of their community.  

Look for a post coming soon on a presentation by Dr. Gregg Meyer, Executive Vice President of Population Health for Dartmouth-Hitchcock from earlier in the month. This post will also contain information from a Massachusetts Hospital Association/New England Society for Healthcare Communications conference I attended last Friday, "Influencing Population Health: Making the Case for Wellness & Prevention." 

Change is here, accountable care is the future of healthcare, and making changes that address social determinants of health and building communities centered on wellness are ways we will get there. I'll leave you with this thought: 

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly slight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." - C.S. Lewis



For more information about the Alliance for Community Transformations:
http://www.facebook.com/actsvhc

For more information about the SerVermont:

http://vtcncs.vermont.gov/

For more information about Southwestern Vermont Medical Center:

http://svhealthcare.org/

For more information about AmeriCorps VISTA:

http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/choose/vista.asp

The view from the new office I share with Nicole at SVMC!

Fall in Vermont & Catching up

Fall in Vermont

In honor of autumn, I changed my theme! I hope you like the change!

It’s fall in Vermont! It is very exciting! There is a great deal of fall foliage that I get to see every time I go to work and travel about town. Leaves are falling everywhere! Fall in Vermont may be a magical thing!

This week, our VISTA Leader Anna came to visit Bennington for our first site visit! We traveled to the top of the Bennington Battle Monument! I’ve included a picture of me pointing at the view of the state of Massachusetts from 200 feet in the air, and other pictures of some of the views from the top.

More fall updates to follow! Nicole and I are hosting a VISTA Thanksgiving in November so that should be fun!

First...

5 Things I'd like to accomplish with my time in Vermont (in addition to having an amazing year of service):

1. See a Moose
2. Hike to the top of a (small) mountain
3. Visit all of the covered bridges in Vermont
4. Tour the Ben & Jerry's factory
5. Buy something that's camouflage

Here's to dreamin' big  :)

Catching Up!

The past three weeks have been extremely busy!

Nicole, and my supervisor Kiah and I helped at The Kitchen Cupboard, an affiliate of the Vermont Foodbank, for a day of service sponsored by Curves of Bennington. We scrubbed an industrial size refrigerator and scrubbed bathroom walls in preparation for painting, and got to fight off spiders and interact with the lovely volunteers!

September is National Recovery Month, and on September 20th I was privileged to participate in the Turning Point Recovery Center Open House Celebration in Bennington. It was inspiring to see community members supporting those who in recovery from addiction and those who work to further the mission of the organization. The friendship and kindness were powerful and palpable throughout the evening. In addition, the newly adopted Town Proclamation declaring September 20^th as Celebrate Recovery Day in Bennington was read by Senator Richard Sears. 

This week, one of our central programs, the Photovoice project, has kicked off with the first of three groups of students! The middle school and high school students from Bennington had their first meeting and Nicole and I were able to help facilitate! The students are full of great ideas about community. Some questions we explored with the students were: What makes up a community? What communities are we a part of? What should communities give us? How do communities make us feel? Their answers and depictions of their community will help inform their work throughout the project.

Today, Nicole and I attended the AmeriCorps Launch day in Montpelier. We joined AmeriCorps members: VISTAs from SerVermont, our organization, and other AmeriCorps programs throughout the state of Vermont! We got to meet a new SerVermont AmeriCorps VISTA member and did an afternoon of service at Vermont Works for Women in Barre; it was a great experience!

I'm continually learning as a VISTA; today, I took away a quote that resonated with me from a presenter at the AmeriCorps launch: "No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship." - Dr. James Comer  I hope to develop the relationships I have created with community partners through the service days and events I have been able to participate in for collaborative opportunities in the future.