volunteer internship program at crossroad health center.
My experience at Crossroad Health Center in Over-The-Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio has been life-changing. For the past year, I have progressed from knowing little about barriers in access to healthcare to having a more holistic, knowledgeable base on steps I can take as a citizen and future physician to increase patient compliancy. As a volunteer in the Volunteer Internship Program, I completed three rotations, or semesters, worth of the program in three phases. In my first rotation, I learned how to use the NextGen electronic health records system to document referral calls, letters, and orders. Whenever a patient would get a referral for a specialist from their primary care physician, I would first call them or see them in the clinic to ask them several questions. First of all, I would ask about their general availability for the week to be able to schedule their appointment. Next, I would ask about access to transportation and other general accessibility issues, such as disabilities or bus passes. Finally, I would ask about contact information and financial aid if applicable. Then, I would schedule the referral appointment for the patient. I quickly learned that different specialties or diagnoses were more difficult to schedule than others. For example, I learned that Hepatitis C is a very prevalent diagnosis in Cincinnati, and so the wait-list to schedule an appointment for this life-threatening disease is months out, which is difficult for patients in terms of quality of life for six months without treatment. This also exacerbates their poor condition. Additionally, scheduling oral surgery appointments are very difficult, as Medicaid considers oral surgery referrals to be under dentistry, and Medicaid does not cover any dentistry appointments. Therefore, almost all patients at Crossroad could not afford to pay the hundreds of dollars for oral surgery. I found this to be appalling because of the physical and social pain of oral infections, broken teeth, and cavities. Not only does it impede the ability to eat, chew, drink, and swallow, but it impedes the ability to receive a job offer. Having poor dentistry is one of the first visual indicators of poverty, and so not receiving the necessary dental care was detrimental to those between jobs. In my final rotation, I took on the role of referral team leader for Dr. Roberts at Crossroad. This more managerial position gave me a better idea of managing patient care in a more long-term perspective, and it gave me more experience in using a new electronic medical records system called Athena. I have learned what a lifesaver and a pain electronic medical records systems can be, something unexpected in my time at Crossroad. I hope to eventually return to volunteer more at this federally-qualified health center. My work felt meaningful, and talking to real patients, staff, and physicians taught me more than I could ever imagine. I tell other students I meet who ask about this experience that volunteering at Crossroad has been one of the few truly meaningful volunteer experiences I have had, and I hope to work part-time in a federally-qualified health center to some capacity in my career.
Third Rotation Project Presentation | |
File Size: | 468 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Crossroad Patient Referral Transportation Guide | |
File Size: | 51 kb |
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