Author: Joy Authur

Did you know? Medical care accounts for only 10% of an individual’s overall health, while behavioral health—factors like social integration, support systems, discrimination, and stress— determines 30% of overall well-being. That 30% is where Robin Rosell, People’s Director of Behavioral Health and Social Services, has focused her 23 years at the clinic. “Being open to change and improvement” is key to medical social work, Robin said. “The field is always evolving, and the pendulum always swings back and forth between different schools of thought.”

With her holistic approach, Robin has initiated several effective programs that have helped improve patients’ lives. The first was TANDEM, the teen prenatal parenting program that is currently in its 22nd year. It provides intensive case management to support teen mothers’ social, medical, and mental health needs. Since 1998, TANDEM has served one thousand mothers, and helped reduce their chances of having a second teen birth to less than 3%, compared to the state average of 20%. Robin led the creation of our Integrative Behavioral Health Department, which provides patients with convenient in-clinic mental health services. Finally, Robin also helped launch our Pain Management Program to reduce opioid use and treat patients with complex chronic pain.

The mind-body connection is undeniable, Robin says. For instance, we know that depression and diabetes are closely linked and that stress plays a role in physical pain. When we see the whole patient—not just their symptoms—we can help them get healthy and stay healthy for life. Thank you, Robin, for your leadership and for growing a vibrant IBH department!

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#NationalProfessionalSocialWorkersMonth #IntegrativeBehavioralHealth #SocialWorkers #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth #PeoplesofPeople

View the 2019 Program Here:

CAH Open House Program_Final

March is National Professional Social Work Month! To honor our #SocialWorkers and to help shed light on their important work, we’re bringing you their stories each week. #LMSW #PeopleofPeoples #BehavioralHealth

Our first feature is on Ana Serratos, a Licensed Master of Social Work (LMSW) in the Integrative Behavioral Health department at People’s Community Clinic. Ana, like our 10 other social workers, counsels patients who are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), grief, and trauma. Ana also provides support to the Pain Management Program, a multidisciplinary approach to reducing opioid use and treating patients with complex chronic pain.

In fact, counseling is one of the many non-pharmaceutical options recommended by the Center for Disease Control for alleviating pain. Patients will talk with Ana about their chronic pain issues—which are often unexplained and difficult to treat—and say things like, “I feel like you’re really listening to me,” or “I feel like you understand me.” (Ana says it’s moments like these that make her job as a social worker awesome!)

Ana also coordinates other “wrap-around” services like acupuncture, nutrition counseling, exercise, and medical-legal intervention to help patients with their symptoms.

Thank you, Ana, and thanks to the team of social workers that provide such great care for People’s patients!

AMPLIFY AUSTIN DAY

Amplify Austin Day is our community’s annual day of giving. The 24-hour period provides an easy and fun way for our entire community to give together while helping local nonprofits. Over the past six years, Amplify Austin has raised over $45M for hundreds of local organizations. Amplify Austin raised $10.3M for 700 Central Texas nonprofits in 2018. Help our campaign here.

ST. DAVID’S MATCH

Thanks to a generous matching gift from the St. David’s Foundation, your donation will go even further. The more donations that we receive, the more bonus funds we will win. This match is furthering the mission of the foundation to make Austin the healthiest community in the world!

Leading up to the 2019 Austin Marathon, we’ll be featuring some of the dedicated health advocates running on Team People’s in support of affordable, accessible health care.

This week we’re featuring Genesis. Genesis works in People’s Health Promotion department as a Dietitian. Through her work Genesis promotes health education and empowers patients to take charge of their health through diet to support an overall healthy lifestyle. Click here to support Genesis’ fundraiser campaign!

 
Why do you choose to run with team People’s?
I choose to run with team People’s because my coworkers motivate me and I motivate them. I enjoy listening about their improvements and struggles. We also give each other tips on how to train.

How do you make running fun?
I choose what to focus on each day. There are days I focus on my posture, other days, I focus one how I am stepping, and how I am breathing. When I go for longer runs, I put on a good playlist, and if I really don’t want to go for a run, I will put on a podcast. The podcasts I enjoy include “Body Kindness” and “The Limit Does Not Exist”.

What’s your favorite running spot in Austin?
Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park on North Lamar before sunset. That is when the deer like to walk along the trail as well. For long runs, I go to lady Bird Lake. I enjoy watching people of all ages, with strollers, and with their pets running at different paces. It motivates me during those longer runs.

How do you stay motivated?
Staying motivated is not easy. Especially when it is raining, cold, or I had a long day at work. However, it has become part of my routine. I share my schedule with friends and ask them to join me. Running or going to the gym with them helps me stay motivated. I know what friends or family members like to work out, so I share my successes, doubts, and struggles. They usually motivate me to keep on doing what I’m doing.

Why is affordable, accessible health care important to you?
I grew up in the American border town, Eagle Pass. I would go to the doctor and buy medicine in the Mexican side of the border. My circumstances were not unique, and many Eagle Pass residents continue to do this because going to the doctor in their home town is too expensive. After I ventured into Austin, I learned how it felt to not go to the doctor because I couldn’t afford it, to pray it goes away on its own, google how to relieve the symptoms and not the root cause. To pay 90-130$ to see a doctor meant I would not have enough money to buy groceries the next month. This was my struggle as healthy young adult, I cannot imagine the difficult situations many of our families and elderly patients have to face because they can’t afford care. No one should have to choose between paying for a doctor’s visit or buying food.

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Want to get involved and support People’s through the 2019 Austin Marathon? Click here to see how you can run, volunteer, or donate to support affordable, accessible health care for uninsured and medically underserved Central Texans.

Eva had one too many scares. For months, she and her 6 kids suffered from chronic respiratory issues. Her youngest, two-year-old Ana Maria, was in the worst shape. After rushing Ana Maria to the emergency room for the third time, Eva came to People’s looking for relief. They met with multiple pediatric specialists, each who looked for the root cause of the family’s illness.

It became clear that an unsafe living condition, particularly mold, was endangering the family’s health. For help, the physicians called on Keegan Warren, JD, an attorney at the Austin Medical-Legal Partnership (AMLP).

The AMLP recognizes that good health depends on many factors outside of the exam room. Social and legal determinants of health – like housing and work conditions, or barriers to receiving disability benefits – effect health in tremendous ways, sometimes even more than the clinical care they receive. Often, a legal intervention is needed to address these health-harming situations. As part of the AMLP, attorneys are housed at People’s, and patients are referred to attorneys if they need legal help to improve their health.

Keegan learned that rains from Hurricane Harvey had flooded the family’s apartment, but property managers had not addressed the resulting mold infestation. Mold in the walls, floor, and furniture had contributed to debilitating – and dangerous – respiratory problems.

With Keegan’s help, the family took the apartment owners to court, which forced them to address the substandard conditions. Eva was assured that with the Keegan’s protection, the apartment owners would not evict the family or take any other retaliatory actions. As a result, the family was able to move to a new, clean apartment. The children’s health issues resolved slowly, and Eva’s family began the process of healing – this time, in a home with fresh air.

Leading up to the 2019 Austin Marathon, we’ll be featuring some of the dedicated health advocates running on Team People’s in support of affordable, accessible health care.

Andres supports access to affordable health care year round as a volunteer at People’s Community Clinic.Click here to support Andres’ fundraiser campaign!

 
Why do you choose to run with team People’s?
Volunteering at People’s is something that I enjoy greatly so I was happy to see that the clinic had formed a team and jumped at the opportunity to join.

How do you make running fun?
Music and Imagination. To the beat of my favorite songs I love being on the trail imagining myself running across the finish line or playing soccer for the U.S national team at the World Cup.

What’s your favorite running spot in Austin?
I like running at the Shoal Creek greenbelt. The tree covered trails and flowing water at my sides makes for a pleasant run.

How do you stay motivated?
Sometimes it’s not easy, but I like to think about the satisfaction that comes with accomplishing a goal. Being able to look back and have pride in something we’ve achieved motivates me to keep going.

Why is affordable, accessible health care important to you?
I believe that everyone deserves to be treated with care and compassion regardless of their circumstances. I believe in what clinics like People’s do because they are working to create a healthier community through affordable health care.

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Want to get involved and support People’s through the 2019 Austin Marathon? Click here to see how you can run, volunteer, or donate to support affordable, accessible health care for uninsured and medically underserved Central Texans.