Monday, January 8, 2018

#theVIPExperience Post #45: Nina Grau

        I applied for the Volunteer Internship Program because I was interested in using my time and talents to improve our Cincinnati community and the healthcare community while learning about the behind the scenes details of what it takes to be a successful physician and to have a successful community healthcare plan.
        When I first started as a VIP, I did not completely understand why it was necessary to have an entire team of people simply scheduling other people’s doctor’s appointments. This seemed like a simple task that every adult in our community should be capable of doing. Clearly the VIP program existed for a reason, which meant that something about Cincinnati and its residents required an intervention in healthcare assistance.
         To figure out more about why the program exists, I asked some of the other VIPs and Crossroad employees. I learned that Over the Rhine has an overwhelming number of residents that are living below the federal poverty line and do not have health insurance or regular access to reliable transportation. The Crossroad health center addresses and resolves these issues, because it accepts payment from those who do not have insurance and must pay out-of-pocket and accepts Medicare insurance plans. Other privately-run doctors’ offices will deny patients who do not have health insurance and typically will not accept the Medicare insurance plans that many of Crossroad’s patients have. This makes scheduling referral appointments at physicians’ offices outside of Crossroad very difficult, and for this reason the VIP team exists.
        It is very rewarding to serve as a patient’s “case manager” and be able to play a role in their journey from establishing care at Crossroad to assisting in scheduling their referral appointments with specialists. I have learned that there are so many barriers that make getting care for our patients very difficult. Serving as an intern in the program has helped me realize how many privileges I have and also to not assume that others have the same privileges and easily accessible care that I do.
                                                                                                                           -- Nina Grau

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