After having lived in Cincinnati for the past 20 years, including going to high school in Over-the-Rhine, I have always been aware of the difficulty people face in this area. While I personally have been blessed with a lot, not all people have been so fortunate. By virtue of living in such close proximity to these circumstances, I have felt a drive for several years to give back to a community which has shaped me and helped me grow in a number of ways.
For me, giving back to my community has always meant finding an occupation which allowed me to help the people around me in a very personal and hands-on fashion. As such, I am pursuing a career in medicine. As anyone pursuing this career is certainly aware, one of the most important things for entering this field is experience. That is what brought me to the VIP program at Crossroad. It allows me not only to gain useful experience, but also to begin giving back to my community.
The VIP program enables me to feel like I am making a genuine difference in the lives of many people. In a way, the responsibility of being a VIP is making sure that people get the medical care they need. Doing my part to ensure this, I have a sense of personal accomplishment and gratitude, considering how fulfilling it is to feel that I am truly making a difference. This difference is not merely confined to scheduling patients and giving reminder or follow up calls, although these are important aspects of what we do. What I feel is the biggest difference I make is in ensuring that a patient truly feels that his or her needs are being met in the best way possible. Trying to be prompt with my work, doing it with a smile and kind words, and going the extra mile for a patient is what makes this experience truly rewarding.
While this work is not always easy, it is highly rewarding by virtue of the knowledge that one is making a genuine difference in the lives of the people in the community.
-- Michael Hilvert
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