Growing
up, I had always assumed that when one fell ill, a simple phone call could
connect a person with a healthcare professional who could help. But my time at
Crossroad Health Center has introduced me to the inequities that exist within
the U.S. healthcare system by placing me in the center of its communication. Through
speaking directly with both patients and healthcare professionals, I have been
able witness the lack care that an individual receives simply because he/she is
on Medicaid, Medicare, or cannot afford health insurance. The VIP program has
greatly expanded my scope of understanding and perspective on the barriers that
are present between people and quality care. To me, this program is an
opportunity to slowly pick up the pieces of this weakened system where I can and
help to connect others with professionals. Often times, when I speak to
patients, they tell me about how they are given stacks of papers or phone
numbers to call and are expected to know how to navigate through the system.
But such assumptions are what further ostracize families from receiving what I
believe to be a basic human right. Here, in the VIP program, we do not believe
in simply supplying people with resources, but rather creating a community
where knowledge, understanding, and passion is shared and practiced to ensure
that together we build a society where all feel that they can be taken care of.
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