When I begin to reflect upon my time at Crossroads, I immediately think about how this experience has shaped my outlook on healthcare and healthcare disparities, specifically in our own community. When I first started at Crossroads I felt I had bits and pieces of the bigger picture, but having the opportunity to actually work first hand with patients in our community and actively play a small role in addressing the health disparities that exist around the system as a whole was quite eye-opening.
For example, I can recall working with a patient who had limited transportation accessibility but felt unsure about relying on the transportation services that Crossroads offered, as they were not able to provide a pick-up address at the time due to their flexible housing situation. This truly put into perspective the barriers that remain in place to ensuring proper access to health care for all, as it can be easy to be unaware of problems like this when you yourself have never been exposed to such. Unfortunately, this example was not unusual, and what I’ve learned from situations like this is that there is no script you can recite on how to react, but rather, you must really put yourself in the seat of the patient and empathize with them in a way that allows you to understand and genuinely feel their emotions and frustrations, as the system that is healthcare is convoluted and complex as it is to begin with, and to add these layers of systemically defined barriers almost makes proper health care seem inaccessible. However, I think being a part of the CVIP program really helps illuminate some of these issues, and having the chance to not only gain exposure to these disparities first hand but actually work to address them in our role is one of the most rewarding aspects of this entire experience and in the end, am beyond grateful to have found Crossroads, as it has helped shape my own decisions in regards to my future in health care.
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