Siloam Newsletter Fall 2023

CELEBRATING NEIGHBORS

FALL 2023

STORIES INSIDE:

BECOMING NASHVILLE NEIGHBORS

CROSS-CULTURAL CARE

ONE SILOAM, MANY NATIONS

Dear Friends,

As I settle into my new role, it has been great to connect with many of you. Your encouragement and support empower Siloam to provide wholeperson health care for those in need – especially our new neighbors who come from many nations.

When I was searching for a home in Nashville several years ago, I asked God to provide not only a house but a location where I could build relationships with my neighbors. He answered that prayer by placing me on a quiet street in the Woodbine neighborhood where my neighbors are a mix of immigrants, lifelong Nashvillians, and young families establishing roots in the area.

My next-door neighbor, Lisa, is the first neighbor I met. Lisa is a Vietnamese immigrant who came to Nashville in the early 1990s. She raised her three children on our street, and they are now thriving young adults who have launched into careers all over the country.

During the first winter in my house, Lisa would regularly bring me a delicious Vietnamese soup that quickly became a favorite of mine. One day, I asked Lisa if she would teach me to make the soup. She took me to the Asian market for ingredients and invited me into her kitchen to learn the recipe. I quickly learned that, like all good cooks, Lisa didn’t follow an actual recipe. She added a little spice here, some sauce there, until eventually… perfect soup!

I have yet to be able to recreate the soup like Lisa makes it, but I think about that day often. Lisa showed me such warm hospitality by giving her time and inviting me to learn more about her culture through cooking.

My relationship with Lisa isn’t unlike the relationships our staff and volunteers have with Siloam’s patients. We may not be going into their homes to make soup, but they consistently invite us into their lives. They show us gratitude and hospitality through tear-filled thank-yous and yummy homemade treats. They are generous people who teach us so much just by the way they live their lives.

When we get to know our neighbors, we gain a clearer understanding of the Kingdom of God. When our neighbors are celebrated, we know God more intimately by both giving and receiving true hospitality. Through the stories in this newsletter, I hope you see how your partnership with Siloam helps to build a city that both provides health care for and celebrates with neighbors from all over the world.

In Gratitude, Katie Richards President & CEO

Siloam Health’s mission is to share the love of Christ by serving those in need through health care.

BECOMING NASHVILLE NEIGHBORS

Rooted in our Christian faith at Siloam Health, we celebrate neighbors by serving and honoring people of all faiths and walks of life as made in God’s image, welcoming difference as an opportunity for learning, growth, and joy. This value runs through all we do but is embodied quite literally in the Nashville Neighbors program.

In Nashville Neighbors, volunteer teams walk alongside a newly arrived refugee family for six months, teaching them basic health lessons and forming genuine friendships. These friendships open the eyes, hearts, and minds of established Nashvillians while empowering refugees to make a healthy transition in their new city.

Lisa Berry has served as a team leader for Nashville Neighbors since 2019. She appreciates how the program creates opportunities to share the hospitality of Christ with refugee families, as well as provides a way for her three sons (ages 9, 10, and 12) to see “needs in our community that they never would have known existed.”

Transitioning to a new country as refugees is a long and difficult process, and the Berry family has found a way to share the love of Christ through the simple act of being there for their families. “You often hear that you can be

the hands and feet of Jesus, and I think with Nashville Neighbors we get to be the eyes and ears of Jesus. When they feel seen and heard and understood, they feel really loved” shares Lisa.

Through Nashville Neighbors, Lisa, her husband Michael, and their sons have found true community. Lisa shares that “We have experienced really sweet friendships with our interpreters and refugee families from Burma and Afghanistan…We’ve had them to our home for dinner and rented a water slide for the kids to play on.”

“We’ve been blessed by their hospitality to us as well!” remarks Lisa. The Berrys were invited to celebrate Eid with an Afghan family in their home earlier this year. This was a unique opportunity to learn about the family’s culture, but moreover, it was simply a joyful celebration with their friends: sharing a feast of traditional Afghan fare while the kids played together.

We are honored to play a role in connecting refugee families with established Nashvillians like the Berrys so that neighbors from all over the world feel at home in our community and our city flourishes as a result.

Lisa Berry and her Nashville Neighbors friends at the zoo

Lisa presenting one of the health lessons

CROSS-CULTURAL CARE

Siloam Health occupies a particular place in Nashville’s healthcare landscape: as a nonprofit dedicated to caring for the uninsured and underserved, we specialize in caring for an incredibly diverse group of patients. 90% of Siloam’s patients were born outside the United States, and each year they represent more than 80 homelands and speak more than 50 different languages.

While some healthcare organizations may consider this diversity a burden or a challenge, we welcome it as an opportunity to celebrate our neighbors from all over the world. Dr. Brent Snader has been a physician at Siloam for the past nine years and shares that “We have a long history of taking care of people from many cultures… it’s in our DNA.”

When a patient walks through the front door, they are greeted by our diverse staff who represent more than a dozen different nationalities. Because of this, our patients often find someone at Siloam with whom they can relate on a deeper level because they understand their culture. “Our multicultural staff immediately help cut through the barriers,” notes Dr. Snader. “They help us understand where our patients are coming from and impact the quality of care we can provide.”

In addition to our staff, all paperwork is offered in Spanish, Arabic, and English, and volunteer interpreters are available to help. This dedicated group of volunteers doesn’t simply translate words but are conduits for real relationships between providers and patients. Dr. Snader explains “Interpreters who understand the intent of a patient’s communication can convey the true essence of it.” Interpreters are a key part of the trust we build with patients so that we can provide whole-person care for their body, mind, and spirit.

Even the simple things that Siloam does to celebrate the diversity of our patients make a difference. We have flags from our patient’s homelands on the walls throughout the building, and one patient, Sofia, said that “The first time when I came in, and I saw my flag there, and I

saw different countries in the world, I said ‘Oh, that’s so nice!’ [It makes] you feel at home.”

Creating a welcoming atmosphere, tailoring our patient experiences to their cultures, and taking extra measures to communicate with our patients in their first languages enables us to provide quality care and shows that we value and care for them as human beings with unique experiences, stories, and gifts to offer to the world. It is our joy to provide health care in a way that celebrates our neighbors from all nations so they are empowered to lead physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy lives.

Dr. Brent Snader visiting with and caring for patients

RECEIVING GOOD GIFTS

As health care providers, we are often looked to as the ones with the answers. Neighbors come to us in need of care or with questions about their health, and it is our job to give them all we can from our knowledge and training.

And yet as we give, there is a story that often goes untold: that of the gifts we receive from our patients. Sometimes these gifts come in the form of homemade meals or tokens of appreciation, but more often, the exchange is less tangible yet more powerful.

Dr. Snader shares “My life is so much richer because of my patients. As a primary care provider, I get to hear personal stories from patients and get to see little tidbits of their culture that enrich my life. But beyond that, getting to know image-bearers of God from all over the world really broadens my perspective It has opened my eyes to my own cultural presuppositions.”

One thing that has impacted Dr. Snader personally is seeing how dedicated his patients are to their families. “I’ve learned a lot about love and sacrifice for family as I see individuals who were white-collar professionals in their home country work long hours in low-paying jobs in the US so that their children can go to college here. Many of them also send money back home to care for other family members.” Our patients’ sense of responsibility for their families is a gift for us to witness and an opportunity for us to learn and reflect.

Additionally, the faith of many of our patients is often a gift to us. “The faith that many of our patients have in the midst of incredibly difficult circumstances has taught me a lot about trust and dependence on God,” says Dr. Snader. The ways that our neighbors practice their faith are also an opportunity for learning. “Seeing the breadth of different ways to walk out the Christian faith has strengthened my own faith,” reflects Dr. Snader.

Receiving these gifts of love and learning from our patients while we serve them is a joy and a foretaste of heaven – they are experiences that point the way to the rich, beautiful life that God intends for all of us.

Behavioral health consultant, Rebecca Swift, listens to a patient

ENNA’S STORY

Enna is a resilient woman who has faced challenges as an immigrant from Honduras making a way in a new homeland and as a single parent trying to provide for her family.

The challenges intensified when she was diagnosed with lupus, and the damage the disease did to her body, brain, and life made working and supporting her family difficult. Through care from Siloam Health and a rheumatologist, Enna’s lupus became more manageable, but she was still struggling with anxiety and depression.

Then, in 2021 she connected with the Community Health Worker program at Siloam Health, and Leo Galaviz began working with her. Leo listened to her, prayed with her, and encouraged her not to give up.

Of Leo, Enna says, “she’s a big blessing in my life…Leo helped me learn how to connect with God, to be a better person, and to never give up.” For years, Enna’s challenges had weighed her down, but now she finds hope in both the good and difficult parts of life. “Today I can say I’m happy...now I accept everything.”

Along with helping Enna navigate life’s ups and downs, Leo also helped her find a church – a faith community of friends and neighbors who could also walk alongside her for the long haul. Enna and Leo’s relationship is a beautiful example how God sometimes brings others into our lives for a season when we need them most.

WHY AMPLIFY NASHVILLE?

A brief history of the event celebrating immigrants

For more than thirty years, Siloam Health has had a front-row seat to the significant contributions made by immigrants and refugees in Nashville. As we provide whole-person health care, we are witnesses to their great gifts and are proud to play a part in empowering them to use those gifts to shape our city’s culture.

Katie Richards, Siloam’s President & CEO, reflects on the origins of Amplify Nashville in 2017 and remembers “When some of the rhetoric around immigrants was becoming increasingly negative, we saw an opportunity to lift up the true and inspiring stories of our immigrant neighbors. Our Christian faith teaches us that every person is made in the image of God and is worthy of dignity and respect, so we created Amplify Nashville as an expression of that belief.” Now entering its fifth year, Amplify Nashville celebrates the immigrants who help our city flourish through civic leadership, entrepreneurial innovation, and cultural diversity.

Past Amplify honorees have included luminaries such as Kasar Abdulla (2017), Mohamad ShukriHassan (2019), Dr. Alex Jahangir (2022), and many more. This year, we will honor Manuel Cuevas for his contributions to American music and fashion through his custom-made designs; Li Weaver for her work establishing crosscultural business partnerships in both Asia and North America; and Daren and Todd Dickson, founders of Valor Collegiate Academies, for their vision and leadership of Valor’s diverseby-design charter school network.

Amplify Nashville provides an opportunity to see and understand the diverse beauty in our city, and we hope you will join us to celebrate our neighbors at the event on Thursday, October 26 at Marathon Music Works!

Enna with Siloam CHW, Leo Galaviz

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Marathon Music Works

Tickets available at: siloamhealth.org/amplify

GROWING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH SERVING

For Ingrid Quezada Mendoza, volunteering as a Spanish language interpreter with Siloam Health connects her to her family’s past and enables her to engage with the community.

Her family moved from Mexico when she was young, and she witnessed firsthand the struggle that newly arrived immigrants go through to get the help they need. As a young child, Ingrid’s family relied on the care of clinics like Siloam – now, as a Senior at Belmont University majoring in Neuroscience, she plans to go to medical school.

She shares, “I love being able to help a diverse group of people…there are many places to volunteer and gain experience, but with Siloam, I am able to have consistency and grow relationships with not only staff but also patients.”

As Ingrid helps her neighbors in Nashville, she has a message she would like to pass on to the supporters of Siloam. “I think they should

know that Nashville really appreciates what they are doing and that their help is providing opportunities to patients that they would’ve not had if Siloam did not exist.”

Ingrid is an inspiring volunteer! We are grateful for her and our many volunteer interpreters who help our community bridge the communication gap.

Ingrid interprets for a Siloam patient and volunteer physician

ONE SILOAM, MANY NATIONS

Siloam patients come from more than 80 homelands

Siloam patients speak more than 50 different languages

*7%

PARTNERING TO CELEBRATE NEIGHBORS

Walk into Siloam Health on any given Monday, and you will likely find us conducting Refugee Medicals Screenings for newly resettled families. We do this in close partnership with the two refugee resettlement agencies in Nashville: Catholic Charities and the Nashville International Center for Empowerment. Our role in resettlement is quite specific, and we would not be able to welcome new neighbors from all over the world without the comprehensive work of these partners.

As an organization dedicated to serving those in need through health care, we regularly learn about needs our neighbors have that we are unable to meet. Amy Richardson, Siloam’s Chief Community Health Officer explains that “the beauty of community partnerships is often found in symbiotic relationships where each partner relies on the other to contribute according to their mission and expertise in order to equip an individual to flourish.”

For instance, as we work with patients and set

goals for their health, we may refer them to the Branch of Nashville for fresh, nutritious food because we know that it will help them on their path to health. Additionally, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition is an important partner because they have a keen understanding of the various systemic issues our patients face and focus on advocating for their well-being.

At Siloam, we are free to focus on providing whole-person health care in and outside the clinic in part because we partner with other organizations that also celebrate our neighbors and empower them to live healthy lives.

90% of Siloam patients were born outside the United States

PRIMARY HOMELAND OF SILOAM PATIENTS PRIMARY LANGUAGE OF SILOAM PATIENTS

Homeland and primary language data collected in 2022.

Viona Brown, Siloam Health Medical Case Manager, with a volunteer at the Branch