Connections April 2021 Final Draft

IN

late 2020, New York State announced that FQHCs (including Evergreen) and hospitals would have priority status as COVID-19 vaccine providers, and employees of these organizations would be the first group of people in the state to be vaccinated. Christine Kemp, director of population health, played a leading role in developing and implementing

Evergreen's plan to make this happen as quickly and efficiently as possible. "This was an all-hands-on-deck process that started right after Thanksgiving," said Christine. "We're honored to be a part of this process and it's very important to us that we execute to the best of our ability."

The vaccination leadership team consists of Christine, Matthew Crehan Higgins, Carly Casali, Kat

Richards, Joelle Toal and Melissa Gulino. Drs. Gbadamosi and Shon provided clinical consultation. "We meet for an hour every single day," said Christine. "The entire primary & specialty care staff have gone above and beyond and I’ve been amazed at what they’ve been able to pull off–just today, our scheduling team booked almost 200 vaccine appointments!" Though members of the leadership team come from PSC, Christine notes that nearly every center and department throughout the organization has been involved with the vaccination effort. "It’s hard to think of any area that hasn’t pitched in," she said. "The Marketing and Communications teams assisted with educating patients and staff about the vaccination efforts, especially in the beginning when so many people had questions about the process. The Facilities and Security teams were instrumental in setting up a mini-clinic in the Commons. The Information Technology and Information Systems teams have helped tremendously with the technology and reporting needs involved. Ray and the executive team have been enormously supportive in making sure we have what we need, when we need it.

And everyone across the agency and its affiliates have stepped up to help during the clinics. It takes about 30 people to run an hour of a vaccine clinic and we couldn’t do it without everyone’s help. It’s amazing!"

According to Christine, New York State requires vaccine providers to apply to a special program in order

to be involved. "It's such an important task for our community," said Christine. "We had to go through a lot of planning to make sure we had everything we need to be accepted. Over a few weeks, and in some cases just a few days, we had to get the right kinds of pharmaceutical-grade refrigerator and freezer units, round-the-clock temperature monitoring systems, electrical system upgrades and other major structures

to prepare the clinic spaces and the Commons for the vaccine clinics." The State also sent regulatory and legal guidelines that we had to follow to the letter. "Sometimes these updates would come at 2 or 3 a.m.," Christine recalled. "And we’d be expected to be in compliance by noon that same day." A lot of work went on behind the scenes at every step of the process to make sure we met those requirements. "There are many forms and surveys each patient has to fill out. We have to give them specific information about the vaccine itself and make sure it’s documented in their chart. We have to have everyone wait for at least 15 minutes after the shot and we have to track how long it’s been since everyone’s first and second doses so no one falls through the cracks. Giving everyone an 'I got my COVID-19 vaccine!' button isn't part of the official State rules, but we personally believe it’s a core component of the Evergreen experience!"

Evergreen's vaccines are tracked in a statewide immunization management system, so New York State

knows exactly what we have at any time–how many doses we’ve given out, to whom, when those doses were manufactured and are set to expire and so on. There are strict rules on who can be vaccinated, at what time, using what vaccine inventory. Every shot that’s given has to be documented in this system within a few hours. Christine files a report with the State by 10 a.m., seven days a week so they can keep tabs on what we did the day before.

"Over the last few months, we’ve had to be really flexible and adaptive to things that changed at a

moment’s notice," said Christine. "We built a high-volume vaccine program from the ground up. It’s been an emotionally charged experience at times, too. Many of us, myself included, burst into tears when the first vaccines arrived right after Christmas. At times it felt like we’d never get to this point in the pandemic. We’ve all experienced loss in so many different ways. Unpacking the first box of 100 doses was an experience I’ll never forget."

Even with all of the rules and regulations, the team works hard to make the experience comfortable–

and even fun–for patients and staff. "Our system is really unique," said Christine. "We hear it from our patients all the time! We believe this is a moment that should be celebrated. I’ve seen video footage of other vaccine clinics and they seem so impersonal–just some folding tables set up in a fire hall or convention center where people are herded through like strangers. The people who come through at Evergreen are

This is a moment that should be celebrated.

- Christine Kemp anything but strangers–they are our patients, our community members, our fellow essential workers.

We are the medical home for patients we’ve had relationships with for years, even decades. This is a momentous occasion in their lives, too. We make it a fun atmosphere–we have music playing all day, balloons to celebrate our milestones and the general mood is almost like a party! These gestures mean so much and really lift our spirits during a long day of hard work."

Making patients feel safe and cared for is just as important. "We have a provider on site all day long

to watch over people in the waiting period after their shot, in case they have any allergic or unexpected reactions," said Christine. "We pay close attention to make sure people wait the full time and help them find their way out of the building. We make sure to have a lot of staff on hand to walk people through the process from start the finish. It can be overwhelming and confusing, especially if you’re unsure about the COVID-19 vaccines from the beginning. No one leaves the clinic without an appointment for their second dose, so patients don’t have to worry about missing their follow-up care."

The vaccination effort is going very well so far. "I'm so proud to say that 81% and counting of Evergreen

Health staff have been vaccinated so far," reported Christine. "That’s beyond anything I could have dreamed of at the start of this process. It has been important to me that staff feel like they were able to make an informed decision for themselves in the choice to get the vaccine. It’s incredibly important that people don’t feel forced or like they have to conform to a timeline that doesn’t work for them. I'm relieved to know that 80% of us are that much more protected from COVID-19. We were identified as high-priority vaccine

recipients for a reason. As of today, March 24, we’ve given out nearly 1,850 first doses and over 500 second doses. The State tells us who we can vaccinate and when. At first we could only vaccinate our staff and other healthcare workers. It was a few weeks until we were able to vaccinate our own patients."

It's difficult to plan for the future in our COVID-19 world. "We don’t ever know what’s ahead of us in the

vaccine landscape beyond just a few weeks," said Christine. "But I know that Evergreen always shows up.

It’s in our spirit to help those in need and continuing on with the national vaccine effort will happen for as long as we’re asked."

No matter how long Evergreen's vaccination effort continues, the lessons learned will help us improve

the care we provide to our patients long into the future. When asked about these lessons, Christine had one word. "Flexibility! We’ve learned more about how we all respond to stress and how to respond with grace when we see others are stressed out too. There’s truly nothing we can’t do if we put our minds to it. We built an entire vaccine program and vaccine clinic from the ground up in a matter of weeks. It seemed impossible at first. Now, vaccine clinic days are the highlight of my week."

Although the vaccination effort takes up the lion's share of Christine's time and attention, that's a

recent development. "In my 'day job' I work as director of population health in primary & specialty care.

Incorporating the principles of population health perspective into clinical care means thinking about what makes up the health of the whole person, beyond what’s usually addressed in an exam room. It’s an entirely different way of determining what success looks like–asking ourselves not just whether the patient with diabetes we see today has their blood sugar in control, but how many of all of our patients with diabetes have their blood sugar controlled? Are there any differences between those who have met their goal and those who haven’t? What are some ways we could approach what we’re doing differently to see if we can try to narrow that gap? It’s a whole team effort and we are able to get creative in our problem-solving. As an FQHC, we’re required to have a robust quality improvement/quality assurance program for our clinical services, and I oversee that work. I love fact-finding and figuring out solutions. There’s never a boring day."

Christine is a fan of Evergreen culture. "Evergreen has been my favorite place to work in my entire career.

My coworkers are delightful people. Everyone I work with really wants to work their hardest in providing the

best for our patients. I especially like how an emphasis on learning is such a big part of our culture. I love learning new things. Coming to Evergreen every day through most of the pandemic has really helped me avoid a lot of the feelings of isolation that so many people felt in quarantine. I am really happy to be here."

Before coming to Evergreen, Christine earned her Master's degree in public health from UB and a

Bachelor's degree in psychology from SUNY Geneseo. "In college and in my early career, I worked in a lot of research labs. I wanted to be a clinical psychologist. I got bored of research and wanted more hands-on, impactful work, so I went back to school to get my MPH. Before I came to Evergreen, I was the director of innovations at Neighborhood Health Center. Before that, I was the director of the regional group of FQHCs and other safety-net primary care providers, called SNAPCAP. It’s been great to see those early working relationships built during my time there turn into the vaccine program partnerships we have today. All of us who work on the vaccine programs speak to each other almost weekly."

Even though Christine is 100% dedicated to this work, she still has a life outside the office. "I think my

favorite Lisa Simpson quote sums it up quite nicely: 'My interests include music, science, justice, animals, shapes and feelings.' I'm obsessed with my dog, a long-haired Rottweiler named Sally. She’s my favorite person to spend time with. I like taking barre and spinning fitness classes and I’ve made a lot of friends at those studios. In the before times, I loved concerts and I'm holding on to hope that I’ll be able to see the Avett Brothers at the Chautauqua Institution in August. I like to cook and am in a Cookbook Club – like a book club, but instead of reading the same book, we all gather with food we’ve made from the same cookbook.

I serve on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York; reproductive health and justice is an issue that’s been near and dear to my heart for my entire life. I don’t watch a ton of movies or TV shows but I do love music. Right now I can't get enough of the new Phoebe Bridgers album."

Editor's Note: Christine and the vaccine leadership team are doing a fantastic job in helping Evergreen-and our entire community-stay safe from COVID-19. Kudos and thank you to everyone who helped make the vaccination clinic what it is!

Christine Kemp celebrates 1000 vaccine doses distributed at Evergreen. Photo by Matthew Crehan Higgins >>

COVID-19 vaccination continues at Evergreen.

March was Women's History Month and Evergreen's Diversity & Inclusion team compiled some great information to share with staff and the community.

Women’s History in the United States is multi-faceted and

complicated. Women have played a huge role in dismantling the racist patriarchal foundations of the United States and women, particularly white women, have also been its biggest proponents and benficiaries. Many of the major historical events that we now celebrate in women’s history and liberation were fought against tooth and nail by women.

While simultaneously fighting for their own rights, some cis-gender white women did not believe those same rights belonged to women of color, disabled women or LGBTIA+ individuals. Throughout the month of March, we highlighted the accomplishments of American women of all backgrounds as well as what we, as women and allies, can do to push for equity for all women.

[ turn the page to see more

Submitted by the Diversity & Inclusion team

Essential Work is Women’s Work | 77 percent of health care

schools and academies regardless of their grades because they

workers, 78 percent of social workers, 53 percent of critical retail

would be "taking a man’s spot”. Title IX made this discrimination

workers (grocery stores, medical supplies) and a whopping

on the basis of sex illegal for institutions that receive federal

87 percent of our nation’s teachers are women! v Companies

dollars. v A significant contributor to the bill, Patsy Mink, became

with greater gender diversity are 25 percent more likely than peer

the first woman of color and first Asian American elected to the

companies to report above-average profitability. v In spite of this,

United States House of Representatives in 1964. You go girl!

work that is principally performed by women is undervalued. How

do we know? These positions are paid less. v Women, especially

made assumptions that women are not equally represented

women of color, are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed

among mathematicians, physicians and engineers because

during the COVID-19 crisis. v Due to persistent pay inequity,

they are less intelligent instead of because they don't have equal

antiquated ideas of caregiving responsibilities and undervalued

access to education, equal workplace treatment, mentors and

work, approximately 1 in 4 women are now considering leaving

opportunity? If you identify as a woman, have you internalized

the work force (nearly 3 million already have since March 2020).

stereotypes about your own capabilities? v Familiarize yourself

For Women and Allies | It's self-reflection time! Have you

For Women and Allies | Check your feelings. When you're

with glass ceiling shattering scientists, doctors and professionals

in all male spaces, what’s an acceptable opinion about women’s

like Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Cecilia Payne, Rosalind Franklin

roles at home/work and their rights in your circles? Challenge

and Katherine Johnson and also the obstacles they faced like

ideas that women’s work is less important, less difficult or less

receiving no pay for teaching college level courses, harassment in

valuable when you hear them. Women perform the majority of

the workplace and discrimination based on race and sex.

work at home and caregiving activities. This work is never done,

so ask your partner, significant other, mother, sibling or daughter

have made great strides in representation since the founding of

what the 3 most stressful home activities are for them and what

the United States. In 2020, Kamala Harris made history as the

you can do to help. Allyship is speaking up in the face of oppression.

first female and woman of color elected Vice President. Nancy

Women in the Labor Movement | Are you happy about the

Pelosi became the first (and only) female politician to lead a

eight hour work day? Check out Lucy Gonzales Parsons, Dolores

political party in the House or Senate with her election as House

Huerta, Rev. Addie L. Wyatt and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn to learn

Minority leader in 2003. Shirley Chisolm became the first African

about women’s history advocating for worker’s rights!

American Congresswoman in 1968 and first woman to run for

Women in Leadership and as Decision Makers | Women

Women in Science/Medicine | Did you know that Title IX was

the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Andrea Jenkins

created in 1972 not because of college sports, but rather because

was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in 2017, becoming

women were denied entry to colleges, universities, medical

the first openly transgender Black woman ever elected to public

office in the U.S. v Based on some of the years listed above, I bet

women of color at the hands of police, murder of trans women,

you’ve determined we still have a long way to go. Women are 50.8

particularly black trans women, and sexual harassment, but

percent of the US population but comprise just 23 percent of the

intimate partner violence continues to be a major threat to equity

House of Representatives and 25 percent of the Senate. There has

for women. Since 2014, 3 women are killed by an intimate partner

never been a woman elected president of the United States. There

every day in the U.S (this number is rising closer to 4 as of 2021).

has never been a female minority/majority leader in the Senate.

Based on statistics, a woman’s life is safer with someone she

30 percent of state legislators are women. Buffalo's Common

doesn’t know than with a man she knows.

Council is composed entirely of men and Buffalo has never had a

female mayor.

you skeptical of the Me Too or BLM movements? Ask yourself

For Women and Allies | Check yourself and your circle. Are

For Women and Allies | Check out organizations like She

why and look to learn more about the problem. Before saying

Should Run. They provide women who are curious about public

or posting something about women in general or directly to a

office with a starting place to explore their options. A major reason

partner, consider “Would I feel disrespected if someone acted

why women don’t run is that they feel unqualified (regardless of

or talked to or about me this way?” Talk to your children about

their professional achievement). Research shows that this is not

consent, especially your male-identifying children. Review

an issue for men. So… self-reflection time! Do you identify as a

violence prevention resources from places like the CDC if you’re

woman and down-play your capabilities? Allies, step in when

not sure where to start.

you hear women make comments downplaying their abilities or mention feeling like an imposter. Also, as allies, please make sure that you do not interrupt women consistently in meetings, claim credit for their ideas or not see them as someone you can mentor for leadership because of their gender identity.

Violence Against Women | In 1971, Gloria Steinem founded

Ms. Magazine. In 1976, it became the first magazine to feature the matter of domestic violence on its cover. In 2017, Tarana Burke started the #metoo movement. In 2013, activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi founded the Black Lives Matter Movement to address police violence against people of color. v Violence perpetrated against women is still a huge issue in the United States and it takes many forms, such as violence against

Women, especially women of color, are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 crisis.

Mark your calendar! The submission

If you have any questions about COVID-19, please send an email to COVID19questions@evergreenhs.org. For questions

deadline for the May 2021 issue of Connections is Friday, April 16. Be sure to get your content in before the deadline to

about Evergreen’s COVID-19 vaccination program, you can email COVID19vaccinequestions@evergreenhs.org. Or, visit ADP or www.evergreenhs.org for more information.

guarantee placement. Kids, pets, recipes, your new home office we want to share them all! Send to EvergreenConnections via Outlook.

Evergreen hosted a 340B press conference at the Bailey Avenue location on March 23.

Submitted by Human Resources

Many people, including several Evergreen employees, have had fraudulent unemployment claims opened under their name recently. If this happens to you, it means someone is using your personal information, including Social Security number and date of birth. Act fast. Here are steps that can help you protect your finances and your credit: 1. Report the fraud as quickly as possible to the state unemployment benefits agency. Report online if possible, as this will save time and make it easier for the agency to process your report. To make a report visit https://www.labor.ny.gov/agencyinfo/report-fraud.shtm. Be sure to keep any confirmation or case number you get. If you speak with anyone, keep a record of who you spoke with and when.

2. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the fraud to the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission, and get help with the next important recovery steps. These include placing a free, one-year fraud alert on your credit, getting your free credit reports and closing any fraudulent accounts opened in your name.

IdentityTheft.gov also will help you add a free extended fraud alert or credit freeze to your credit report. These make it more difficult for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name.

3. Review your credit reports often. For the next year, you can check your reports every week for free through AnnualCreditReport.com. This can help you spot any new fraud activity quickly.

Remember: unemployment payments are usually deposited to accounts the imposters control. But sometimes payments get sent to the real person’s account, instead. If this happens to you, the imposters may call, text or email to try to get you to send some or all of the money to them. They may pretend to be your state unemployment agency and say the money was sent by mistake. This a money mule scam and participating in one could cause you more difficulties. If you get benefits you never applied for, report it to the state unemployment agency and ask for instructions. Don’t respond to any calls, emails or text messages telling you to wire money, send cash or put money on gift cards. Your state agency will never tell you to repay money that way. Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer. Every time. Watch for more information on this topic coming from Human Resources.

Birthdays Eva Baez....................................................... April 1 Rosemary Roche...................................... April 3 Anneliese Bienko..................................... April 4 Gideon Belin............................................... April 5 Heidi Buesink............................................. April 6 Dale Kingston............................................. April 7 Laurie Matson............................................ April 7 Paula Brudo-Jurek.................................. April 8 Julie Rapp.................................................... April 9 Ebony Burroughs..................................... April 10 Roy Golia...................................................... April 10 Kelly Craig.................................................... April 11 Chelest Ponzo............................................ April 12 Jessica Glaser............................................ April 12 Nicole Dommer......................................... April 13 Renee Hartson........................................... April 13 Michele Messina........................................ April 14 Matthew Iwanski-Jackson................... April 15 John Argo.................................................... April 17 Maria LoTempio........................................ April 17 Donnetta Willet......................................... April 19 Melissa Talbett........................................... April 19 Kristen Bechdel......................................... April 19 Andrea Ace................................................. April 21 Yesenia Pimentel...................................... April 21 Kimberly Harding..................................... April 23 Brandee Martin......................................... April 23 Elijah Jimerson.......................................... April 25 Marielena Camacho................................ April 25 Alex McGann.............................................. April 25 Ashleigh Worthy...................................... April 25 Jamie Keuck............................................... April 29 Khristopher Decker................................. April 29 Jeffrey Caliano.......................................... April 29 Kaily Golba.................................................. April 29 Carinne Medley......................................... April 29

Anniversaries Ryan Richter............................................... 1 Year Kaitlynn Cruz.............................................. 1 Year Kanwalnain Bawa..................................... 2 Years Alexandria Aiello...................................... 2 Years Thomas Foels............................................. 2 Years Dabrielle Wright....................................... 2 Years

Manager Training The Manager Training Program was created to give Evergreen’s leadership the tools and resources they need to be successful in their jobs. This program is a combination of web based and in person

Heather Wilson......................................... 2 Years Kristine Spada........................................... 2 Years Gaia Oliver................................................... 3 Years Josephine Rivera...................................... 3 Years Eva Baez....................................................... 3 Years Jenna Gallitto............................................. 3 Years Gideon Belin............................................... 3 Years

training, that all leadership needs to complete. Since the program

Stefanie Warnick...................................... 3 Years

started in 2018, there have been 40 graduates! Good work managers!

Carinne Medley......................................... 4 Years

.

Ryan Trubits................................................ 4 Years

.

Best Places to Work Finalists Evergreen Health has received our Best Places to Work results.

Although we continue to be a finalist, we understand there is more work to be done. You can view the results on the training page of the Intranet. Thank you to all employees who took the survey and keep your eyes out for additional communications.

Michael Blasdell........................................ 5 Years Charles Hunt............................................... 5 Years Tamara Miller.............................................. 5 Years Julie Falk....................................................... 7 Years Ian Schunk................................................... 7 Years Kimberly Johnson Brown..................... 7 Years Michael Lee................................................. 8 Years Katherine Kawa......................................... 8 Years Jacquelyn Dixon....................................... 9 Years Matthew John Pasquarella.................. 18 Years Toni Hernandez......................................... 25 Years

Spring is here! For nearly three decades, the arrival of Spring meant starting the countdown to our annual AIDS Walk. Here are some AIDS Walk photo memories from the Connections archives.

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Recognizing Excellent Work at Evergreen from January 2

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Mangel Jamieson

Anderson

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May

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20 - February 19

1.

Dial extension 2222.

2. Follow the prompt to record the Code Blue or Mr. Webber and say the exact location and building of the incident.

3. Hang up your phone. This will prompt your message to be broadcast to all Evergreen locations.

Publisher/Layout John Carocci

Copy Editor Melissa Meyer

Contributors

4. The Code Blue team and Security will respond to the incident.

Jocelyn Leising Shakiya Bell Melissa Meyer Alicia Kohlhagen Tiffany Valentin

You'll have 30 seconds to record your message. If you're not done in 30 seconds, you'll be cut off and your message will be automatically broadcast. It's imperative that you say the location and building in your message: “Code Blue in the men’s lobby bathroom in the Elmwood building” or “Could Mr. Webber please come to the Mathews building counselor room?.” The Code Blue/ Mr. Webber Softkey has been removed from all phones.

Connections is the monthly newsletter for employees and Board members of Evergreen Health and its affilliates, the Pride Center of Western New York and Community Access Services. Please send us your story ideas, photos, feedback or just a friendly hello at Evergreen Connections via Outlook.

The Proud Employees Resource Group's Trans Day of Visibility display | photo by Emma Hathaway If you are interested in learning more about any of Evergreen's employee resource groups or attending any of the meetings, please send an email to diversity-inclusion@evergreenhs.org.

Evergreen's Fun Collective recently made a surprise delivery of sweet treats to staff in the Southern Tier.

Marcia Derby submitted these photos and said, "Look how happy everyone is!" Thank you, Marcia, and thank you to the Fun Collective for making the workday a little bit sweeter!

IT’S

been one year since many of our lives were upended by COVID-19. As we reflect on this anniversary, which is devastating in so many ways, we cannot help but see the resilience in our community and our employees. Evergreen remained open every day. Our doors were able to stay open because of our incredible team. They knew there was work to be done and we were needed now more than ever. Our entire staff set their fears aside and showed up when they were needed most. Because of this, 10,017 individuals were able to continue healthcare at Evergreen.

Going a step further, Evergreen noticed that COVID-19 testing was desperately needed in areas where Black and Brown people live because they were being hit the hardest with COVID-19 infection. We opened a testing site at our Bailey Avenue site in the 14215 zip code so that it would be accessible to the community. There, we administered over 1,252 COVID-19 tests between May and August 2020.

It cannot be underestimated how mental and behavioral health was and is still affected by the pandemic. These services were in high demand as people dealt with isolation, the loss of loved ones, economic hardships and uncertainty. Due to social distancing, Evergreen had to quickly pivot from our usual in-person services to offer virtual appointments. Not only did we quickly transition the team to this new technology and process, but we also educated our patients in a new way of communicating with doctors and counselors. Since

April 2020, Evergreen Health’s behavioral health services conducted over 12,821 telephone or video sessions with patients. For many people, this support got them through their hardest days.

For a myriad of reasons, people who use drugs were disproportionally affected by COVID-19. At Evergreen, we love people who use drugs. As part of our harm reduction model, we make sure individuals have the resources they need to use safely. We distributed 1,410,9783 syringes in 2020, preventing innumerable instances of HIV and hepatitis C exposure. Not only that, but by distributing Narcan to the community and educating people on how to use it to prevent overdose deaths, 715 lives were saved. That is 715 people who are still here today in our community.

Other infections and ailments do not stop just because there’s a pandemic. At Evergreen, we were able to take in 6,957 walk-in patients for STI testing. This is significant not only because sexual health matters, but because we were able to take patients that would have otherwise had to go to hospitals and healthcare systems treating COVID-19 patients. By keeping our testing services open and accessible, those medical treatment centers were able to focus on individuals suffering from COVID-19 and its related illnesses.

With so much changing during the pandemic, along with the added distress of isolation, patients turned to their care coordinators for information and because sometimes they just needed someone to talk to. 1,600

unique patients received care coordination services in 2020. While every patient is different, we illustrated one patient’s story in our blog. Like many other community members, Cyndie was struggling with depression and substance use during the pandemic. She made the decision to seek medical help to detox, but was turned away from other healthcare centers. Her care coordinator worked with her to remove barriers to medical treatment.

Not only that, but she was a kind person for Cyndie to talk to when she needed someone to listen. Cyndie said, “I don’t know how to express the gratitude I have for her.

When someone fights that hard for you, you just can’t— there’s no way you can give up now.”

We can quantify our impact with numbers but for many people, it’s the personal stories that really show our impact. It’s Arica from Community Access Services teaching individuals about proper condom use. It’s Eva from housing helping patients find a place to call home.

It’s our patient Penny being treated for hepatitis C and getting her HIV to undetectable. Because we never closed our doors, we were able to help over 10,000 individuals.

Every single service we offer matters because each one had a positive effect on the life of at least one person, oftentimes more than one. Your work has literally saved lives. The fight is not over, but we are seeing a silver lining in being able to administer COVID-19 vaccines to our employees and patients. On this anniversary, we are grateful to be given the opportunity to truly make a difference. Together, we will make it through.