On my first day about a month ago, I was welcomed to HealthLinc by people with open arms and smiling faces who all had at least one thing in common: a passion for service. HealthLinc is a non-profit community health center with several clinic locations across northwest Indiana. HealthLinc provides quality, affordable healthcare through a variety of health services. While their services are for everyone, they mainly cater to underserved populations. They do this by identifying barriers between patients and their health such as finances or transportation and work to break down those barriers. Serving nearly 30,000 patients, HealthLinc’s impact is undeniable.

Although direct treatment of patients is helpful, disease prevention is more effective for population health, but is often overlooked. One of the ways HealthLinc is able to augment disease prevention is through grant-based programs. A couple of these projects that I am currently working with are Food as Medicine (FAM) and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM). Both programs aim to help patients who have been diagnosed with a chronic illness such as diabetes, hypertension, or obesity. Some of the root causes of these diseases include malnutrition and a poor diet. The Food as Medicine program identifies patients who have a chronic illness as a result of food insecurity.

We provide these patients a monthly food box, nutrition education, and any appliances they need to cook the food. The RPM program works hand-in-hand with Food as Medicine. Through this program, patients receive a monitoring device such as a blood pressure cuff for people with hypertension, or a glucometer for those with diabetes. This allows patients to track their levels daily, and also allows healthcare providers to see where the patients’ levels are.

Both of these programs have only been in progress for about a year, so new challenges are frequently arising. As the newest member of the FAM/RPM team, I am helping these programs adapt and overcome these challenges. One of the most pressing challenges is that we currently have one nurse to care for the 530 (and climbing) patients enrolled in the RPM program. I help our nurse monitor these patients by looking for out of range readings that might indicate risk of heart attack, stroke, or any other emergency. I also ensure patients are educated on how to use their device properly. With the Food as Medicine program, I have worked to locate food pantries near our different clinic locations that are capable of providing emergency meals to our patients who are waiting on their food box. I also assist with taking inventory of the appliances we are sending out to patients.

Being a part of this team at HealthLinc has been nothing short of a blessing. My co-workers inspire me with their dedication to service and their display of humble leadership.

They create a selfless and encouraging environment that creates the best ideas for the good of our patients. I am learning more each day about the best ways to improve community health and promote preventative medicine, but more importantly, I am seeing the impact it has on people in our own backyard. When people are given the resources to boost their physiological health, they are empowered to do what they have been called to do.

– Tytus Ragle, HealthLinc