Most of you reading this have a variety of people in your lives who you trust to look at you and say, “Hey. You don’t look so good. Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
But some of Patchwork’s morning guests don’t have many people in their lives to do that. Perhaps they’re living alone. Or they’re living in homeless shelters and are quiet and keep to themselves. Or they’re staying with various people here and there, none of whom they know well. Or they have too many other stressors going on in their lives at home to notice their health needs.
For many folks, Patchwork is a place where they know someone cares. It’s a place where they know that someone will ask how they’re feeling. It’s a place where a request for some ibuprofen or cough drops will be followed with a question about what else might be going on and whether other health care is needed.
Patchwork is also a place that is filled with everyday conversations. Talk about favorite foods, the upcoming winter storm, pets, childhood travel. Jokes. Laughter. Stories. These conversations and the relationships that they build are at the heart of the unique services that we offer to our community.
Veltri, our Associate Health Minister, saw this in action recently. She’d been working to assist one guest who had come to her attention because he needed to get re-connected with a variety of health services. The situation was complicated. She accompanied him to some appointments and helped him follow up with his health care providers and insurance company. As she did, she got to know him.
Then came a day when he was visiting Patchwork and Veltri sensed a problem. As she spoke with him, things didn’t seem quite right. She spoke to him longer and felt certain that something was wrong. She knew him and knew that he wasn’t acting like himself.
We called an ambulance, and the man agreed to go to the hospital to be checked out. He had, in fact, been experiencing a serious medical event. There probably was no one else in his life at that moment who would have been in a position to identify it and call the ambulance.
In reflecting on the situation, Veltri was struck by the power of building relationships as a way to improve people’s health outcomes.
Relationship-Based Community Health
