To celebrate National Health Center Week, August 11-17, 2013, many of our clinic sites organized celebrations for their patients. At IHC Kokomo, staff members pitched in to show our patients how much we appreciate them. Complete with decorations, food, and toys, staff members enthusiastically greeted patients throughout the day. Local news representatives met with the Kokomo management team, describing services the clinic offers to patients of all ages. Case Manager Maria Leija spoke about the importance of bilingual employees who help our Spanish-speaking patients. Perinatal Case Manager Ann Leach described the OB services offered at the clinic, and Program Nurse Angela Turnpaugh talked about her hardworking staff. “I’m very blessed to work here,” she said. “The team environment here is amazing.”
Angela Turnpaugh, RN, Program Nurse at IHC Kokomo
Board members were also invited to take part in the celebration. One particular consumer board member has been a patient at IHC Kokomo for twenty-three years, and is serving his first year on the Kokomo Community Involvement Committee (CIC). After finding out he was chronically ill, he discovered that IHC Kokomo would provide quality healthcare he could afford. He has been a patient ever since, as well as an advocate for IHC in the Kokomo community. “IHC saved my life,” he said. “I know what you could do for others in Kokomo. People are walking around very sick, and they don’t know how important healthcare is. I wish I could show them how much IHC has done for me.”
Our consumer board members make up the majority of our Community Involvement Committees (CIC’s) and Board of Directors, providing vital first-hand perspectives on what our communities need. Community Involvement Committees and the Board of Directors meet monthly to discuss a variety of crucial issues and guide the organization. These groups make certain that IHC staff continues to work diligently toward our mission to serve those who might not otherwise receive quality healthcare. After speaking with the CIC board member at Kokomo, it is obvious that this partnership works well for our patients. “You guys have been good to me,” he says with a smile, “and that’s all I can say.”