Rebecca Onie: What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?

Summary

This inspiring talk by Rebecca discusses her journey from working at Greater Boston Legal Services to founding Health Leads, a program that empowers doctors to 'prescribe' basic resources like food and heat, alongside traditional medicine. The program uses college student advocates to connect low-income families with essential resources, addressing health issues at their root causes. Rebecca reflects on the systemic challenges in healthcare and advocates for a vision of prevention over treatment. She calls for a healthcare system that meets all the basic needs of patients, aiming for healthier communities by addressing the social determinants of health.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker’s first internship exposed them to the intersection of housing, health, and legal challenges faced by low-income families in Boston.
• 😀 The speaker observed firsthand how basic health and housing issues, like paying for medication and unsafe living conditions, were often ignored in traditional healthcare settings.
• 😀 An innovative strategy used in the housing unit involved collecting cockroaches from client homes, which were then presented in court to help win cases for clients.
• 😀 The speaker grew frustrated with the reactive nature of legal services and wanted to find ways to intervene earlier to prevent crises in low-income families.
• 😀 The idea for Health Leads was inspired by conversations with doctors at Boston Medical Center who expressed frustration about not having the resources to address patients' basic needs.
• 😀 Health Leads was created as a model where healthcare providers could 'prescribe' basic resources like food and housing, to improve patient health and well-being.
• 😀 The program uses college student advocates who help connect families to existing community resources, starting with a small desk in a clinic waiting room.
• 😀 Health Leads has expanded significantly, with over 1,000 college student advocates working to serve nearly 9,000 patients, creating a more effective and holistic approach to healthcare.
• 😀 The speaker received an email from Dr. Jack Geiger, a pioneer in using food prescriptions for health, which highlighted the need for systemic change in healthcare to address social determinants of health.
• 😀 Health Leads aims to transform the healthcare system by integrating social and environmental factors into medical care, using tools like the electronic medical record to prescribe health-promoting resources.
• 😀 The organization’s success is based on the belief that college students, with proper training, can play a critical role in addressing healthcare gaps, creating a future leadership pipeline for healthcare reform.

Q & A

What was the initial role of the narrator during their internship at Greater Boston Legal Services?

The narrator initially signed up for an internship at Greater Boston Legal Services with the expectation of making coffee and photocopies, but they were paired with a proactive attorney, Jeff Purcell, who quickly thrust them into direct client work.

What underlying issue did many clients of Greater Boston Legal Services face alongside their housing problems?

Many clients not only had housing issues but also faced underlying health problems, such as struggling to afford necessary medication or living in unhealthy conditions that exacerbated health issues.

How did the narrator contribute to the legal cases involving clients with cockroach infestations?

The narrator collected cockroaches from clients' homes, hot-glued them to poster boards, and presented these exhibits in court as part of the legal strategy, which was highly effective in winning cases.

What frustration did the narrator express about the approach at Greater Boston Legal Services?

The narrator felt frustrated that their work often came too late in the clients' crises, intervening only after problems had reached a severe point, leading them to seek more proactive solutions.

What inspired the narrator to start Health Leads?

The narrator was inspired by an article about Dr. Barry Zuckerman’s work at Boston Medical Center, where doctors were struggling with the broader social issues impacting their patients' health, leading them to explore how to address these issues more systematically.

How does Health Leads operate in the healthcare system?

Health Leads allows doctors to 'prescribe' basic resources like nutritious food, heat, and housing for their patients. These prescriptions are taken to the Health Leads desk, where college student advocates help patients connect to community resources.

What role do college students play in Health Leads?

College students volunteer as advocates in the clinic, where they are trained to assist families in accessing essential resources like food, shelter, and healthcare services.

How did Health Leads grow from its humble beginnings?

What began as a small, grassroots effort with a card table in a clinic waiting room has expanded to a nationwide program with over 1,000 college student advocates, connecting thousands of families with critical health resources.

What historical context did Dr. Jack Geiger’s email provide regarding Health Leads?

Dr. Geiger, who founded one of the first community health centers in the U.S., shared his experience of prescribing food to patients in the 1960s, a concept that was initially controversial but highlights the long-standing need for a more holistic approach to healthcare.

Why is the electronic medical record system considered crucial in the Health Leads model?

The electronic medical record system is crucial because it helps generate prescriptions for resources like food or housing based on patient needs, shifting the focus from just managing disease to promoting overall health and well-being.

What is the broader vision for healthcare, as expressed by the narrator?

The narrator envisions a healthcare system where the primary focus is on keeping people healthy and preventing disease, rather than just managing illness. This would involve integrating social resources into healthcare practices.

What impact does Health Leads hope to achieve with its model in healthcare settings?

Health Leads aims to transform healthcare from a 'sick-care' system into a proactive health promotion system by integrating basic resource support into clinical practices, ensuring patients receive not just medical treatment but also the social resources they need to maintain health.