Website     Clients     About     Physicians     FAQs     Contact

small_pumpkins.jpg  

Dear Spartanburg Community,   

   

As we welcome fall, we want to celebrate the wonderful work that our staff has been doing throughout Spartanburg. In this newsletter, we have included a blog post from the Spartanburg Regional Foundation that highlights the impact that AccessHealth Spartanburg has had on both an individual and community level. In addition to the work being done at AccessHealth Spartanburg, there are other innovative projects occurring throughout Spartanburg that deserve praise. One of those being Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light, which is highlighted later in our newsletter. 

  

As always, thank you for all your support of AccessHealth Spartanburg and our community. If you have any feedback, comments, or suggestions, please send them to IKarnabi@srhs.com

What Our Clients Are Saying About AccessHealth Spartanburg 
"Access Health has truly filled in the gaps for me in the way of healthcare and mental healthcare during a time of need. I am unemployed, uninsured, and not eligible for Medicaid. Without AccessHealth I would not even have had basic care, much less the quality and coordination of care they have provided. I am grateful to all who support this endeavor, including Access Health employees, volunteers, and donors." - M.P.

"Everyone had a very nice comment and were very helpful and explained in detail what the program was all about and suggestions about other agencies that can help." - A.R.
Access to Compassion: A Spartanburg Regional Foundation Blog Post 
AccessHealth Spartanburg was previously featured in a post on the Spartanburg Regional Foundation Blog. The piece was written and photographed by Baker Maultsby of the Spartanburg Regional Foundation and tells the story of a client and how he was impacted by AccessHealth. Please enjoy the story below:

Curtis Brucia suffered a heart attack in early 2015. While in recovery, he lost his job in retail. He was 43 years old and in a desperate situation. With no job and no insurance, he was unable to buy the medicine he needed to stay healthy.

AccessHealth Spartanburg changed his life. "I probably would have moved back to Texas, where my family is. I really don't know," he said. Instead, he has the medicine he needs. He's going for routine checkups with a cardiologist. And he's now back at work. "They have just been a huge help to me," he said.

Brucia is on of several thousand uninsured patients served by AccessHealth since its inception in 2010. Spartanburg Regional Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for AccessHealth. The foundation also awarded grants to the organization and provided support through the annual employee fundraising campaign.

AccessHealth benefits not only individual patients, but the whole community. Too often, when uninsured patients are sick - even with relatively minor illnesses - they head to the emergency room to receive care. This is the least effective and most expensive solution. By connecting uninsured patients to a primary medical home, AccessHealth significantly reduces costs for the healthcare system while improving health outcomes.

In Spartanburg County, about 39,000 residents go without health insurance. Some are unemployed, while others work in jobs that don't provide healthcare benefits. AccessHealth partners with multiple agencies in the community to fill the void, including ReGenesis Healthcare, St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic and the Spartanburg Area Mental Health Center. "We work to provide holistic care," case manager Summer Tebalt said.

So, while connecting patients with a primary care physician is central to the mission of AccessHealth, Tebalt and other staff members address a wide range of needs. For example, if a patient lacks reliable transportation, then it might be impossible to keep an appointment with a doctor. Case managers work with patients to find a solution. Some AccessHealth clients are homeless, and case managers partner with local organizations to help secure housing. While Brucia was out of work, Tebalt helped him apply for food stamps. "We overcome barriers to health care and connect our clients with resources in the community," Tebalt said.

In addition to meeting medical and material needs, AccessHealth provides an emotional connection for many of its clients. "They treat me like family," Brucia said. "I love Summer like you have no idea."

The organization has unlocked a powerful formula - addressing patients' specific healthcare needs, removing barriers to access, and showing patients respect and compassion, according to AccessHealth Director Carey Rothschild. "I know, and I think our staff knows, that we're making a difference," Rothschild told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "We read on cards that people leave in the suggestion box and the most common one is, 'You saved my life,' and 'You treated me with dignity and kindness,' and we know that they don't receive the same service everywhere that we strive to provide here."

To view the original post, visit: Spartanburg Regional Foundation Blog. Please take time to explore their website and learn about the other wonderful causes that the Spartanburg Regional Foundation supports!
Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light
October 4th was a special day within the Spartanburg community. It was the culmination of many months of hard work for members of the Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light project. The project started with a million dollar grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of their Public Art Challenge, a program that uses temporary art installations as a way to encourage collaboration, creativity, urban identity, and economic activity. The work in Spartanburg was made possible by the "partnership [between] the City of Spartanburg Police and Community Relations Department, internationally renowned light and digital media artist Erwin Redl, the Chapman Cultural Center, and neighborhood associations."

The nine installations in Spartanburg debuted on National Night Out- "an annual event that promotes crime prevention efforts, police-community partnership, and neighborhood camaraderie." The different installations included five mobile suspension curtains made up of multi-colored squares in front of the Denny's building, the lighting of the Beaumont Village- Spartan Mills smokestack, a video village featuring local work, and local poetry being presented on the Cottonwood Trail.

For more information about the Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light Project, visit the Seeing Spartanburg Website or watch Part One of their documentary here. Photo Credit: The City of Spartanburg.
Celebrate Health During the Month of October

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Additionally, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Breast cancer also affects men, although it is more rare. In order to allow for prevention and early detection, women should maintain a healthy weight, stay physically active, eat fruits and vegetables, avoid smoking, limit alcohol consumption, perform a breast self exam at least once a month, and get mammograms regularly as advised by a medical professional. For more information, visit the  National Breast Cancer Foundation.  
  dog_in_fall_forest.jpg
October is also National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. According to the Center for Disease Control, owning a pet can decrease blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, lower triglyceride levels, and decrease feelings of loneliness. Pets can also increase opportunities for exercise and outdoor activity and increase opportunities for socialization. If you are interested in adopting a dog, visit the Spartanburg Humane Society. Their adoption hours are Monday through Saturday from 12 pm to 6 pm. For more information on the benefits of pets, visit CDC Pet Ownership.

October 6th-12th is National Physician Assistant Week. National Physician Assistant Day was first celebrated in 1987. It was a dual celebration in honor of the 20th anniversary of the graduation of the first class of physician assistants from Duke University and in honor of the birthday of the profession's founder Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD. America now has more than 108,500 certified physician assistants working across the country. AccessHealth Spartanburg has a number of physicians assistants that volunteer to provide care to our clients and we are incredibly grateful for their service! Please visit The American Association of PAs for more information.
Donations

Our clients are in need of following items. Please consider an in kind donation that will be used to assist our clients on the road to good health. 

 
Deodorant (Men's and Women's)
Soap & Shampoo
Body Wash
Dental Floss
Razors

Hats & Gloves  

 

Please note that all toiletry items must be unopened and unused in order to be accepted as donations. If you have any questions regarding donations, please contact IKarnabi@srhs.com.

 

Community Shout Outs

October 20th the Spartanburg Art Walk. Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour of art galleries in downtown Spartanburg from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Art Walks often include receptions, ArtTalks, and refreshments. For more information and to see participating locations, visit Spartanburg ArtWalk.  

 

October 22nd is the Woodruff Oktoberfest Festival and 5k Color Walk/Run from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Occurring in McKinney Park, the event will consist of a Color Run 5k, a costume contest, live music, German food and drinks, dancing, a basketball shootout fundraiser, and a Christmas market. For more information or to register for the 5k, visit Woodruff Oktoberfest.  

 

October 24th is a presentation of the Happiness Diet by Dr. Ann Kulze. The talk teaches about how to "use food to boost happiness, beat stress, and unleash your brain's remarkable power." Refreshments start at 5:00 pm and the program runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. The location of the talk is the Chapman Cultural Center (200 E. St. John Street). Please RSVP to Iriley@maryblackfoundation.org. For more information, visit The Happiness Diet.  

 

If you have any community shout outs that you would like us to share in our November newsletter, please email IKarnabi@srhs.com.
If you would like to support 
and contribute to 
AccessHealth's mission click  HERE!

In Good Health, 

AccessHealth Spartanburg
 
Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.