I interviewed a volunteer receptionist/clinical aid named Erik at the Sister Maura Brannick Health Center of the Saint Joseph Health System:
Name: Erik
Age: 24
Occupation: Volunteer/ Dooley Intern (Works as a receptionist and clinical aid) at the Sister Maura Brannick Health Center of the Saint Joseph Health System
Summary of Interview:
The Sister Maura Brannick Health Center provides services to those who are uninsured. Most patients are undocumented and Hispanic. While the center does occasionally give out bus passes, most of the center’s patients walk as they live close to the center. A lot of patients come to their appointments with family and friends.
Key Insights and Quotes:
The Sister Maura Brannick Health Center has recognized the issue of patient transportation within the Saint Joseph Health System and has worked with the University of Notre Dame to assign students to conduct a research investigation in order gain metrics on patient transportation need and supply. Because most of the center’s patients walk to their appointments, patient transportation is hugely dependent on the weather conditions with much lower attendance during the winter season.
The center is open late on Tuesday evenings to accommodate those patients who work during the day. The volume of patients is extremely high during this time.
Due to the center’s Hispanic population, the health center and transportation services in the area could benefit from having workers who know how to speak Spanish.
“Some inefficiencies arise when there is a language barrier between the patients and the center’s workers.”
“Attendance for appointments is much higher during the summer when the weather is nicer.”
“If a patient misses an appointment, there rarely is a follow up call to assess the reason(s) why the appointment was missed. We are looking into implementing follow-up calls in the coming months.”