Voices Of The Healers
Mishawn English helps one of the over 114 patients that came through her area at the expo. PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS // PRINCE GEORGE’S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA
Health Care Workers At First Baptist Church Of Glenarden Expo Bridge Relationships With Community — And Each Other
Story And Photos By Raoul Dennis // @suitemagazine
Like many in health care work, it’s clear that Mishawn English is comfortable in a discordant environment. In the center of a room with a keenly disproportionate ratio between patients and health care professionals at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden 26th Annual Health Expo Aug. 24, she zig zags between people, handling each of their concerns and directing them to the next health station.
Click here to see photos of the event.
“The patient checks in and can get their blood pressure, cholesterol and body-mass index (BMI) checked along with smoking cessation counseling,” says English. She is a Medical Practice Office Manager at the University of Maryland Capital Regional Health Center. “We have physicians here that will give them the results of their screenings on the spot. We have done over 114 screenings in this [area] today.”
The University of Maryland Capital Regional Health Center (UM) occupied no less than three rooms on the second floor of the expo giving the new hospital a sizeable presence.
Charlotte Jackson of the lab division in pathology.
“We have mental health next door among others and this is indicative of the kind of impact that we hope to make on the county community,” English says.
Her colleagues at the site included people like Charlotte Jackson, a lab division specialist in pathology and Andrea “Micky” Fink a veteran nurse and Laurel resident.
“I have been with dimensions since 1982,” Fink says. “I think it’s good and will be more accessible to people because of the metro and the extension of services for future patients is going to be great,” she says of the expansion of health services through the launching of UM.
UM currently has offices open in Suitland, Cheverly (Prince George’s Hospital Center), Bowie and Laurel.
James Drake and Tamara O’Rourke are a husband-wife team at Sante. PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS // PRINCE GEORGE’S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA
Andrea “Micky” Fink, says the expo was a great opportunity for the hospital to connect with community residents. as she shares BMI results with guest Alita Gaskill. PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS // PRINCE GEORGE’S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA
Like many of her colleagues, English arrived at the expo by 8 a.m. that morning and the eight hours they put in nearly without a break was a light day by most standards.
The expo was the perfect bridge introducing the community health institutions and for members of the health community to learn more about the nature and culture of the county they serve. For members of the University Of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center, the county’s newest health center, that connection was very important.
“It also connects the providers so that we know more about each other and how to interact with each other in our work,” says James Drake, deputy director of The Sante Group in Prince George’s, a mental health crisis response and intervention center.
Although the learning curve is just as important as with larger health institutions, the pace is a bit different for care providers at The Sante Group. It provides crisis response for the county 24 hours per day, seven days per week on a voluntary basis.
“If you know someone who’s feeling depressed, sad, anxious, anxiety, having a mental breakdown or suicidal, we are the number to have nearby,” says Drake. “We can help over the phone or dispatch to where you are or come to you with paramedics, law enforcement, fire department and give you the support you need – and follow-up – so that you can take care of your loved ones.”
Drake, who became deputy director last year, says that he’s excited about the work. “I get to think through how to solve problems for everyday people. It’s intricate and involved. But the most important thing is the follow-up, the response after the crisis,” he says.
“This expo is wonderful and this church has done a wonderful job of reaching out to the community. I can’t think of a better value for a community that to offer something like this on a periodic basis,” he said.
