12 Days of PAP

Posted on: December 21, 2016Florida

It’s the season of giving, and while Florida may be deciding not to participate in the traditional weather associated with this time of year, it feels just like the North Pole around here at the Sulzbacher Center.  This is without question one of the busiest times of the year for the Sulzbacher Center as the need to house as many residents as possible feels more like a calling than a vocation. On the clinical side of things, every patient seems to want to be seen before their holiday plans go into effect, and somehow everyone seems to be out of medication and MUST have a refill before the holidays.  In the misted of this frenzy, I can’t help but feel like Sulzbacher has run into a 12 Days of Christmas situation with:

12 Families to house
11 Patients to see before noon
10 Job classes to put on
9(0) Medications to re-order weekly
8 Pharmaceutical companies to call
7 Phones ringing simultaneously
6 Food stamp cards to order    
5 (hundred thousand) dollars in pending PAP medications
4 Smoking cessation and Diabetes classes
3 Job placements at Burrito Gallery
2 Over-caffeinated NHC FL  Americorps Members
And a partridge in a pear tree

Despite all the chaos, and what can feel like an overwhelming situation at times, I cannot help but smile when I look at that list.  Each line (outside of the pear) represents a very real difference the Sulzbacher Center makes in the lives of the underserved in our community every day.  So, to be even a small part of something so crucial to our community reminds me of how much more rewarding it can be to give than receive this season.


This blog post was written by NHC Florida member Ben Borget.

Ben serves as a Patient Navigator for the I.M. Sulzbacher Center.

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611 E Adams St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
611 E Adams St, Jacksonville, FL 32202