Health Center Six: Partying Our Way to Better Health Outcomes

Health Center Six likes to party. From birthday parties to bridal showers to retirement parties, we love to celebrate and have a good time. Every party has a pretty standard formula – cake, decorations, snacks, cards, singing, and finally, speeches. After attending a few parties, I noticed that every speaker would talk at length about how Health Center Six is a home to them, and how the staff here is family. Initially I thought this was just sentiment, but as my service term has progressed I’ve come to understand not only how true this is, but how important it is for maintaining a happy, productive, and collaborative work environment.

Our center is one of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s (PDPH) community health centers, which exist to serve the uninsured and underserved populations of Philadelphia. An uninsured patient can come to any PDPH health center and receive primary care, specialist referrals, medication, vaccinations, basic dental care, nutritional counseling, social services, and insurance assistance under one roof, at little to no cost. In addition to these services, Health Center Six has the highest number of Spanish speaking staff of any PDPH health center and is also the only health center in eastern Philadelphia. These factors makes us one of PDPH’s largest health centers, serving over 1,000 patients every week. The sheer volume of patients can be exhausting, especially when it requires coordinating between many different departments and services. Studies have shown that in health care organizations, burnout and job related stress can result in absenteeism and high turnover, which ultimately results in poorer patient outcomes (Jennings 2008). These same studies show, however, that creating a healthy working environment can drastically improve the productivity and retention of health care professionals. Better relationships lead to increased communication and collaboration, as well as job satisfaction and morale.

As an Insurance Specialist at Health Center Six, I have experienced first-hand how much of a difference a supportive work environment can make. This past year was the first time that an Insurance Specialist was placed at Health Center Six, so when I first arrived hardly anyone knew who I was or what I did. As a recent graduate, I wasn’t entirely sure where I fit in as a young professional in the workplace. This was even more challenging because my office is located in a far corner of the health center. As an Insurance Specialist, I was trained to help people apply for Medicaid and Marketplace health insurance, but both of these systems have changed drastically in the past year so I had no idea what to expect. What ultimately helped ease my transition and initial anxieties, however, was how friendly the staff was. People genuinely wanted to get to know me and help me figure out my niche, so it wasn’t long before I felt comfortable in my role at the health center. As I integrated into the health center community, I realized that one of the reasons the staff is so great is because people genuinely like to be around each other. Health Center Six values celebration and relationships, and as a result it has an environment where people support and care for each other.

A week ago over lunch, our security guard Marty was telling me about how the health center throws a huge cookout for the entire staff every summer. It’s probably going to be the last party that I attend at the health center before the end of the service term, so if I get the chance I am definitely going to make a little speech about how grateful I am to have found a home and family at Health Center Six.

This post was written by PHC member Ankita Khandai.
Ankita serves at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health - Health Center #6 as an Insurance Specialist.