Honoring Kimberly Wade, COPD/Smoking Cessation Coordinator at Advocate Trinity Hospital

This post is written by Apiffani Binion.

Apiffani serves as a Community Care Partner and Community Health Worker at Advocate Trinity Hospital.

Initially, when I started as a Chicago Health Corps member serving at Advocate Trinity Hospital I was a bit apprehensive.  This is my second AmeriCorps term, and I was experiencing a shift in service model.  I was accustomed to being on a team of 10 people, working with children, and literacy education.  Although I do have a passion for community health, taking on the role of sole member at my service site felt a bit like a tight rope act.

Fast forward to my second week serving at my host site, Advocate Trinity Hospital, after all of the vaccinations and health screening I was able to begin my role as a Community Health worker. I was assigned to shadow Kimberly Wade.   Ms. Wade is a Certified Respiratory Care Practitioner who has taken on the role of COPD /Smoking Cessation Coordinator and Community Health Worker.  She is one of those people who, upon approach, give you the feeling that you have known her for a good while. She is always smiling, easy to talk to, and makes a connection with everyone she meets.  It is no wonder that aside from giving patients their regular breathing treatments; Ms. Wade has taken on the role of community health worker.

Her objective is to target patients with chronic breathing issues, especially asthma and COPD.  She enrolls them in Project H.E.A.L.T.H. (Healing Effectively After Leaving the Hospital).  Once they are released Kimberly will call them weekly for 4+ weeks.  She makes sure that they understand their medicines and are connected to support groups such as the Better Breathers Club. Her work does not end in the Hospital.  As a community health worker Ms. Wade makes home visits and does assessments of the living environment in order to identify patient health triggers.  A Respiratory community health worker has a unique position because they help to bridge the gap between the patients and the hospital community.  Additionally, they bridge a gap between the patients and the community where they live.

When asked why she has a passion for her work Kim states,'By establishing relationships with patients and educating them about their health we empower them.  They now have the capability of taking the lead in their own health and the potential to become leaders in the health of their communities."  Ms. Wade has had Asthma since age three, and she often runs across patients who have had Asthma even longer and don't really know what is or what causes it.  She offers a listening ear that medical doctors may not always have time to give, and then she guides them in ways that help them to take charge of their diagnosis.

Although, Kimberly and I have two different target groups, she has really helped to decrease any uncertainty I had about being a Community Health worker.  Being the only CHC member at my host site, I do not have a group of my enthusiastic fellow CHC members on my site daily.  However, I do have a team of colleagues, like Kim, and the patients themselves inspiring and enabling me to make a difference in the health of the Chicago community.