Discovering Camden with the Care Management Team
While we walked through the neighborhood, I noticed that many of the houses were boarded up. Some houses were covered with graffiti and the streets were littered with garbage and pieces of glass. I was nervous and uncomfortable—I thought to myself how my brief AmeriCorps training had not prepared me for this kind of work—and began scanning up and down the streets, which was in stark contrast to the confident and casual nature of the Coalitions Care Management Team (CMT). As we made our way into our patient’s house the CMT’s nurse introduced me then proceeded to measure the patient’s blood glucose levels. My nerves forced me to the side as I observed the CMT go into action. It was unlike any medical visit I had ever seen. As the nurse interacted with the patient the rest of the team began to engage the family as not only caregivers but friends. I saw the comfortableness with which the team interacted with the patients and vice versa and became determined to emulate that on my next visit out in the field.
Despite having grown up only 10 minutes outside of Camden the only thing I knew about it was its moniker as: “the most dangerous place in America”. Sadly, I’ve come to realize this is the norm outside of Camden. During high school I did not imagine Camden as a place I wanted to be and when my tennis coach told me that we would be playing an away match against Camden High School, I contemplated skipping the match. Unlike my color coordinated team, the Camden players decided to represent their favorite NBA or NFL player. After a few minutes, it became obvious that my opponent had very little exposure to tennis. He had trouble hitting the ball and was unfamiliar with the rules. He eventually told me that at his school, tennis was a punishment for bad behavior, and that he had the option of tennis or detention. Instead of playing a match, I decided that it would be more productive to teach him how to play. I spent a few hours going over the rules and teaching him the proper way to hit ground strokes and serves. It was the most memorable match of my high school career.
My journey to Camden did not end with that match. After graduating from Boston College in 2010, I proceeded to attend a post-bacc at Drexel University. Upon completion of the program, I searched for places to contribute my time as I applied to medical schools. As I began reading about the organization and their many initiatives, I became fascinated by all that they had accomplished in such a short amount of time. With the cost of healthcare becoming a national problem, I wanted to become a part of an organization that had a great vision of lowering health care costs and encouraged by the memory of that tennis match I was eager to join.
Throughout the year, I will be serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer, working with the Care Management Team as well as the New Jersey Medical Access program. Since that first day with the CMT I have been making house visits throughout Camden with one or two other health coaches. The patients that I see regularly have become a part of my life and have highlighted for me the importance of a collaborative and relationship based healthcare model. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to discuss health goals with patients while simultaneously learning about their lives and experiences. Serving in the city has allowed me to become more aware of the tremendous amount of unnecessary pain and brokenness that exists here. While it may be easy to view Camden as a hopeless city, I am very happy to have met individuals that are willing to dedicate their lives to solve the problems and improve the situation of people and potentially the healthcare system as a whole. I feel my first month is just a precursor of all the things to learn and experience here and I am looking forward to my year with excitement.
Click here to read John’s Bio.
