The end of the year can always bring up a plethora of emotions both good and bad. This time of reflection can be cathartic and motivating when looking back at a period that is so measured. Many people have a mile long list of resolutions, and it is important to reflect on both accomplishments and needed improvements to best asses the steps moving forward. But of course, there has to be a bit of celebration, it's what fuels the motivation!
Here at Wheelhouse Health, we accomplished so much in 2024! Working in public health brings new surprises and changes each day which allow us to learn and grow! 2025 has many exciting projects and opportunities in the works and we hope you will continue to come along on this journey with us. Outlined below are our accomplishments this past year. Make sure to keep up with our blogs and social media page to see what comes next!
We had three major accomplishments to share this year. First is our partnership with DORCAS. Beginning in October 2024, we began working with Dorcas to provide Community Health Worker services for their refugee resettlement clients. Working together to ensure resource coordination, care coordination and health education ensures improved integration into the community, and increased self-sufficiency over time. By collaborating on these services, we are able to support Dorcas in meeting their mission of providing clients with integrated services, at a subsidized rate due to our ability to bill Rhode Island Medicaid for reimbursement.
In March of 2024, we held an incredible health fair where we achieved the following
7 Tuberculosis appointments, with transportation scheduled
6 Medicaid registrations, with another 6 cases pending approval
3 vaccines
13 health screenings (blood pressure, blood sugar)
25 Dental screenings
Job training and English class registrations
One bill (balance: $829.66) eliminated
Finally, we attended the Health Advocate Summit where our founder, Emily Bernstein, was awarded the 2024 Health Advocate of the year. What incredible opportunities we had this past year!
Lets look at some numbers now:
We had a great year helping people reduce medical debt with over $850k in debt eliminated! Below is a detailed record of our monetary impact and how we achieved it:
$2,437Â in medication costs for a recently arrived Afghan Family
$139,042Â in reimbursed out of network expenses for residential facility
$829 in revised billing coding for a 6 year old Haitian girl
$22,933 in approved Financial Assistance applications
We served 121 new refugee clients from multiple counties of origin including
Ukraine
Haiti
Afghanistan
Somalia
Dominican Republic
Syria
We scheduled 66 primary care appointments in Partnership with Comprehensive Community Action Program’s Mobile Medical Clinic
Visits are fully covered by Medicaid, with a sliding scale for uninsured/under-insured patients
Social Determinants of Health screenings and Vaccination Records collected for most patients in advance, in order to maximize face-to-face time during visit
We Scheduled 30 TB test appointments and 10 Dental Visits
This year we completed 32 bus trainings which included the following
Route mapping
Purchasing a bus pass and reloading with credit
Checking transit app for route updates
We served a total of 14 private pay clients in 9 different states and helped with the following, among others:
Return to work Authorizations secured
Full set of dental implants donated by manufacturer
3 Durable Medical Equipment claims approved (glucose monitors, wheelchair, neck brace)
Finally, we have some business updates. This year we have hired four new members to our team; a community health worker team lead and 2 dedicated community health workers along with a project manager.
We have utilized 10 language interpreters to help facilitate communication with our clients.
We have gained 3 community referral partners
New Bridges for Haitian Success
Elmwood Avenue Church of God
Refugee Dream Center
Thank you to anybody who has been there to support us-and even if you're new here and reading this post for the first time-thank you!! Be sure to check out our website and any of our other social medias! For further information regarding our work. please reach out to us at emily@wheelhouse-health.com. To become involved by sharing your story and helping us advocate for healthcare access, please contact us via email at mia@wheelhouse-health.com
May your new year be happy, healthy, and full of joy!
-The Wheelhouse Health Team
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