From my previous post, http://potluckearth.blogspot.com/2012/11/family-healthcare-center.html, Family HealthCare, Fargo North Dakota, provides needed primary care and dental
services for Medicare, Medicaid, and uninsured patients... basically, anyone in
need. Also, the clinic offers medical
support for the Lutheran Social Services’ (LSS) New Americans program.
Patricia Patron is the CEO of
Family HealthCare. Her vision is that “Family
HealthCare will be recognized as a valued, quality primary care provider in our
community by caring for anyone in need.” Family HealthCare and LSS share no business structure. However, they do share a passion to serve the
people. Both organizations have around
its core the need to understand the person’s journey along with their need. In fact, knowing the journey can be a vital
part of helping better understand and serve a patient’s need.
This is especially so with the New
Americans Program. Refugees spend years
in United Nations refugee camps. These
refugees have fled areas mired in decades of conflict. In the transition to a new country, even
knowing what to eat can be a challenge. Family HealthCare is a key part to getting 100% of 450
refugees per year in the Fargo area self-sufficient within 8 months.
Patricia Patron’s journey to
the CEO position just happens to be relevant to this type of transition. She
was born in Bogota, Colombia. Colombia is not involved in what some would call a civil war. Such a classification may be a matter for academic
perspectives only. As a minimum, there
has been a long series of battles and civil conflicts between “Liberal” and
“Conservative” forces. The 20th
and 21st century version - capitalism, socialism, communism, democracy,
Marxist, right-wing, leftist - forces aligned with opposing Cold War powers
fought proxy wars through guerilla warfare in the Colombian countryside and
cities. These connections brought military
power and influence that lasted beyond the official end of the Cold War.
Patricia stated, her English
emphasizing the P’s, T’s, and D’s nicely, “I grew up in Bogota. My neighborhood is called Cedritos. I rode my bike and
roller skates there. The food and music
were great. My favorites were buñuelos (made
with Cheese, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients then fried), arepas (a
flatbread made with ground corn), pan de yucca (baked with yucca and cheese), and
pan de queso (baked with flour eggs, milk, and cheese). Music was also important for me: Grupo Niche, later Enanitos Verdes, Miguel Mateos, Trova
Cubana. I listened to them.
“When I was growing up my dad
worked for an Italian company that had pasta and cornmeal operations. My dad was the accountant for their
operations. My mother was a stay at home mom until I was 15. Then she created a partnership with one of
her sisters. She sold paint out of a
store for automobiles and furniture.”
Patricia went on to say that after her father retired, he opened his own
business. He became a commercial
distributor for the same company for which he had worked. She worked with him in bookkeeping, business,
and marketing. It is now the family
business in which her siblings are deeply involved. All of this was accomplished despite the
violence and political instability that erupted around them.
Buffeted in this upheaval were
families attempting to hold together the traditions of their heritage, lives, or
simply send children to school. Her
parents continued to provide an environment of care and safety as best they
could. For example, the quinceañera is
an important tradition for Latino cultures in the Americas. The quinceañera is a celebration when a girl
turns 15. The event is similar to other
cultural festivals signifying the transition of a girl into womanhood. Patricia turned 15 in 1986, right in the
midst of serious political unrest and law enforcement initiatives.
In 1980 one of the largest
guerilla groups in Colombia took ambassadors hostage that represented countries
in North American, Europe, South American, and the Middle East. The embassy stood 3-5 kilometers from
Creditos, Patricia’s neighborhood.
In 1985 the same group took
Colombian Supreme Court officials hostage.
Again, near the same location as the earlier siege.
Her family encountered personal
loses as well. “I had an uncle, my
mother’s, sister’s husband, kidnapped and killed in the early 1990s.”
Spanning all this, from the 1980s
to early 1990s, a particular conflict stirred the pot that partially revealed
the clandestine nature of the previously mentioned Cold War alliances. The conflict boiled from the countryside into
Bogota as well as other cities.
The drug cartels unleashed terror
to battle against the 3 forces aligned to end them: L0s Pepes guerilla forces, the
Colombian government, and elements of agencies from the United States. Terms like Search Block
and Centre Spike served as codenames to
describe the efforts to take down one drug kingpin.
“Bombings, kidnappings, and
murder into Bogota – These were the days before cellphones and Tweets,”
remarked Patricia. “You leave home at
the beginning of the day and you do not know what is going to happen? But, you continue to try and live your life
with some sort of normalcy. A
half-a-mile from the school you hear that a bomb exploded. All this was very... very… difficult for our family.”
Patricia graduated school and studied
Business Administration at a Catholic university in Bogota. There she became engaged, got married, and
finished her degree. At this point in
her life, it came to a decision of leaving Bogota because of opportunities
outside of Colombia. Despite all the
violence that was going on, “It was still very scary to be away from family and
that strong support system.”
She and her husband settled in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a while. She
learned English. From Philadelphia she
moved to Richmond, VA, then to Springfield, Massachusetts, and finally settled
in Fargo, North Dakota. January 2000 was
her first visit to Fargo. Patricia
remembers thinking, Is it safe to breathe air
this cold? She has been there
for 13 years.
Her transition from Colombia, a
deep appreciation for tradition and family, maintaining a clear vision and
ideals through adversity goes well with shaping a positive future for Family
HealthCare. “Family HealthCare is
committed to being a medical home for patients regardless of their insurance
status.” The clinic’s values are:
·
We will assure that
every patient has access to the highest quality care.
·
We will genuinely
care for the comfort and well-being of our patients by treating them with
courtesy, dignity, and respect.
·
We will be
comprehensive in our response to the needs of our patients.
·
We will be partners
with our patients in their healthcare.
·
We will be innovative
in our approach to care.
·
We will continually
evaluate and improve performance.
One patient testimonial states,
“Exceptional! Family HealthCare’s Employees and Staff are extraordinary people.
While providing services daily, they also shoulder an extra burden with their
patients, the added stress due to financial hardship. Time and time again,
Family HealthCare’s employees and staff have stepped forward advocating for
services desperately needed for their patients.”
To find out more on the Family
HealthCare Clinic, click of this link, http://www.famhealthcare.org/index.html
. To
donate click here, http://www.famhealthcare.org/support/donationsb.html
