Dear Friend,
We want to express our heartfelt appreciation for your unwavering support of AMM. Your generosity and commitment to community have allowed us to provide care to the most vulnerable populations in Wake County. It has been a challenging year, particularly when taking care of a population of patients like ours that has chronic disease on top of many other types of issues in their lives that do not lend themselves to good health.
I have included an email that AMM physician Dr. Netra Thakur sent to me earlier this year that describes the teamwork at AMM. It captures the very essence of what we do here, including both the difficulty of care for AMM patients, but also positive outcomes that can happen in this environment (including how we help people who are victims of unscrupulous people who are randomly signing people up for insurance and collecting a fee – another story, but a big problem in NC!)
Hi Pete,
I know you are aware of how fabulous our AMM team is, but I wanted to give you an example of some amazing teamwork that happened today.
Today I saw a 64-year-old patient who has been very challenging to manage. He has severely elevated blood pressure but does not take his meds consistently, likely due to low education levels and perhaps some learning delays. I have been trying to get him on Med Assist, but he was unable to get those benefits due to him being unable to cancel the medical insurance that he was inadvertently signed up for. Celina, AMM's Community Health Worker, had worked with him earlier this year, but the patient was unable to follow through with her recommendations environment (EDITORIAL COMMENT: unscrupulous people are randomly signing people up for insurance and collecting a fee – another story, but a big problem in NC !)
Diana D., a medical assistant, knows this patient very well and, of course, attempted her best at med reconciliation, got his vitals showing extremely elevated blood pressure, and reinforced my discharge plans.
I asked Nick, the social worker, to assist today after another frustrating visit – he and Celina quickly went to meet with him, found out that his son was actually in the parking lot, got the son involved, got the patient a pill box, got him to call the insurance company to cancel, and sent confirmation of cancellation. Then they educated him and his son on the importance of taking his meds and then had him get a home BP monitor. Jenifer M., medical assistant, then got him a BP monitor and educated the patient and his son on how to check his BP and what the normal ranges are. I am hoping that these efforts will make a difference – it certainly was more than what I could have accomplished alone.
I could NOT do all this by myself and still see the other patients that were on my schedule. I would really struggle to give this patient the comprehensive care that he needs by myself. I am so blessed to have this team that cares so much and works hard to get our patients to better health. Sometimes the medical students ask me how I manage certain difficult patient scenarios, and I always tell them that a physician is only as good as their team… In my case, I/we have an awesome team.
Kudos to all, and THANK YOU for the work you do.
Regards, Netra
AMM addresses not just the symptom, but also the whole person. Dr. Thakur's email is a representation of the type of care AMM patients receive. We are thankful to have Dr. Thakur as a part of our team. She is an amazing physician whose compassion and empathy changes lives of AMM patients. AMM is a critical part of the safety net in Wake County. We hope you have a Happy New Year!
Regards
Pete Tannenbaum,
AMM Executive Director
P.S.- I would be remiss if I did not say that we hope you will consider a year-end gift, which will be matched dollar for dollar by the Gilead Foundation!
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AMM is incredibly proud of Ryan, who has been involved with AMM in many capacities. First, he was a volunteer at AMM, then a medical assistant, then went to medical school, and has since come back to AMM for one of his rotations as a 4th-year medical student at Campbell University.
"From medical assistant to medical student, my time with Alliance Medical Ministry has shaped how I will practice as a future Family Medicine physician. I have seen firsthand how an interdisciplinary care team that puts patients first and has a passion for the work they do can change individual and community health for the better. As I look forward to residency, I will strive to meet the high standard of holistic care that Alliance demonstrated at such an early point in my journey to be a physician, addressing the variety of factors that affect my patients’ health and empowering them to be their own advocates."
Student interns and volunteers come to AMM to learn not only about the medical aspects of care, but also about the human side. Students at AMM have gone on to receive degrees in Social Work, Medicine, Public Health, and as Physician Assistants. Recent interns and students are attending medical school at: the UNC School of Medicine, the Brody School of Medicine, John Hopkins School of Medicine, and the University of Michigan.
The experience that these students receive at AMM is critical for developing the skillsets and mindsets of providers. Chronic disease for underserved populations is sadly going to be an issue we must continue to address.
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Cold weather calls for warm drinks, and a cup of fresh herbal tea is a great way to warm up! For a Wellness Wednesday, AMM's gardener, Lauren, set up a hot herbal tea station in the lobby for patients. Patients were able to create their own herbal tea blends with ingredients grown in the AMM Garden.
In the garden AMM grows the following herbs that can be used for tea:
- rosemary
- lavender
- chamomile
- hibiscus
- mint
- lemon balm
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