HEALTH HOPE OPPORTUNITY
“This is Not Passive Health Care” You might think of a videographer as someone with technical skills. And while that is true, the real genius of a great videographer, like Dave MacKenzie, lies in his ability to tell compelling stories. Dave has worked with Cherry Health Foundation since 2019. He captures the heartfelt passion of our staff and compelling needs of our patients through visual stories. “I am inspired by the work,” Dave says. “When people are using health care services, they are often at a difficult point in their lives. Cherry Health offers hope and results. I see the work of the care teams, and it is so much more than a job to them. There is no insurance reimbursement code for many of the extra steps they take. They do it because they love people.” Dave recognizes and applauds the way Cherry Health supports people from all walks of life. “This is not passive health care,” he asserts. “Cherry Health is in the community, rooting out the people who are in need so they can help. Their outreach is amazing.” Dave hears the stories firsthand, and he chooses to support Cherry Health with his time, treasure, and talent. He helps us share those stories by reducing his service fees,
Innovation is Changing Lives! In the spring of 2022, we introduced you to an innovative service related to ACEs. We are excited to share some results of that innovation in this article, with more to come during our May 9 Prescription: Strength luncheon.
What Are ACEs? Dave MacKenzie of Stonecrest Productions helps us share our patient stories.
and he also makes financial gifts to Cherry Health. “I want these stories to spark something in a viewer,” he says. “My reward comes when someone reaches deeper and gives to support the work.”
What Was Our Innovation?
Thank you, Dave, for all of your gifts to Cherry Health! Your stories help us share our story and engage people in working towards a healthy community with us.
Thanks to donor gifts, we were able to:
Enjoy a sample of Dave’s work here.
SAVE THE DATE!
ACEs refer to Adverse Childhood Experiences. These are things like abuse, neglect or violence that happen before a child’s 18th birthday and cause what is known as toxic stress. The more ACEs children experience, the more likely they are to develop chronic diseases or social/emotional problems as adults.
Plan to attend Cherry Health Celebration on November 8 at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. More information at cherryhealth.org/events.
Engage a representative from the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) of Kent County to train our entire Heart of the City Health Center pediatric department in March 2022. Implement a screening process for children (newborn-18 years) who visit Heart of the City pediatrics. Co-locate someone from the CAC in Heart of the City Health Center to serve children who are identified as victims of sexual abuse. Expand our counseling department to serve children with high ACE scores.
What Was the Result? CHERRY HEALTH FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES 100 Cherry Street SE Grand Rapids MI 49503 Anna Goddard, CFRM Foundation Director 616.965.8217 Kat MacDonald Donor Relations & Events Manager 616.965.8267 Kathy Lipnicki Annual Giving Manager 616.965.8254 Angie Brown Foundation Coordinator 616.965.8254
SPRING 2023
Patti Griswold – Chair Elizabeth Joy Fossel – Vice Chair Ann Liefer – Treasurer Jessica Payne – Secretary India Manns – Immediate Past Chair
Jonathan Anderson Wayne Bersano Jordoun Eatman Shelley Irwin Jessie Jones Lisa M. Lowery, MD
Peaches McCahill Alexis Reame Joanne Roehm Elizabeth Triezenberg Carroll Velie
To opt out of future communications, please email foundation@cherryhealth.com or call 616.965.8254.
Our goal was to screen 200 kids in the first year. Since July of 2022, we have screened more than 700 children! Danny Rodriguez, Registered Nurse and Pediatrics Site Manager, explains why this matters. “ACEs and toxic stress are associated with a wide range of health conditions that can alter life expectancy. A lot of this is biologically embedded because it takes place at a very early stage in life. It can have a negative impact if there is no intervention.” Some of those impacts include depression, anxiety, obesity, substance abuse, high-risk behaviors and more.
By screening for ACEs and offering early behavioral health intervention, we are helping to prevent extremely costly, sometimes lifelong, medical conditions. We are also literally helping to extend life. Research has shown that a high ACE score can decrease life expectancy by up to 20 years.
“Use of this screening tool is not universal. Many private practices aren’t using it. But it can change someone’s life. And that’s what we’re trying to do … promote a healthy person moving forward.” — Danny Rodriguez
Learn more about ACEs, and the way our understanding of them can revolutionize our approach to human health, through this short TED Talk video.