A New Year Full of Opportunity
Winter 2022 (Oct - Dec '21)
In December 2021, our friends at Common Ground Health completed a comprehensive Needs Assessment of the Rochester community. Their findings demonstrate the continued prevalence of the social determinants of health (economic, nutrition, housing, and education barriers) in the life of our health center’s population.
Take a closer look at how each of those impact our service area:
36% of our target population
attempts to live on an
insufficient income.
Poverty can pose a significant concern for the health status of individuals as a result of an inability to meet basic family needs, establish healthy eating habits, provide safe and sufficient housing, in addition to limiting healthcare access due to lack of insurance and/or transportation barriers. The closer one moves to the center of Monroe County, the greater the prevalence and depth of poverty.
Food-insecurity, defined as not having the money or ability to readily access food, impacts 1 in 4 Rochester residents.
Leading barriers to healthy eating were reported as cost of healthy foods (40%), amount of time needed to shop and prepare healthy foods (21%), not knowing how to cook and prepare healthy meals that taste good (11%), and transportation limitations (8%).
2021 was the deadliest on record for the City of Rochester. The Rochester Police Department reported 81 murders throughout the course of the year.
Nearly 1 in 10 city residents indicated they didn’t have a safe place nearby to get exercise. Real or perceived fears of crime where our patients live, work, worship and play causes neighbors to stay indoors and be more sedentary. This social isolation further exacerbates physical and mental health concerns.
1 in 5 residents of Rochester
have not completed high school
or received a GED.
This is significantly below the county-wide rate of 90%. Consequently, residents in our target population are at a risk for decreased life and job mobility, insufficient health literacy and are subsequently expected to live a decade less than those in the surrounding suburban neighborhoods of Monroe County.
The authors of How Neighborhoods Make Us Sick state,
“a person’s zip code matters more than their genetic code in
determining whether they live or die.”
The reality of these statistics supports the necessity and responsibility of His Branches to continue efforts to meet our community’s needs through medical care and community development with your support. In February we’ll share just how your support helped us address these concerns in 2021, as well as plans for furthering these efforts in 2022, by sending our Annual Report to your inbox.
490 Farmers donated 10 fresh cut Christmas trees to us on behalf of our patients which we were able to distribute to families in our practice who otherwise wouldn't have had the ability to celebrate Christmas in this way!
Thanks for your generosity, 490 Farmers!
In order to meet increasing demands, in the fall we welcomed an additional Behavioral Health team member, Annette Maldonado M.S.W. She comes to us from Ibero American Action League where she was a bilingual care manager. She recently graduated from Roberts Wesleyan College with a Masters of Social Work. Since adding Annette to our team, we've been able to increase accessibility to the Spanish speaking/Latino population and add walk-in hours for counseling.
Annette is "most excited to have a part in affecting the life of another human being, giving hope when people feel hopeless, all while gaining experience and working alongside altruistic people."
We are accepting new patients of all ages and have NEW Behavioral Health walk-in hours at our Beechwood location (Tuesdays 10a-12p and Wednesdays 2p-4p).
One early Christ-follower, James, wrote, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16)," so we recognize the power of prayer from our supporters and would love to share some prayer requests with you as we begin the new year. Here are some specific ways you can be praying for us into 2022:
1. Staff: The impact of the pandemic has brought additional challenges to our staff. Pray for them to have wisdom, patience, and grace as they work hard to provide quality and compassionate care for our patients' needs, while also caring for themselves and their families outside of work, amidst these exceptionally demanding and exhausting times.
2. Patients: Visiting healthcare providers can be stressful under normal circumstances, but many are experiencing greater health needs than ever right now. Pray for us to create a safe environment where our patients can receive love and dignity while addressing the issues they bring to us from the moment they step in the door.
3. Community: We want to be a light in the community as we continue to partner and connect with neighbors and organizations for the good of the people around us. Pray that we continue to build positive mutual relationships with others who have a common mission so that we can increase our impact in the neighborhoods in which we serve.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain
in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit..." -John 15:5a