Going Upstream - Health Leads

Happy (belated) New Year to everyone. I trust you are, like me, getting back into the flow of our normal lives after the end-of-the-year hiatus. 

Last month I talked about “going upstream” and the need for upstreamists in order to have any effect on the course of healthcare in this country. Over the next few months I’d like to profile some of the upstreamists doing important work that I think will change healthcare for the better.

The first organization I’d like to profile is Health Leads. Since their founding in 1996, Health Leads “has evolved form a small student-driven campus organization to a fully staffed 10 million dollar organization with programs in 15 hospitals and clinics.”

Rebecca Onie, co-founder and now CEO, began the organization with the belief that a different kind of healthcare system is possible and that the healthcare system is in crisis. The goal was to do something about the fact that poverty has a negative impact on health outcomes.

From the Health Leads website:
“Health Leads Advocates …. Work side by side with patients to navigate the complexity of the resource landscape……… The Advocates follow up with patients regularly by phone, email, or during clinic visits.”

Watch this compelling talk by Rebecca Onie to get a feel for what this organization does.

As always, I would love to hear what you think!
Best of Health,
Sima Kahn, MD
Founder, Healthcare Advocacy Partners