How a Health Center Reaches Thousands by Meeting People Where They Are

[0:16]  Welcome back to another episode here on the Heart and Hustle Podcast. We have Stacy in the building. Stacy, where you where are you virtually coming from?

[0:22]  I am coming from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hello everybody, how are you doing today?

[0:29]  ⁓ Iowa. What what what's good in Iowa? We just talked a little bit about food. What's what's good about what good food? If I go to Iowa, you said you got to go try this.

[0:37]  Yeah. So Iowa's known as the corn state. We get confused a lot of times with Ohio, which is the potato state. So we're known for our corn. ⁓ next week actually is the Iowa State Fair, so that begins. So I would say anybody coming to visit Iowa in the mid late summer should definitely go check out the Iowa State Bear. There's a ton of amazing food there that you can get from. Going over to the egg center and getting a hard-boiled cold egg, which sounds crazy, but it's delicious on a super hot day. ⁓ they also have like sweet corn ice cream and all kinds of like other really yeah, yeah, it's so, so, so good. Yeah, so I mean we've got a variety of everything here. I think people a lot of times think, you know, we're an agricultural state, which we are, but we also have a ton of like fine dining and opportunities here. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City.

[1:27]  What? Love it.

[1:27]  ⁓ there's a small town that's right up here. It's called the Lincoln Wine Bar, and they are known nationally for their pizza. So yeah, I mean anything that you want. We're four hours from everywhere. So we're four hours from the Twin Cities, four hours from Omaha, four hours from St. Louis, four hours from Chicago, a couple hours from Madison. So you can get ⁓ pretty much in a wide berth of some really great cities that also have a lot of really great places to eat. So Midwest all the way, baby. ⁓

[1:51]  Okay. I love it. I love it. You mentioned that hard boiled egg, that's my breakfast every morning, believe it or not. I'm eating three to four

[1:59]  It's so good. I don't know why their eggs are so good, but like when it's a hundred and some degrees with humidity and you have this ice cold egg that you know you can like you dip your salt and pepper, it's a delicious. Like it's the best thing ever. Yeah. So if you come to the state fair you have to have the egg.

[2:13]  That is funny. Yeah. And then I mean, one thing that we do when we go to some restaurants that we enjoy is street corn. I can imagine the street corn. Is it much better?

[2:21]  ⁓ I love that. It's phenomenal. I mean, we have a lot of ⁓ you know, friends and relatives and and neighbors who all come from ⁓ Mexico and, you know, down south and southern country countries and things like that. And just their food is absolutely incredible and and I love that. That's one of the things that I think is so great about Mexico, is all the different regions. So I think, you know, people tend to kind of like with Iowa, ⁓ you're a corn state. Well, yes, but we're a lot more. And it's the same thing with you know, Mexico having their own little territories and the food that comes along with each one of those. So having the people who start their restaurants up here and bring those territories to us so we can taste their country for lack of a better word is phenomenal. But yeah, the elotes amazing. Amazing. Extra lime for me and extra coquita and I'm good. No, I was actually born in Dallas, Texas. ⁓ yeah, born in Dallas, Texas, then moved to Wisconsin and then moved to ⁓

[5:32]  ⁓ yeah. Love it. ⁓ are you born and raised in Iowa?

[7:38]  Montana lived all over in Montana and then ended up in Minnesota and consider Minnesota my home state 'cause we lived there the longest. Came down to Iowa to go to college and then yeah, ended up staying and I've been here ever since. All the rest of my family is not here, so it's just, you know, me and my ⁓ ready made family down here, but yeah.

[10:47]  Okay. I love it. And for those that are watching, we talked about food. They probably hungry right now, whether they're watching. ⁓ let them know what organization you're representing and what is your title that you hold with them.

[11:48]  ⁓ Absolutely. So I am with Eastern Iowa Health Center, located here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and I am the director of development for them.

[12:24]  Okay. And what does that look like on a day to day for you?

[12:28]  ⁓ gosh, like every day is different. But I mean, if I would give you my elevator speech, it's literally that I raise money and I raise awareness for EIHC in the community. So a typical day can be anything from grant writing, which I'm kind of in the middle of right now, to going out into our community and serving on panels and letting people know who we are, what we do, letting them know the services that we offer into our community. A lot of times, you know, we've been here for over 20 years and people will say, ⁓ well, I've Never heard of you guys, and and a lot of times that's because you have really good insurance. The majority of the people that we see at our clinic, seven out of ten of them, are at or below the national poverty level, which is thirty-four thousand five hundred dollars for a family of four. So we really ⁓ work with those in our community who don't have the adequate resources that are needed for themselves or their family to get ⁓ amazing medical care, dental care. ⁓ behavioral health care. We have a wide berth of services that we offer. And all of our clinics and all of our services are open to anyone. So you can have no insurance, you can have private insurance, you can self-pay. our mission statement is exceptional health care for all and we really live that mission every single day. We don't think that you should receive exceptional health care just because you have insurance or because you can afford it. We think that as human beings everybody is entitled to be treated with dignity and compassion and to receive the best care that they can.

[14:14]  I love that. What brings you to this line of work? I mean, you're in this passion, very purpose filled work. You got a smile on your face, like you love what you do. ⁓ well how you get here?

[14:37]  We do. You know, it's kind of been a roundabout way, so I I have to laugh when, you know, even my own kids or you know, kids that I know who are in college, they're like, ⁓ my gosh, like I don't know what I want to do with my life And I'm like, You don't have to know. I mean, y if you just have a general basis as to things that you're passionate about, a lot of those things will kinda fall into place. I've done a ton of things. I've been everything from a newspaper ⁓ reporter to a TV reporter to a speech coach here in high school working with the high school one of the high schools that we have here. I have taught voice and piano for years. I've worked at Big Brothers, Big Sisters as a case manager there. I was a youth pastor for quite a while as well. And then my latest kind of little fun side hustle is I do voiceover work and like some commercial things and everything. But really, my passion has always been to serve the community and to serve the people in it and to kind of find that need, see that need, and then figure out how I can help to fill that need. So working here at EIHC has just kind of been that latest step in that process. ⁓ and really everything that I've done in the past has all, in one way or another, kind of flowed into development and into working with people and raising funds for them and raising awareness because You know, so much of it is focused on that relationship building, ⁓ and that day to day getting to know people and letting them know what's out there in their community.

[17:39]  You just told me you're a unicorn. I mean, you just do a little everything. I love it. ⁓ and how long you been with this organization now?

[18:19]  So funny for that. Yeah. So I but going over that in my head, I'm like, okay, so I started in it's like, was it 2022? So 2022, I think, yeah. So I'm either going on three or four years. I think it might be four years. ⁓ but it really, it really has flown. And I can honestly say that for me, out of all the places that I've ever worked, this really has been my favorite one. you know, we have a campus ⁓ for all of our services and I'm over in the administration building and The people that I work with on a daily basis, they just make work not seem like work. Like everybody is really, you know, in tune with what our mission is. Everybody is always willing to stop what they're doing and and help you. Everybody's just really passionate about what it is that they do. And I worked like I know a lot of people have for organizations that have their mission statements and it's really just a statement. But here for us it really is living that mission. And every person that that I work with that I'm lucky enough to work with really has compassion and really has a drive to make our community and the people in our community better and healthier. So it's it's a real treat to come to work every day. I I honestly don't even consider it a job and and I when I'm on vacation I'm checking my emails all the time just because I I miss what I do and I miss my people. So ⁓

[18:24]  That is so cool. And I also think it's cool that you have a background in arts. I am an arts kid myself. So I'm laughing when you're saying the voiceover, because I swear I do this with my daughter all the time. One day and she does it back to me, which is so good that she does voices back to me. But you're talking about voiceover, you're talking about on air, you're talking about behind the scenes still telling stories. How important has the arts? It looks like maybe you kind of grew up in it. How important has the arts have been for you to kind of

[20:34]  Yeah. Liberal arts. Yeah, liberal arts. Yes, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

[20:52]  navigate this journey and and being so many different places and wearing so many different hats.

[21:16]  Right, right. So I went to Co. College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Liberal Arts College. And for me, I just wasn't a large university kid. Like I knew that I needed something smaller, ⁓ where I could kind of be known for me instead of, you know, being a number, which sometimes can happen at larger universities. ⁓ and I think like the thing that I love the most about liberal arts is you're right, you are exposed to so many different things, you know, you're exposed to the humanities, you're exposed to sciences. But one of the things that I really love about the liberal arts experience is the writing aspect that goes along with it because it really teaches you critical thinking and it teaches you how to put that critical thinking down onto paper. ⁓ And so with my job and with writing grants, it's always like it's one of my favorite things about writing grants is it's like this big puzzle. So you have to figure out what is it that is going to set us apart. From all the other amazing organizations who are all trying to draw money from that same pot. And so to know your audience and to know, you know, what it is that you do that's maybe different, and to be able to put that down in a story. Because in a way, yeah, that's what we're doing. We're telling the story of who we are and how receiving grant funding will help us to continue to grow that story and continue to add those chapters. So I I mean, I love that.

[21:18]  Yeah.

[21:18]  Like I said, I was a a theater kid, I'm a vocalist, you know, I love working with the high school kids and helping them to identify their talents and grow. You know, I've I've judged show choir competitions. Show choir is huge in the Midwest as well. So it's just really fun, I think, to always help people to find what it is that they're passionate about and really help them explore that and grow in their confidence and their talent and their skills.

[24:28]  I love it. I love that you have this background in the arts. I think it's so underutilized. And really when when we think about ⁓ just the school system, you know, I especially here in Orange County where they're taking that away ⁓ a little bit, you know, and it's like, man, those are the reasons I went to school, right? I was T V productions, morning announcements, I was chorus, I was drama, I was I love those electives. Yeah.

[26:59]  A hundred percent. Yes, yes. Yeah. Yeah. And you need that. I mean you need that because not every kid is a sporty kid. And the the one thing about high school, junior high, school all in general, and and people in general is like people want to find a place where they belong. So when you give them that opportunity to find a place where they can belong and start to realize like, hey, the fact that I'm quirky or the fact that I think differently or the fact that, you know, I sing out loud in my car all the time when I'm driving.

[30:05]  Yeah. Yeah.

[30:09]  It's just me and it's normal and it's fun and that's who I am. I think it's like one of the greatest gifts that we can give to people.

[30:15]  Hundred percent. I true too totally just love that you just geeked out and gave me the arts. ⁓ and I ask you, because people think because you come across so confident and because you do all these extra things, are you still nervous before you got to hit record on a podcast and before you're recording that voiceover? What is going on in your head at that time? Are you just confident enough to say I'm doing it?

[30:33]  You know what? not so I have a podcast with a couple of of ⁓ women friends as well that we started because we kind of thought that there was like a niche for women ⁓ our ages who had gone through some different life changes and we wanted to kind of you know reach out to them and believe it or not in high school like having to do a speech like it would make me have to like throw up beforehand. And then I don't know like what switched on and ⁓ b but it just got to a point where I'm like, you know, I don't care. This is just me and and I'm gonna talk. So I think really

[33:03]  Yeah.

[33:04]  I don't know if it's the gift of gab or if it's just that I'm slightly off kilter, but I don't get nervous about it anymore because I just go into it and I'm like, this is who I am. And ⁓ hopefully in our conversation you'll take something away that's good and positive, and I'll take something away from you that's good and positive, and we'll learn from each other. And so I just always just try to be myself and just be open to listening to what everybody else has to say. And doing the podcast and then doing the voiceover work and commercial stuff.

[33:52]  Yeah.

[33:52]  It's just so fun to do and so fun to like, you know, voice a character or to kind of step outside of of who you are, knowing that there's a piece of you in the arts then that'll, you know, be around for a long time on on digital form or, you know, recorded form. Yeah.

[34:09]  Yeah. That's so cool. I don't know if I told you this. And we talked about the studio setup and me being in the garage. And the reason this started more than ever was that I jokingly say three years ago I came out of the wrestling closet. So wrestling being pure entertainment, you got athletes, you got storytelling. ⁓ and and now to be, you know, go live every Monday, every Friday. And I just think it's the funnest thing ever because you

[34:35]  Told me that, yes. It is.

[34:55]  As you mentioned, being authentically you, doing the things that you love and building a community around it, how special is that? Meeting people where they're at, you kind of mentioned as well, is I totally ⁓ appreciate especially mo more than ever. It's like someone asked me, Hey, I I was inviting them to the event. She's the mayor of a town. She's like, What version do you want of me? Do you want the political version of me? Do you want the alumni version of me? And I had to call her and says, I want the authentic version of you.

[35:04]  Yeah. Yeah.

[35:04]  I want you to show up as you. I want you to tell the story because that mayor, you know, opportunity has come because who you were as a student. And and you know, I run the organization back at the high school. So it's like if we're gonna tell s stories of alumni, I need you authentically. You I can care about the political version of you. That one is probably a little bit, you know, cross the eyes, that or that your eyes, cross the T such stuff. So I love that you say, no, show up authentically, you. How important is that, you think, Stacey?

[35:08]  Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. ⁓ well, I think that's all you can be, right? Like I think so many times people feel like I have to be this or I have to be this for this person and it's exhausting, you know? And the thing is is like half the time when you think that you're being who you think someone wants you to be, like I always think, why would you want to do that? Because they're not really getting to know who you are and vice versa. And I think a lot of times that can come back then and bite you in the butt because people think maybe you're one way and and really you're not. So especially like, you know, at the age that I am and and as people grow and everything, I'm like if you can start out confident about who you are and if you can start out just being yourself, then things are gonna be a heck of a lot easier for you because people know that, you know, what you say is who you are. And I think that's so important, especially today when people have been so conditioned, it seems like, to say things based on what they feel is is the popular answer. And I think that

[35:16]  Mm-hmm.

[35:16]  It what's less important about being popular is just being authentic and that's what people gravitate towards because when you're authentic you find out and you learn more about the people around you and you find that there's so many things that are familiar with you and you can relate to people and you can help people and you can grow friendships. So just be who you are. Just be authentic because that's what everybody's looking for.

[35:19]  What is your favorite quote that you live by and that you share again and again?

[35:20]  ⁓ gosh, there's a lot of them. I think like probably and I can't remember who said it once, but and I'll I'll I'm gonna paraphrase their quote, but basically the quote is to give grace to yourself that other people have not extended to you.

[35:21]  Wow.

[35:21]  And and I think that that's so important because so many times we can be our worst enemy. And I just wish everybody would remember that you are, instead of your own worst enemy, you're your first best friend. So all of the grace that you extend to other people and all of the ways that you you know, if you're talking to a friend and they're sharing something that's going on and and you would say, ⁓ my gosh. you know, you deserve better than that. Leave that situation. Leave that person. You know, you're a good person, blah, blah, blah. But we don't do those things for ourselves. And so we need to learn instead, like I said, be your your own first best friend instead of your own worst enemy. And extend that grace to yourself that you extend to other people. And it's amazing how

[35:27]  Yeah.

[35:27]  By doing that, you can heal the traumas of life that other people have maybe inflicted on you. And people are drawn to that. Like I'm an empath, and and people are very drawn to other people who they feel see them and hear them. And it's just a gift, I think, to be able to love yourself as well. And when you love yourself, that spills over into loving other people. And I think that it also can help to heal people and make them a stronger person too.

[35:30]  Yeah. Mm-hmm. You're you're you're talking some good stuff right now, Stacy. You're talking some good stuff right now. ⁓ I I even kind of think about a conversation that happened almost similar to what you just mentioned was I had a gentleman, a leader say to me, I was kind of going through a time in my life of ⁓ different direction, right? Jump going from a different chapter of my life. And I remember calling him. And as you see behind my wall, this has always been here. This is nothing new, right? That know your worth moment. And he says, Efrain, for years I've heard you I was doubting myself per se. He says, for years.

[35:34]  Yes. Absolutely.

[35:34]  I've seen you help other people. I've seen you change yourself, all these good things. And sometimes as leaders, we teach best what we need the most, Stefan. And I said, Yeah, what do you mean by that, Don? He says, You always tell people to know their worth. But when do you know yours? And I it was a gut check, right? Because it is exact what you say. We're so good at giving advice and pouring it to others, but that same exact thing that we're doing for others that is so great and they praise us for.

[35:37]  Yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah. Do it for ourselves. No. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yep.

[35:38]  When do you do it for yourself? So that was really good, Stacey. Hell yeah. That was good. ⁓ You mentioned the podcast. What kind of conversations are happening? And if you can give us the title, because you can't just say you have a podcast and not give it to us. You know what I mean? You're holding out here.

[35:40]  So our podcast is called The, which is important because there's other ones on there. So the PowerPosse podcast. And we started it ⁓ mostly for women ⁓ like 30s on up. I'm in my fifties, I'm 56, and my other two podcast women ⁓ as well are in that same age group. And you know, we've gone through life and ⁓ divorce and all those kind of things, and it was really kind of

[35:43]  Mm-hmm.

[35:43]  cathartic at first to start it and be like, Okay, who am I now? You know, and it it came about because we talked about what it was that brought about our divorces. And in in my case, it was a lot of ⁓ I don't know I am anymore. I'm not happy with who I am anymore. And I could have stayed in my marriage, but my thought process was if I would have done that, then I would have completely lost who I was. And I wanted my kids to know and my friends to know that even if you don't know what the path is ahead, and even if it's incredibly scary, when you take that step to put yourself first and redefine who you are and rediscover who you are and fall back in love with who you are, that is the

[35:47]  Hmm.

[35:47]  The best gift that you can give to yourself and the people around you that love you because then you're your happiest, healthiest, best version of yourself. And who doesn't want to be that? So we bring a lot of people on and we we have like some set questions that we ask them. We ask them, you know, what was the spark moment that made you have ⁓ a change either for good or bad in your life? What's your favorite swear word? You know, what's advice that you give to somebody who might be saying, Should I or shouldn't I do it? So it's just a lot of amping people up and saying you have more skills and abilities and talents than you potentially realize you do and spreading their message and their stories with other people to help them identify and say, Yeah, that's me. And if that person can do it, I can do it too. Yeah.

[35:47]  Yeah. That's it. That's why I always say stories. ⁓ when we talk about representation, it's not so much in the colors of our skins, but the stories that we tell, people will be able to realize that, ⁓ wow, this person was able to overcome divorce, sexual abuse, adoption, whatever that may look like, right? It it really gives people hope, allows someone to see that maybe they're in that dark tunnel. But wait a minute, there's actually light at the end of this. ⁓ hell yeah, Stacy, look at you dropping that motivation today. Stacy.

[35:48]  Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Let's go, you come, let's go. Yes. ⁓

[35:48]  Yeah, you got me pumped. Let's talk about the organization. What are some of the things that you guys are doing? How are you guys pouring into the community? What are some of the resources you guys are providing?

[35:48]  Right, right. So ⁓ Eastern Iowa Health Center, like I said, ⁓ we opened in 2005. ⁓ we started with around eleven thousand patients that first year, and now this year we're looking at 77,000 patient provider encounters. ⁓ we started with just family medicine, and now we offer family medicine, pediatrics, dental for ⁓ you know, adults and children. We have women's health, which includes OBGYN. We delivered over 700.

[35:48]  roast. Wow. Mm-hmm.

[35:48]  babies last year ⁓ or this year I guess I should say because we're in the calendar year even though we have fiscal year. Those in nonprofits, we all know how that works. We have behavioral health, which also includes telepsychiatry and medication assisted management. And for people who don't know what that is, that's for individuals who ⁓ tend to have become addicted to opioids. So our youngest patient that we had before was 16. They were a football player, they blew out their knee. The doctor was like here take these it'll make you feel better and before you knew it,

[35:48]  Yeah, yeah.

[35:48]  ⁓ they were addicted. And then we've had people, you know, in their eighties as well. And the thing with medication assisted ⁓ treatment is that if you just take medication that's around seven percent effective if you just do counseling it's kind of similar but if you combine counseling with medication then you're upwards of 80% ⁓ effectiveness so the bump up there is huge we also have let's see I have to go through them in my head again family medicine pediatrics women's health behavioral health dental ⁓ we have ⁓ a brand new pharmacy as well ⁓ we have walk-in care

[35:48]  Yeah.

[35:48]  We have a brand new teleoptometry that we just opened. And our our newest passion right now is we're expanding our pediatrics. So we have a huge pediatric expansion going on as well that will help us to reach 33% of the people currently that are not being able to be reached because they don't have the financial means to do so. We serve a five county area ⁓ as well. And we have 51 languages that are spoken at our clinic and we provide translation for the majority of those. So it's really just a place where we ask our community what it is that they need and then we do our due diligence to find out if it's something that we can provide because if we provide it, we want it to be excellent. And so yeah, we ask them what you need, and then if we can make it possible for them, we do. We're always thinking of ways that we can expand and care for our community. We're also a grantee for the homeless. So we work with our ⁓ homeless population a lot or unhoused is the correct word that we use these days. So it's yeah, we've we've all

[35:48]  Mm-hmm.

[35:48]  got something going on and like I said our our newest one is our pediatric expansion so we're really really excited about that because we know that healthy kids, healthy families, healthy school, healthy community, healthy economy. It's all a trickle-down effect. And so anything that we can do to care for our neighbors, that's what we want to do.

[35:48]  No wonder you love your job. No wonder it's always fun to be there because there's so many new things happening, so many lives being impacted. ⁓ what one's one story that comes to mind when you think about ⁓ the impact you've created in someone's life, because we're in the storytelling business. ⁓ what is that story? Love me a good story.

[35:48]  Yes, yes, so many new things. Yeah. Yeah. So we did have we have a one of our board members and they have a relative who's struggled with addiction throughout their whole life. ⁓ one of the things that we do at our dental building is twice a day we open up our doors for emergencies and there will be lines out the door with people lined up very early in the morning or in the afternoon waiting, knowing that they might be waiting for hours to get in with their faces like swollen out to here because they have abscess teeth and they have things that are going on. And so we pull a lot of teeth. Our dentists are excellent, excellent, excellent at what they do Do because really, you know, dental care is something that freaks a lot of people out. We have a lot of ⁓ people who come to our clinic as well who have experienced ⁓ trauma, sexual trauma, physical trauma. So the idea of anything being in their mouth can be something that's really horrifying and awful for them. So they really have the skills and the knowledge to work with these people and make them feel safe and make them feel comfortable. So our board member ⁓ their ⁓ relative had woken up and just was not doing well, their face was swollen, they were really, really struggling. And so he called and he said, is there a way that you guys can can get him in? He he needs to be seen and he can't he can't go anywhere. We're also the only clinic in ⁓ all of Cedar Rapids and Lane County that will accept new patients on Medicaid. So the University of Iowa, which is right down the road from us, you can't

[35:48]  Mm-hmm.

[35:48]  Can get in to see them, but the list is the wait is over a year to be able to get in and be seen. So we will ⁓ take those patients as well. We were able to get him in that day. He had some teeth pulled. ⁓ he also had to come back and have some more stuff done. But we heard back from his uncle. And from this gentleman thanking us for the care that he received, because as an addict who was really working his program, what's the first thing you want to do when you feel awful and you're in pain? You want to use? It's really easy to fall back into those patterns. So by us being able to get him in, get him the care that he needed, we were able to help him to continue on that path of staying sober and that path of beating his addiction. So that's something that I'm just really proud about because you know, everybody has a story and people don't realize a lot of times.

[35:48]  Yeah.

[35:48]  what those stories are. So to be a small part in that journey for him is just an absolute privilege. Just like it's it's a privilege for us to work with the people that we work with every day and and treat them every day. They're kind, they are compassionate and they're so grateful to be seen as a human being. So it's just it's it's a real honor.

[35:48]  Yeah. I love it. Meeting people where they're at, it seems like that's what you've kind of ⁓ also made your mission. You know, you talk about the different languages, the different resources, ⁓ really just covering all these different ⁓ grounds. How has it changed? You talked about being in the space of just sharing stories, communication. ⁓ we now have technology ⁓ from probably when you started, you know, years ago, right? You told me you were 50, so I gotta say years ago, you know what mean?

[35:48]  Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Fifty six

[35:48]  We I ain't gonna get I'm I ain't gonna tell you the exact number, okay, Stacy? But when we think about how we've evolved, right, and meeting people out where they're at, how how do we get the word out? How are we communicating to these people, especially some with AI? Are we SMS based now? Are we email marketing, knocking on doors still? What does that look like for Stacy and the team?

[35:48]  Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's kind of crazy because for us at EIHC, ⁓ we really don't have to do a lot of advertising because we the people who come to us, it's a very close knit community and there's a lot of word of mouth that lets us know. But you know, we use, you know, texting to let people know about their appointments and and a lot of it too is finding what works for people. So we have a a group of individuals who if we call them, they will never pick up their phone. However, if we use Facebook messaging, that is their preferred method of communication. And it is a a whole group of people. And so we Facebook message them to let them know, you know, it's it's time for your appointment or hey, you know, how are you doing? Those kind of things. ⁓ we also do like we put advertising on our buses because where we are, we are located on a a bus, ⁓ what's the word I'm looking for? A bus route. And we're a federally qualified healthcare ⁓ center. So what that means is that we will see you and treat you regardless of your ability to pay. We don't turn anybody away. And one of the hallmarks of an FQH is to be located in a place that is walkable, bikeable, and busable. So that those who mostly need our services are able to get here. So the neighborhood that we're located in is chosen specifically because of the fact that it is one of the lower income neighborhoods in our area. ⁓ And so we want to make sure that people can utilize the services that we have. Our pharmacy that we started came about, it had been in the plan before, but we had a grocery store that was in our neighborhood that closed. So not only did it then create a food desert for people, but it also left a pharmacy desert because that's where people were getting their medications. So this is like filling that need and helping those people to be able to stay healthy. So a lot of what we do, you know, we're kind of old school in the sense that, you know, you can donate on our website. You have our website, you know, all of those kind of things to just make people know. ⁓ as far as me, like in my world, it's it's a lot of

[35:48]  Mm. Yeah. Yeah.

[35:48]  those relationship kind of things and and navigating when it comes to grants, navigating whether or not it's a online application that somebody is whipped out and that they think is like fabulous because it's it's this new fangled program and as a grant person you're like, ⁓ my lord, because their system doesn't work or it doesn't save and you know, everyone's so excited that it's their new technology and you're just like, can we just go back to like old school, fill out the piece of paper kind of thing. But

[35:48]  ⁓ huh.

[35:48]  Yeah, so for us a lot of it is is like I said, it's it's kind of traditional in how we we get our message across as to who we are and and where we are. ⁓ but because of the population that we have, that's what works for them and that's what they choose to have. Especially since a lot of it, you know, we do have so many people for whom English is not their first language. We really have to simplify something so a lot more visuals and things like that. In our clinic we have ⁓ pamphlets and we have anything that scrolls on our screens for them to read while they're sitting there waiting for their appointment in our top five languages as well so that individuals are able to stay connected that way.

[35:48]  You guys are definitely about to continue just growing. I mean, you talked about those numbers from ⁓ five to where you're at today. There's a lot of growth and I can imagine still so much more on the way, especially where we're at right now, government wise. It looks like you got to really filling in that gap and making sure people ⁓ feel seen.

[35:48]  Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, we're trying to. And yeah, and that's kind of one of the things that's gone a little bit crazy as well is, you know, we just really don't know what's going to happen. So we've been trying to plan to make sure that as many of our services are are going to be available for the people that we serve. And and we have a lot of concerns about that. So our leadership team has been very proactive in trying to look ahead as to what is it that we can do now to be serving those people and what is it that we can

[35:49]  Mm.

[35:49]  do to serve them when a lot of these ⁓ new laws and requirements are instigated as well.

[35:49]  Love that. Well, Stacey, we can keep talking, but I think we we up on time. But you do have a question for the next leader. I don't I want you to ask. What is that question that you have for that leader?

[35:49]  I do. I do. Yeah, so my question for that next leader is if you could be anything in the world again, thinking back to when you were a little kid, would you still choose the job that you have now or would you want to do something different?

[35:49]  You deep, Stacy. That's a good question. That is a good question. I mean, even just thinking about it, it's like I really do appreciate where I'm at. You know, and I think I'm not even where I should be still. I think there's still some more to go to. But ⁓ I always say I think about it. I appreciate the failures in life. I appreciate those moments where ⁓ I had to just walk away. Cause sometimes walking away is needed as well. And we don't really think about that. I was actually talking to a yeah.

[35:49]  Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Self preservation, self preservation, yeah.

[35:49]  I would just think talking to another leader. And I I think ⁓ when I first got into leadership, I used to look at somebody's resume and think that if they were jumping from job to job, it was a bad thing. But ⁓ that's not really true. You know, it was really someone trying to find where they fit in, you know, most importantly now. And I was someone that spent years, you know, eight, nine years really early on in in a an establishment where when I walked away, I walked away because I didn't feel valued. So then I started to put that, hey. If I don't feel valued in two years I got to go, right? You really gotta own it. You gotta know your work. We talked about it. That's a really good question, Stacey. That's a really good question. Would you do would you do it? ⁓ how about you? I mean that's take that question and answer before we hop off. What would would you do?

[35:49]  Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. Well, you know, it's kinda funny 'cause I always thought when I was younger that I wanted to be like an archaeologist, you know, growing up in in Montana, you know,

[35:49]  Mm-hmm.

[35:49]  we had a lot of like opportunities to go to some of these national parks where at the time you could take home all kinds of dinosaur fossils and stuff like that before it was illegal. And so, you know, I had a h a huge bag of them and when we moved my mom threw my bag away. Like not that I'm bitter not that I'm bitter about that or anything to this day, but You know, I I think the big thing when I look back on why that was so fascinating to me, it's because of the people aspect and the those who went before us and and learning about those who went before us and applying what they learned back then to survive and to thrive in your everyday life now and to always just keep that passion and that drive to keep going, you know, kind of like you said, even when, you know, you don't know what's out there or you think, well, maybe I'm not in the right job or something like that, to know that You know, the best thing you can do as well is trust your instincts. And if that means you walk away from a relationship, if it means you walk into a different job, if it means you go back to school, you know, there's all these different options that are there for you. So I just always challenge people to never stop learning and never stop wanting to find what it is that fills that cup of yours so that you can pour into others.

[35:49]  Mm. Let's go. Where can people find more information about you, Stacy? Are you on LinkedIn? What is a website to the organization if they want to find out more?

[35:49]  am so our website is www dot eastern iowa healthcenter dot com and i am on linked in ⁓ i'm just on there is stacy eastman so you can find me there ⁓ like i said our podcast is the power posse podcast and you can find that on any of the places where you listen to your podcast as well you can hook up with me on Facebook social media there ⁓ there it's stacy and then it's Tibet which was my maiden name which is T like Tom V like Victor, E like Edward, D like David, T like Tom, Eastman. So yeah, I would love to chat with anybody and you know, encourage people and you know, listen to what they're going through and put our minds together as to how we can make this world a better place. So yeah, feel free to reach out. I appreciate that.

[35:49]  I appreciate you. This has been Stacy. I'm Efrain. Make sure you guys like, subscribe, and comment. There are so many good leaders. You know, sometimes we feel like we're in this crazy world. But when I speak to people like you, I realize, no, there's some good people in this world. Make sure you guys like, subscribe, and comment. Thank you, Stacy. Thank you. Thank you.

[35:52]  Mm. Same to you. Same to you, friends. Same to you. I appreciate you doing this and all you're doing. Thank you.