In this episode, we explore three impactful conversations:
Cerebral Palsy Awareness & Community Support
I speak with Ceciry Rodriguez-Pimentel, Director of Development & Community Engagement, and Christina Service, Marketing & Development Specialist at HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy. They share insights about the school’s upcoming 3rd Annual Community Day in celebration of World Cerebral Palsy Day, HMS’s 142nd Anniversary, and their biggest fundraiser of the year, taking place on October 6, 2024, from 11 AM to 2 PM at their backyard, 4400 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Learn more:
Website: www.hmsschool.org
Event Website: www.hmsschool.org/communityday
Social Media:
X: @hmsschoolcp
Instagram: @hmsschoolcp
Facebook: HMS School
LinkedIn: HMS School
Affordable Healthcare for Seniors
Accessing quality healthcare can be particularly challenging for seniors in under-resourced communities, especially when many prefer to age at home. I speak with Stephen Kinsey, VP of Government Advocacy and Community Engagement at Patriot+CareRing Health, and Steve Guenther, CEO of Caring Health and Patriot Home Care. They discuss how their organizations work to ensure seniors in underserved areas have access to affordable healthcare.
Learn more:
Patriot Home Care:
Website: patriothomecare.org
Facebook: Patriot Home Care
Instagram: @patriothomecarepa
LinkedIn: Patriot Home Care CareRing Health:
Website: careringhealth.com
LinkedIn: CareRing Health
Addressing Grief for Children and Families
Grief impacts children in profound and unique ways, especially when faced with the loss of a loved one or significant life changes. In this episode, we delve into how to best support children through these difficult times, exploring their emotional needs and providing practical tools to help them heal. One important resource we'll highlight is Peter’s Place: A Center for Grieving Children & Families. I speak with Stephanie Lim Capello, the Executive Director, about their work and the support they offer.Learn more at:
www.PetersPlaceOnline.org
Follow them on social: @petersplace
Cerebral Palsy Awareness & Community Support
I speak with Ceciry Rodriguez-Pimentel, Director of Development & Community Engagement, and Christina Service, Marketing & Development Specialist at HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy. They share insights about the school’s upcoming 3rd Annual Community Day in celebration of World Cerebral Palsy Day, HMS’s 142nd Anniversary, and their biggest fundraiser of the year, taking place on October 6, 2024, from 11 AM to 2 PM at their backyard, 4400 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Learn more:
Website: www.hmsschool.org
Event Website: www.hmsschool.org/communityday
Social Media:
X: @hmsschoolcp
Instagram: @hmsschoolcp
Facebook: HMS School
LinkedIn: HMS School
Affordable Healthcare for Seniors
Accessing quality healthcare can be particularly challenging for seniors in under-resourced communities, especially when many prefer to age at home. I speak with Stephen Kinsey, VP of Government Advocacy and Community Engagement at Patriot+CareRing Health, and Steve Guenther, CEO of Caring Health and Patriot Home Care. They discuss how their organizations work to ensure seniors in underserved areas have access to affordable healthcare.
Learn more:
Patriot Home Care:
Website: patriothomecare.org
Facebook: Patriot Home Care
Instagram: @patriothomecarepa
LinkedIn: Patriot Home Care CareRing Health:
Website: careringhealth.com
LinkedIn: CareRing Health
Addressing Grief for Children and Families
Grief impacts children in profound and unique ways, especially when faced with the loss of a loved one or significant life changes. In this episode, we delve into how to best support children through these difficult times, exploring their emotional needs and providing practical tools to help them heal. One important resource we'll highlight is Peter’s Place: A Center for Grieving Children & Families. I speak with Stephanie Lim Capello, the Executive Director, about their work and the support they offer.Learn more at:
www.PetersPlaceOnline.org
Follow them on social: @petersplace
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Baller. Tomorrow, Accessing quality health care can be
especially challenging for seniors in under resourced communities, especially when
many prefer to age at home. I speak with Stephen Kinsey,
vice president of Government Advocacy and Community Engagement at Patriot
(00:20):
and Caring Health, and Steve Gunther, CEO of Caring Health
and Patriot Home Care. They talk about how their organizations
work to ensure seniors in underserved areas have access to
affordable health care. Whether it's the loss of a loved
one or navigating significant life changes, Grief affects children in
unique ways. We'll explore how Peter's Place, a center for
(00:41):
grieving children and families, supports them through these challenging times.
But first, cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders
that affect movement, muscle tone, and posture caused by damage
to the developing brain, either during pregnancy, birth, or shortly after.
We're going to be talking about a cerebral palsy and
also about an event that's coming up to raise awareness
(01:04):
and support. Joining us right now, Cesri Rodriguez Pamentel, who
is the director of Development and Community Engagement for h
MS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy, and Christina Service,
marketing and development specialists for this school. Thank you both
for joining us here today and Cesri. I gave a
quick description of cerebral palsy, but I wonder if you
(01:26):
can just tell us a little bit more about what
this is.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Sure well, HMS School for Children that Ferebral Palsy is
located here in West Philadelphia. We are right next to
Clark Park. We've been in the same location for one
hundred and forty two years, so we're celebrating our one
hundred and forty second anniversary this year ferebral Palsy. All
of our students have cerebral palsy or some other neurological impairment,
and we currently have sixty eight students that are students here.
(01:53):
It is our highest enrollment to date, so we are
very excited about that and very excited to welcome all
of these students back to the new school year that
just started a few weeks ago. Each of our students,
because they do have cerebral palsy, are all in power
mobility chairs or manual wheelchairs, but when they come to HMS,
(02:14):
they are not the only kid at school that is
in a power mobility chair or in a manual wheelchair.
So when they come here, they are surrounded by other
individuals that look like them, speak like them, utilizing assistive
technology to be able to get or vocalize their thoughts out.
So it is really a wonderful place to be at,
(02:34):
a wonderful school for each of our students.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Christina Service, there is an event happening on October sixth
to celebrate World Cerebral Palsy Day, and it's your third
annual event, Community Day at HMS. Tell us more about that.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Sure, As Sessori mentioned, this is our one hundred and
forty second anniversary, but our third Community Day, and we're
super excited because, as we mentioned, all of our students
do have cerebral palsy and our way to celebrate them
as well as ways awareness. In conjunction with raising awareness,
this is also our biggest fundraiser of the year, so
this year we're raising seventy thousand dollars in support of
(03:10):
our programs. Right now, our team is Transitional Services and
what that is is just the services that our students
need after they are at our school, So we're combining
our efforts with community as well as their families to
ensure they have the best possible outcome outside of HMS Fantastic.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
So Sesri tell us the date, the time, the location.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, it's on October sixth, which happens to be World
Cerebrale Quality Day. It's that Sunday. It'll be from eleven
am to two pm right here on hms's campus located
at forty four hundreds Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one nine
to one zero four. It'll be held in our backyard
of our campus. There will be lots of fun activities.
(03:52):
It is a completely free event, so there will be
plenty of free food. We have food being sponsored by
Renata's Genos Stakes, Humpies Dumplings, Allegros Pizza and Girl Clarkville
and there will be plenty of falls fun activities to
be had by the entire family. An entirely free event.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Fantastic and Christina. If people want more information, how do
they find out more?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
They can find us at hmsschool dot org slash Community
Day to either donate learn more about our organization. They
can volunteer as well on that page. Again that's www
dot HMS School dot org and we also are HMS
School CP on all social media platforms, so that's LinkedIn Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,
(04:37):
as well as.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
X Cesri Rodriguez Pimentel, who is Director of Development and
Community Engagement for the HMS School for Children with Cerebral
Palsy Christina's service. She is marketing and development specialists for
the school. Thank you both for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
AIDS Fund Philly raises crucial funds to provide emergency financial
assistance to people living with HIV disease in the Philadelphia area.
These small grants can literally keep the lights on and
keep people safely housed, which helps them continue their treatment
and stay healthy. Support the most vulnerable among us by
signing up for the thirty eighth annual AIDS Walkphilly five
(05:20):
k Sunday, October twentieth. Go to Aidswalkphilly dot org. Whether
it's the loss of a loved one or navigating significant
life changes, grief affects children in unique ways. We're going
to be talking about how to support them through challenging times,
(05:41):
offering insight into their emotional world. And talking about tools
to help them heal. One important resource is Peter's Place,
a center for grieving children and families. Its executive director,
Stephanie lim Capello, is joining us today. Thank you so
much for joining us, and let's talk about what inspired
the creation of Peter's Place.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Thank you, Loreen.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
Peter's Place was founded in two thousand and one after
the death of ten year old Peter Moorsbach. His family
found At the time there was support in terms of,
you know, individual therapy and counseling, family therapy and counseling,
but there wasn't anything that was peer to peer for children,
(06:27):
and so Peter's Place was founded on the premise that
no child should ever grieve alone, but also on the
foundation to normalize grief. I always say grief is something
that really connects us all all of us, regardless of
where we live, who we are, we will all.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Experience grief at one point in time.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
However, when you layer in socioeconomic, race, religion, all different factors,
grief can get complicated very quickly, and so we try
to normalize grief. And we also have the peer to
peer model, so children are grouped by age in programs here,
so that they can establish a common language and we
(07:11):
can provide them with common resources to help navigate their grief.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
All right, let's stick down a little bit further into
some of the key programs or services that Peter's Place
offers for grieving children and families.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
Tell us more, of course, So we do have a
location in Radner, Pennsylvania, but we serve the greater Philadelphia area,
so we serve Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Bucks counties.
We also serve a population in southern New Jersey. We
have programs here on site at our location in Radner.
(07:46):
They again are grouped by age. We also have an
optional adult parent caregiver group that can meet at the
same time as your children are in group. It is
not mandatory, it is optional, but I do have to
tell you those adults and the caregivers do take advantage
of that opportunity just to talk about what they're experiencing,
(08:08):
what they're feeling. Sometimes they'll just go in there and
they'll say, you know, I'm having a really bad day,
and I don't know if anybody else is having bad
days or not.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Right, So we have that.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
We also are in schools and communities and churches in
the Greater Philadelphia area. So we have offsite school groups,
so we partner with a lot of schools and school districts.
And then also we have post evention programs, so that
is usually an immediate crisis response.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
So if a school.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Or a community has a tragedy or experiences some level
of trauma, they can reach out to us and we
usually will respond after having a conversation in an immediate
crisis with.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Stephanie, what are some of the unique challenges that grieving
children face and how does Peter's Place Taylor It's approached
to meet their emotional and also their developmental needs.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
Children grieve differently than us as adults. Research shows that
children often grieve in silence, but as we know, that
will manifest itself in other ways, so whether it is
behaviorally challenges in school that.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Will come up at some point in time.
Speaker 5 (09:22):
So really, what we do in terms of their social,
emotional developmental needs is provide them with opportunities to speak
openly about their grief. You know, we provide that safe
space for them to be able to speak about it.
And it doesn't necessarily all need to be sad and heavy.
Sometimes there is guilt when they're having a great day.
(09:42):
Right when they're feeling joy, They're like, well, you know,
should I really be feeling joy and happiness? And the
answer is yes, you know, you should continue to move
forward and feel joy and feel happiness without feeling guilty
about it.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Sometimes they can feel all the feelings all at once.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
I think we've all experienced feeling all the feelings at
the same time. And so we really meet children where
they are. We don't force any conversations. We really try
to make it child led so that we are operating
on their level and understanding. Some days they want to
talk about it, some days they don't feel like talking
(10:21):
about it, and sometimes they need a little bit of
support and encouragement to be able to speak about their grief,
but then also to give them the tools to be
able to speak to.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
Their grownups about it.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
So whether it is their parents, their caregivers, grandparents, teachers,
adults in their life that they trust that they can
also are able to speak about their grief.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
How has the demand for your services changed over the
years and what role has public awareness played in this growth?
Speaker 5 (10:52):
So I will share with you statistics nationwide pre COVID times,
pre pandemic times, the percentage of chldren eighteen and under
that had experienced the death of someone close to them
was somewhere around under fifty percent. Coming out of COVID
times Lorraine, that has doubled.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
To over eighty percent.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
So children eighteen and under eighty percent of them have
experienced the death of someone close to them. And as
we know through the pandemic, if that happened, that loss
was nothing but weird.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Right, you know, there was no funerals.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
In some cases, you couldn't visit loved ones or ones
close to you in the hospital because of lockdown and quarantine, right.
And so the demand on our support has significantly increased,
and both here at our on site location and also
what schools are experiencing.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
What I will tell.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
You though, is that the awareness around asking for support
for mental health has also become greater in a very
positive way. So you have educators, school nurses, guidance counselors, administrators,
the intermediate units in this area, school district staff really
(12:11):
understanding the importance of mental health for the children, but
then also for the adults.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
That support the children.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
And so we have seen folks reach out to us
because we also do professional development training. It is the
only service that we actually charge for. Everything else we
do is free of charge learning, but we offer professional
development training to help those school nurses, those guidance counselors,
those teachers, those educators be able to identify some signs
(12:40):
but then also provide some support until an organization like
Peter's Place can come in and provide additional support.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Well, as you mentioned that most of your services are
absolutely free, there needs to be support from the community
in order to make that continue to happen. So you
have a couple of fundraisers coming up, tell us about them.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Yeah, So we have our first annual Family Fall Fest
on Sunday, October twentieth here at our location in Radner.
It is a nice way for families to come and
learn more about Peter's Place, but then also to support
our programs and help us maintain that high quality of programming,
but also to have them free of charge. So we
have tickets and sponsorships available. We'll have all sorts of
(13:24):
fall games, fall activities, pumpkin decorating, We'll have food, so
it should be a fun Sunday afternoon. And then we
also have our big benefit in auction on Friday, April
twenty fifth at aronom And Golf Club.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
This is our annual fundraiser.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
It's a really wonderful night where we honor some folks
that have been very supportive of Peter's Place and our mission.
And it's a wonderful way to again learn more about
our mission and our organization, but also have a nice
evening hearing more about the work that we do. And
then I also want to share we recently had a
giving day to Chember twelfth is our anniversary, and we
(14:03):
had a giving day on September twelfth where we have
an Amazon wish list of supplies that we use with
the children and our programs, So children's books, are supplies,
you name it, it was on there. The community really
showed up for us, Lorraine. Every item on that wish
list was purchased.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Ah, that's fantastic. Well, if people want more information about
of the great resources available to grieving families and children,
where's the best place to go.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
So the best place to start is our website, which
is Peter's Place online dot org. And that is where
you can find all information about our programs, the events
I just spoke about. But then too, if you want
to reach out to us because either you need some
support or you know somebody close to you that may
(14:50):
be may be in need of our support.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
That's also how you can get in touch with us.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Stephanie Limcapelo, who is executive director of Peter's Place, a
center for grieving children and families, Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
When it comes to healthcare, seniors are often put in
a position of not having enough, not having the support
that they need in order to live a long and
healthy life. So it's my pleasure to be joined by
two individuals who are going to tell us more about
what the issues are and what they are doing to
uplift seniors when it comes to underserved communities. We are
(15:35):
joined by Steve Gunther, he's CEO of Caring Health and
Patriot Home Care. Stephen Kinsey, he's vice president of Government
Advocacy and Community Engagement for Patriot and Caring Health. So
I am so delighted to have you both here and
let me start. Stephen Kinsey, by the way, for our audience,
here is someone who I've had a great relationship over
(15:58):
the many years. Has always been a tremendous support for
the community in so many different ways, as a state
representative and now has moved on to this new position.
But I'm going to start with you, Steve Gunther, and
talk about what are some of the challenges that exist
for seniors in underserved communities when it comes to getting
(16:18):
really good and quality of care.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
Well, thank you, Lorraine for having us on today. We
started Caring Health just a little bit over two years
ago in response to the need for healthcare services to
be brought to underserved patient populations, particularly the dually eligible,
those patients who are qualified for Medicare coverage and Medicaid coverage,
(16:41):
who have chronic illnesses, who really want to stay in
their homes if they have the support systems and the
help to do that. They really don't want to wind
up in a nursing home, and they certainly don't want
to wind up in a hospital if they if they can,
if they can avoid that, So independence and dignity are
critical for this population. There are many many programs under
federally sponsored and state sponsored healthcare programs to help these folks,
(17:05):
and then there's a whole range of other social programs
to address any number of social determinants of health. The
challenge is that you could be a PhD and it
would still be an imposing set of regulations and rules
to understand. And so we formed this company with some
other partners, investment and operating partners to try to help
(17:27):
address this social need. We acquired Patriot home Care, which
has been in the Philadelphia market for a long time,
about two years ago and have been building our network
of services around Patriot home Care, and we brought Steve on.
I got the opportunity to know Steve, to meet him
and know him working on a number of regulatory issues
(17:50):
in Harrisburg, and frankly, I was just so taken with
his commitment to his community, to the neighborhoods that he
grew up in, and to the people that he wants
to serve. And there's a very significant.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Overlap here and Stephen Kinzie as someone who has been
a long time advocate for access to healthcare of all
kinds for underserved communities. I wonder if you can address
some of the specific issues now Steve Gunther talked about.
I think a lot of seniors do prefer to stay
at home if they can. I mean, that's a really
(18:22):
big step to move into a senior care home or
assisted living. I think most seniors would refer to stay
at home. What are some of the barriers that exist,
and what are some of the things that you are
doing as an organization to address those barriers.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
Well erin again, I want to thank you for allowing
me to be here, and it's great to see you
as well. You know, I served twelve years as a
state legislator, and throughout the course of the twelve years,
you know, you get put on a variety of committees there. Well,
the one committee that was constant for me was the
Human Service Committee, also serving the Health Committee. I eventually
(18:58):
became chairman of the Human Service Committee, and throughout the
twelve years that I served as a legislator, health was
like really probably one of the number one priorities. I mean,
I mean, we always talk about funding in a different
the different arenas and so forth on, but healthcare was
one of the number one priorities that we as state
legislators seemed to be attempting to address year after year
(19:21):
after year. And so I had the opportunity, not only
as legity, but as the chairman of the Human Service
Committee to visit a variety of facilities and homes in
regards to just seeing how people were living how people
were living their lives, and I do with Steve. One
of the things that we found out as the committee
was that folks, especially as they were aging, they chose
(19:43):
to stay at home. And you know, some of the
challenges that our seniors and even folks with disability, what
they were facing was the lack of resources. I mean,
we had some folks who were deciding between do I
pay for medication? Do I pay for food? I don't
want to get kicked out of my home, so do
I just mix the food next to medication and just
(20:05):
make sure that the money is going into a home
that I can stay in and hopefully agent. And so
there was a variety of legislation that we tried over
the past twelve years, you know, different governors that we
had to interface with. I can say that we made
some progress, but the reality is that we have not
made enough progress. And you know, looking at a personal situation,
(20:25):
even with my mother who passed away five years ago,
the story was that my mother wanted to stay at home.
You know, unfortunate at the time. You know, we were
done COVID as well as some other health issues. But
I just know from personal experience, home is where the
heart is. And so you know, for me to join
an organization, a company that's focused on trying to honor
(20:48):
the wishes of our seniors and those folks who prefer
to be at home, it's just, you know, it's a
continuation for me of the advocacy work and focusing on
what folks truly desired, not just in Philadelphia, but all
across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sixty seven counties. And I
can't tell you no one county that where folks said
to me, oh, man, take me to a nursing home
(21:09):
or take me to another place. I want to get
out of my house. No, they want to stay at home.
And so I'm very fortunate to be here with care
Ring and Patriot to try to honor those wishes for folks.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Well, Steve Gunther, I know that there are also other
factors that come into play. Certainly when we're talking about
diverse communities, we're talking about areas where language might be
an issue, or transportation might be an issue. I wonder
if you can tell us a little bit about how
you address those issues.
Speaker 6 (21:37):
Yeah, I think the phrase that we use is culturally
relevant and culturally appropriate responses and so we're in today.
We're in six states. We have about fifty seven hundred employees.
We have twenty different service locations and about five thousand patients,
ranging anywhere from Central Virginia up through the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
(22:00):
all the way over to Youngstown, Ohio. And each community
is a local neighborhood. It has a local flavor to it.
Even in Philadelphia when Steve and I are talking and
I'll be talking about an issue in West Philly or
South Philly and He'll say, no, no, I'm not from Philadelphia.
I'm from North Philadelphia. So people want to be cared
(22:21):
for by people like them and people from their community.
The people want to be understood, and so one of
our key tenants to our business is to have service
locations as close to where people live as we can.
And so when we first bought Patriot, it had really
one very large, monolithic sort of agency, and we've established
(22:43):
we call them neighborhood health hubs in West Philly and
Upper Derby and South Philly and Wilmington. It's part of
the metropolitan Area Alleghany Avenue and we're in the process
of working out in Northeast Philly location, so we can
get our employees close to the communities, and we can
hire people from those neighborhoods to care for people, preferably
(23:05):
people who grew up in those neighborhoods. Caring for people
who grew up in those neighborhoods, and really trying to
make people comfortable, because there's there's a thing happens when
you when you become aged and disabled, you have impairments.
Those impairments, whether they're cognitive or physical, they cause world
to shrink and you feel very vulnerable. And so a
big part of what we do in our service offering
(23:27):
is we help people simply feel better, feel more comfortable
about the kinds of folks that are coming into their homes,
the kinds of people that are caring for them. So
English is the primary language in America, and certainly in Philadelphia,
Spanish as the secondary language, and it goes on from there.
We have a large presence within the Hispanic community, and
(23:50):
we have a pretty significant amount of Eastern European folks
in our organization, the Ukrainian, and we have some some
folks from a variety of other countries and languages. These
melting pot communities, which Philadelphia certainly is. They present you
with opportunities, but challenges too to address that, so you
(24:10):
really just have to sort of get on the ground.
You got to do what Steve was talking about, getting
your car and go to people's homes and sit and
talk with them and listen to what they're asking for
and what their challenges are, and then work to address
those challenges.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Well, my second to the last question that goes to
Stephen Kinzie, and that is how is your organization collaborating
with local community leaders and organizations to improve how the
outcomes for underserved seniors?
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Thanks for that question, and let me just tell you
it's really a continuum of work that has already been
established in communities. You know, prior to coming here as
a legislator, it wasn't just me, but working with our congressmen,
working with city council, working with state senators. So we
already had an organization, so to speak, an outfit that
(24:56):
was focusing on you know, gun violence, help out comes
and so forth on. So now being here with Caring Health,
it's just a continue of the work that we've already started.
And I can tell you to reign you know, prior
to leaving Harrisburg and talking with colleagues prior to leaving.
You know, I'm very clear, I can't talk about legislation,
but we can talk about the health and the care
(25:18):
of the folks of the communities in which they serve
and which we also serve. So there's a continuation of collaboration.
In fact, we have an open house that's going to
take place in two weeks and we're working with the
elected leaders there in the West phila Helpia area. We're
doing something here in Germantown, working with the local leaders
in Germantown. So it's just a continuation of working with
(25:38):
folks who really care about individuals in their communities and
just bringing some additional resources together, bringing some additional educational
sessions together, and just talking to the folks again, not
twisting their arms. You know, I'm not saying this way
with it that way, But what we're saying is that
and what they're saying to us is that healthcare is
an issue. So caring is saying, well, let us educate
you in the service that we provide. One of the
(26:00):
great things I really have to say that I love
about Steve Gunther is that this was not an armed twisting.
You know, Steve just cared about me and I saw
it when I was a legislator. He just cared about
people and it wasn't that caring or Patriot has to
serve everybody. But he's like, let's just educate folks, let
them choose where to go, and you have to appreciate
and respect that. And that's what we're doing. We're just
(26:21):
educating folks. And if they choose to join us because
of the great services we provide, that's great. And if
they choose to go someplace else, that's great to as
long as they make the choices and as long as
they're educated to understand so they can make the best
choice for them and their family members.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Well, that's great. You're meeting people where they are, Steve Gunther.
If people want more information about Patriot Health, Patriot home Care,
and also about Caring Health, how do they find out more?
Speaker 6 (26:50):
So you'll find us a couple of different spots on
the internet. Caringhealth dot com. The trick there is there's
an e in caring health dot com and then homecare
dot org are two quick and easy places to go.
We do have a phone number. It's eight seven seven,
five three five fifty five fifty. If you get confused
(27:12):
about that, step out on Broad Street and watch one
of our buses go by. We try to keep those
well wrapped so that people understand the bus shelters and
billboards and that kind of stuff, just so folks know
how to access us.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Thank you for that question, fantastic, And Stephen Kinzie, I'm
giving you the last word. What's your final message to
our listeners?
Speaker 7 (27:30):
Well, you know, this is what I say to folks.
Healthcare is important, Irene. I don't care how much money
you have, I don't care how much knowledge you have,
but just make sure that you take care of yourself
and take care of your loved ones. And you know,
as a legislator, I found out that we can't legislate
every single aspect of a person's life. We should not
be doing that. But one of the things that we
should be doing is educating folks so they can make
(27:53):
the best decisions what's best for them and their loved ones.
And for me, the joint care ring is like it's
almost like one of those match made in heavens. It's
like dating a girlfriend and you fell in love. Car
ring offers those types of services and supports. And again
I don't twist anybody's arm. I just simply share the
information and hopefully the folks throughout Pennsylvania will make the
(28:14):
best choice for them. And I just think that, you know,
for me, this was a good choice, really the best
choice for me, and I think that the service that
we provide are second to none.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Well, Stephen Kinzie, we want to thank you for everything
that you've done in the past and everything that you'll
do in the future. They are certainly lucky to have you.
Stephen Kinsey, he's vice president of Government Advocacy and Community
Engagement for Caring Health and Patriot Homecare. And Stephen Gunther,
CEO of Caring Health and Patriot Home Care, which is
certainly expanding its footprint in the Philadelphia area and reaching
(28:46):
out to the community. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 7 (28:49):
Thank you very much, Lorraine, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app yy Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard. Morrel and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(29:12):
You've been listening to insight and thank you
Good morning, Welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Baller. Tomorrow, Accessing quality health care can be
especially challenging for seniors in under resourced communities, especially when
many prefer to age at home. I speak with Stephen Kinsey,
vice president of Government Advocacy and Community Engagement at Patriot
(00:20):
and Caring Health, and Steve Gunther, CEO of Caring Health
and Patriot Home Care. They talk about how their organizations
work to ensure seniors in underserved areas have access to
affordable health care. Whether it's the loss of a loved
one or navigating significant life changes, Grief affects children in
unique ways. We'll explore how Peter's Place, a center for
(00:41):
grieving children and families, supports them through these challenging times.
But first, cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders
that affect movement, muscle tone, and posture caused by damage
to the developing brain, either during pregnancy, birth, or shortly after.
We're going to be talking about a cerebral palsy and
also about an event that's coming up to raise awareness
(01:04):
and support. Joining us right now, Cesri Rodriguez Pamentel, who
is the director of Development and Community Engagement for h
MS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy, and Christina Service,
marketing and development specialists for this school. Thank you both
for joining us here today and Cesri. I gave a
quick description of cerebral palsy, but I wonder if you
(01:26):
can just tell us a little bit more about what
this is.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Sure well, HMS School for Children that Ferebral Palsy is
located here in West Philadelphia. We are right next to
Clark Park. We've been in the same location for one
hundred and forty two years, so we're celebrating our one
hundred and forty second anniversary this year ferebral Palsy. All
of our students have cerebral palsy or some other neurological impairment,
and we currently have sixty eight students that are students here.
(01:53):
It is our highest enrollment to date, so we are
very excited about that and very excited to welcome all
of these students back to the new school year that
just started a few weeks ago. Each of our students,
because they do have cerebral palsy, are all in power
mobility chairs or manual wheelchairs, but when they come to HMS,
(02:14):
they are not the only kid at school that is
in a power mobility chair or in a manual wheelchair.
So when they come here, they are surrounded by other
individuals that look like them, speak like them, utilizing assistive
technology to be able to get or vocalize their thoughts out.
So it is really a wonderful place to be at,
(02:34):
a wonderful school for each of our students.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Christina Service, there is an event happening on October sixth
to celebrate World Cerebral Palsy Day, and it's your third
annual event, Community Day at HMS. Tell us more about that.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Sure, As Sessori mentioned, this is our one hundred and
forty second anniversary, but our third Community Day, and we're
super excited because, as we mentioned, all of our students
do have cerebral palsy and our way to celebrate them
as well as ways awareness. In conjunction with raising awareness,
this is also our biggest fundraiser of the year, so
this year we're raising seventy thousand dollars in support of
(03:10):
our programs. Right now, our team is Transitional Services and
what that is is just the services that our students
need after they are at our school, So we're combining
our efforts with community as well as their families to
ensure they have the best possible outcome outside of HMS Fantastic.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
So Sesri tell us the date, the time, the location.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, it's on October sixth, which happens to be World
Cerebrale Quality Day. It's that Sunday. It'll be from eleven
am to two pm right here on hms's campus located
at forty four hundreds Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one nine
to one zero four. It'll be held in our backyard
of our campus. There will be lots of fun activities.
(03:52):
It is a completely free event, so there will be
plenty of free food. We have food being sponsored by
Renata's Genos Stakes, Humpies Dumplings, Allegros Pizza and Girl Clarkville
and there will be plenty of falls fun activities to
be had by the entire family. An entirely free event.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Fantastic and Christina. If people want more information, how do
they find out more?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
They can find us at hmsschool dot org slash Community
Day to either donate learn more about our organization. They
can volunteer as well on that page. Again that's www
dot HMS School dot org and we also are HMS
School CP on all social media platforms, so that's LinkedIn Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,
(04:37):
as well as.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
X Cesri Rodriguez Pimentel, who is Director of Development and
Community Engagement for the HMS School for Children with Cerebral
Palsy Christina's service. She is marketing and development specialists for
the school. Thank you both for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
AIDS Fund Philly raises crucial funds to provide emergency financial
assistance to people living with HIV disease in the Philadelphia area.
These small grants can literally keep the lights on and
keep people safely housed, which helps them continue their treatment
and stay healthy. Support the most vulnerable among us by
signing up for the thirty eighth annual AIDS Walkphilly five
(05:20):
k Sunday, October twentieth. Go to Aidswalkphilly dot org. Whether
it's the loss of a loved one or navigating significant
life changes, grief affects children in unique ways. We're going
to be talking about how to support them through challenging times,
(05:41):
offering insight into their emotional world. And talking about tools
to help them heal. One important resource is Peter's Place,
a center for grieving children and families. Its executive director,
Stephanie lim Capello, is joining us today. Thank you so
much for joining us, and let's talk about what inspired
the creation of Peter's Place.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Thank you, Loreen.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
Peter's Place was founded in two thousand and one after
the death of ten year old Peter Moorsbach. His family
found At the time there was support in terms of,
you know, individual therapy and counseling, family therapy and counseling,
but there wasn't anything that was peer to peer for children,
(06:27):
and so Peter's Place was founded on the premise that
no child should ever grieve alone, but also on the
foundation to normalize grief. I always say grief is something
that really connects us all all of us, regardless of
where we live, who we are, we will all.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Experience grief at one point in time.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
However, when you layer in socioeconomic, race, religion, all different factors,
grief can get complicated very quickly, and so we try
to normalize grief. And we also have the peer to
peer model, so children are grouped by age in programs here,
so that they can establish a common language and we
(07:11):
can provide them with common resources to help navigate their grief.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
All right, let's stick down a little bit further into
some of the key programs or services that Peter's Place
offers for grieving children and families.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
Tell us more, of course, So we do have a
location in Radner, Pennsylvania, but we serve the greater Philadelphia area,
so we serve Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Bucks counties.
We also serve a population in southern New Jersey. We
have programs here on site at our location in Radner.
(07:46):
They again are grouped by age. We also have an
optional adult parent caregiver group that can meet at the
same time as your children are in group. It is
not mandatory, it is optional, but I do have to
tell you those adults and the caregivers do take advantage
of that opportunity just to talk about what they're experiencing,
(08:08):
what they're feeling. Sometimes they'll just go in there and
they'll say, you know, I'm having a really bad day,
and I don't know if anybody else is having bad
days or not.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
Right, So we have that.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
We also are in schools and communities and churches in
the Greater Philadelphia area. So we have offsite school groups,
so we partner with a lot of schools and school districts.
And then also we have post evention programs, so that
is usually an immediate crisis response.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
So if a school.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Or a community has a tragedy or experiences some level
of trauma, they can reach out to us and we
usually will respond after having a conversation in an immediate
crisis with.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Stephanie, what are some of the unique challenges that grieving
children face and how does Peter's Place Taylor It's approached
to meet their emotional and also their developmental needs.
Speaker 5 (09:02):
Children grieve differently than us as adults. Research shows that
children often grieve in silence, but as we know, that
will manifest itself in other ways, so whether it is
behaviorally challenges in school that.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Will come up at some point in time.
Speaker 5 (09:22):
So really, what we do in terms of their social,
emotional developmental needs is provide them with opportunities to speak
openly about their grief. You know, we provide that safe
space for them to be able to speak about it.
And it doesn't necessarily all need to be sad and heavy.
Sometimes there is guilt when they're having a great day.
(09:42):
Right when they're feeling joy, They're like, well, you know,
should I really be feeling joy and happiness? And the
answer is yes, you know, you should continue to move
forward and feel joy and feel happiness without feeling guilty
about it.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Sometimes they can feel all the feelings all at once.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
I think we've all experienced feeling all the feelings at
the same time. And so we really meet children where
they are. We don't force any conversations. We really try
to make it child led so that we are operating
on their level and understanding. Some days they want to
talk about it, some days they don't feel like talking
(10:21):
about it, and sometimes they need a little bit of
support and encouragement to be able to speak about their grief,
but then also to give them the tools to be
able to speak to.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
Their grownups about it.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
So whether it is their parents, their caregivers, grandparents, teachers,
adults in their life that they trust that they can
also are able to speak about their grief.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
How has the demand for your services changed over the
years and what role has public awareness played in this growth?
Speaker 5 (10:52):
So I will share with you statistics nationwide pre COVID times,
pre pandemic times, the percentage of chldren eighteen and under
that had experienced the death of someone close to them
was somewhere around under fifty percent. Coming out of COVID
times Lorraine, that has doubled.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
To over eighty percent.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
So children eighteen and under eighty percent of them have
experienced the death of someone close to them. And as
we know through the pandemic, if that happened, that loss
was nothing but weird.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Right, you know, there was no funerals.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
In some cases, you couldn't visit loved ones or ones
close to you in the hospital because of lockdown and quarantine, right.
And so the demand on our support has significantly increased,
and both here at our on site location and also
what schools are experiencing.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
What I will tell.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
You though, is that the awareness around asking for support
for mental health has also become greater in a very
positive way. So you have educators, school nurses, guidance counselors, administrators,
the intermediate units in this area, school district staff really
(12:11):
understanding the importance of mental health for the children, but
then also for the adults.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
That support the children.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
And so we have seen folks reach out to us
because we also do professional development training. It is the
only service that we actually charge for. Everything else we
do is free of charge learning, but we offer professional
development training to help those school nurses, those guidance counselors,
those teachers, those educators be able to identify some signs
(12:40):
but then also provide some support until an organization like
Peter's Place can come in and provide additional support.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Well, as you mentioned that most of your services are
absolutely free, there needs to be support from the community
in order to make that continue to happen. So you
have a couple of fundraisers coming up, tell us about them.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Yeah, So we have our first annual Family Fall Fest
on Sunday, October twentieth here at our location in Radner.
It is a nice way for families to come and
learn more about Peter's Place, but then also to support
our programs and help us maintain that high quality of programming,
but also to have them free of charge. So we
have tickets and sponsorships available. We'll have all sorts of
(13:24):
fall games, fall activities, pumpkin decorating, We'll have food, so
it should be a fun Sunday afternoon. And then we
also have our big benefit in auction on Friday, April
twenty fifth at aronom And Golf Club.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
This is our annual fundraiser.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
It's a really wonderful night where we honor some folks
that have been very supportive of Peter's Place and our mission.
And it's a wonderful way to again learn more about
our mission and our organization, but also have a nice
evening hearing more about the work that we do. And
then I also want to share we recently had a
giving day to Chember twelfth is our anniversary, and we
(14:03):
had a giving day on September twelfth where we have
an Amazon wish list of supplies that we use with
the children and our programs, So children's books, are supplies,
you name it, it was on there. The community really
showed up for us, Lorraine. Every item on that wish
list was purchased.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Ah, that's fantastic. Well, if people want more information about
of the great resources available to grieving families and children,
where's the best place to go.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
So the best place to start is our website, which
is Peter's Place online dot org. And that is where
you can find all information about our programs, the events
I just spoke about. But then too, if you want
to reach out to us because either you need some
support or you know somebody close to you that may
(14:50):
be may be in need of our support.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
That's also how you can get in touch with us.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Stephanie Limcapelo, who is executive director of Peter's Place, a
center for grieving children and families, Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
When it comes to healthcare, seniors are often put in
a position of not having enough, not having the support
that they need in order to live a long and
healthy life. So it's my pleasure to be joined by
two individuals who are going to tell us more about
what the issues are and what they are doing to
uplift seniors when it comes to underserved communities. We are
(15:35):
joined by Steve Gunther, he's CEO of Caring Health and
Patriot Home Care. Stephen Kinsey, he's vice president of Government
Advocacy and Community Engagement for Patriot and Caring Health. So
I am so delighted to have you both here and
let me start. Stephen Kinsey, by the way, for our audience,
here is someone who I've had a great relationship over
(15:58):
the many years. Has always been a tremendous support for
the community in so many different ways, as a state
representative and now has moved on to this new position.
But I'm going to start with you, Steve Gunther, and
talk about what are some of the challenges that exist
for seniors in underserved communities when it comes to getting
(16:18):
really good and quality of care.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
Well, thank you, Lorraine for having us on today. We
started Caring Health just a little bit over two years
ago in response to the need for healthcare services to
be brought to underserved patient populations, particularly the dually eligible,
those patients who are qualified for Medicare coverage and Medicaid coverage,
(16:41):
who have chronic illnesses, who really want to stay in
their homes if they have the support systems and the
help to do that. They really don't want to wind
up in a nursing home, and they certainly don't want
to wind up in a hospital if they if they can,
if they can avoid that, So independence and dignity are
critical for this population. There are many many programs under
federally sponsored and state sponsored healthcare programs to help these folks,
(17:05):
and then there's a whole range of other social programs
to address any number of social determinants of health. The
challenge is that you could be a PhD and it
would still be an imposing set of regulations and rules
to understand. And so we formed this company with some
other partners, investment and operating partners to try to help
(17:27):
address this social need. We acquired Patriot home Care, which
has been in the Philadelphia market for a long time,
about two years ago and have been building our network
of services around Patriot home Care, and we brought Steve on.
I got the opportunity to know Steve, to meet him
and know him working on a number of regulatory issues
(17:50):
in Harrisburg, and frankly, I was just so taken with
his commitment to his community, to the neighborhoods that he
grew up in, and to the people that he wants
to serve. And there's a very significant.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Overlap here and Stephen Kinzie as someone who has been
a long time advocate for access to healthcare of all
kinds for underserved communities. I wonder if you can address
some of the specific issues now Steve Gunther talked about.
I think a lot of seniors do prefer to stay
at home if they can. I mean, that's a really
(18:22):
big step to move into a senior care home or
assisted living. I think most seniors would refer to stay
at home. What are some of the barriers that exist,
and what are some of the things that you are
doing as an organization to address those barriers.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
Well erin again, I want to thank you for allowing
me to be here, and it's great to see you
as well. You know, I served twelve years as a
state legislator, and throughout the course of the twelve years,
you know, you get put on a variety of committees there. Well,
the one committee that was constant for me was the
Human Service Committee, also serving the Health Committee. I eventually
(18:58):
became chairman of the Human Service Committee, and throughout the
twelve years that I served as a legislator, health was
like really probably one of the number one priorities. I mean,
I mean, we always talk about funding in a different
the different arenas and so forth on, but healthcare was
one of the number one priorities that we as state
legislators seemed to be attempting to address year after year
(19:21):
after year. And so I had the opportunity, not only
as legity, but as the chairman of the Human Service
Committee to visit a variety of facilities and homes in
regards to just seeing how people were living how people
were living their lives, and I do with Steve. One
of the things that we found out as the committee
was that folks, especially as they were aging, they chose
(19:43):
to stay at home. And you know, some of the
challenges that our seniors and even folks with disability, what
they were facing was the lack of resources. I mean,
we had some folks who were deciding between do I
pay for medication? Do I pay for food? I don't
want to get kicked out of my home, so do
I just mix the food next to medication and just
(20:05):
make sure that the money is going into a home
that I can stay in and hopefully agent. And so
there was a variety of legislation that we tried over
the past twelve years, you know, different governors that we
had to interface with. I can say that we made
some progress, but the reality is that we have not
made enough progress. And you know, looking at a personal situation,
(20:25):
even with my mother who passed away five years ago,
the story was that my mother wanted to stay at home.
You know, unfortunate at the time. You know, we were
done COVID as well as some other health issues. But
I just know from personal experience, home is where the
heart is. And so you know, for me to join
an organization, a company that's focused on trying to honor
(20:48):
the wishes of our seniors and those folks who prefer
to be at home, it's just, you know, it's a
continuation for me of the advocacy work and focusing on
what folks truly desired, not just in Philadelphia, but all
across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sixty seven counties. And I
can't tell you no one county that where folks said
to me, oh, man, take me to a nursing home
(21:09):
or take me to another place. I want to get
out of my house. No, they want to stay at home.
And so I'm very fortunate to be here with care
Ring and Patriot to try to honor those wishes for folks.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Well, Steve Gunther, I know that there are also other
factors that come into play. Certainly when we're talking about
diverse communities, we're talking about areas where language might be
an issue, or transportation might be an issue. I wonder
if you can tell us a little bit about how
you address those issues.
Speaker 6 (21:37):
Yeah, I think the phrase that we use is culturally
relevant and culturally appropriate responses and so we're in today.
We're in six states. We have about fifty seven hundred employees.
We have twenty different service locations and about five thousand patients,
ranging anywhere from Central Virginia up through the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
(22:00):
all the way over to Youngstown, Ohio. And each community
is a local neighborhood. It has a local flavor to it.
Even in Philadelphia when Steve and I are talking and
I'll be talking about an issue in West Philly or
South Philly and He'll say, no, no, I'm not from Philadelphia.
I'm from North Philadelphia. So people want to be cared
(22:21):
for by people like them and people from their community.
The people want to be understood, and so one of
our key tenants to our business is to have service
locations as close to where people live as we can.
And so when we first bought Patriot, it had really
one very large, monolithic sort of agency, and we've established
(22:43):
we call them neighborhood health hubs in West Philly and
Upper Derby and South Philly and Wilmington. It's part of
the metropolitan Area Alleghany Avenue and we're in the process
of working out in Northeast Philly location, so we can
get our employees close to the communities, and we can
hire people from those neighborhoods to care for people, preferably
(23:05):
people who grew up in those neighborhoods. Caring for people
who grew up in those neighborhoods, and really trying to
make people comfortable, because there's there's a thing happens when
you when you become aged and disabled, you have impairments.
Those impairments, whether they're cognitive or physical, they cause world
to shrink and you feel very vulnerable. And so a
big part of what we do in our service offering
(23:27):
is we help people simply feel better, feel more comfortable
about the kinds of folks that are coming into their homes,
the kinds of people that are caring for them. So
English is the primary language in America, and certainly in Philadelphia,
Spanish as the secondary language, and it goes on from there.
We have a large presence within the Hispanic community, and
(23:50):
we have a pretty significant amount of Eastern European folks
in our organization, the Ukrainian, and we have some some
folks from a variety of other countries and languages. These
melting pot communities, which Philadelphia certainly is. They present you
with opportunities, but challenges too to address that, so you
(24:10):
really just have to sort of get on the ground.
You got to do what Steve was talking about, getting
your car and go to people's homes and sit and
talk with them and listen to what they're asking for
and what their challenges are, and then work to address
those challenges.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Well, my second to the last question that goes to
Stephen Kinzie, and that is how is your organization collaborating
with local community leaders and organizations to improve how the
outcomes for underserved seniors?
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Thanks for that question, and let me just tell you
it's really a continuum of work that has already been
established in communities. You know, prior to coming here as
a legislator, it wasn't just me, but working with our congressmen,
working with city council, working with state senators. So we
already had an organization, so to speak, an outfit that
(24:56):
was focusing on you know, gun violence, help out comes
and so forth on. So now being here with Caring Health,
it's just a continue of the work that we've already started.
And I can tell you to reign you know, prior
to leaving Harrisburg and talking with colleagues prior to leaving.
You know, I'm very clear, I can't talk about legislation,
but we can talk about the health and the care
(25:18):
of the folks of the communities in which they serve
and which we also serve. So there's a continuation of collaboration.
In fact, we have an open house that's going to
take place in two weeks and we're working with the
elected leaders there in the West phila Helpia area. We're
doing something here in Germantown, working with the local leaders
in Germantown. So it's just a continuation of working with
(25:38):
folks who really care about individuals in their communities and
just bringing some additional resources together, bringing some additional educational
sessions together, and just talking to the folks again, not
twisting their arms. You know, I'm not saying this way
with it that way, But what we're saying is that
and what they're saying to us is that healthcare is
an issue. So caring is saying, well, let us educate
you in the service that we provide. One of the
(26:00):
great things I really have to say that I love
about Steve Gunther is that this was not an armed twisting.
You know, Steve just cared about me and I saw
it when I was a legislator. He just cared about
people and it wasn't that caring or Patriot has to
serve everybody. But he's like, let's just educate folks, let
them choose where to go, and you have to appreciate
and respect that. And that's what we're doing. We're just
(26:21):
educating folks. And if they choose to join us because
of the great services we provide, that's great. And if
they choose to go someplace else, that's great to as
long as they make the choices and as long as
they're educated to understand so they can make the best
choice for them and their family members.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Well, that's great. You're meeting people where they are, Steve Gunther.
If people want more information about Patriot Health, Patriot home Care,
and also about Caring Health, how do they find out more?
Speaker 6 (26:50):
So you'll find us a couple of different spots on
the internet. Caringhealth dot com. The trick there is there's
an e in caring health dot com and then homecare
dot org are two quick and easy places to go.
We do have a phone number. It's eight seven seven,
five three five fifty five fifty. If you get confused
(27:12):
about that, step out on Broad Street and watch one
of our buses go by. We try to keep those
well wrapped so that people understand the bus shelters and
billboards and that kind of stuff, just so folks know
how to access us.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Thank you for that question, fantastic, And Stephen Kinzie, I'm
giving you the last word. What's your final message to
our listeners?
Speaker 7 (27:30):
Well, you know, this is what I say to folks.
Healthcare is important, Irene. I don't care how much money
you have, I don't care how much knowledge you have,
but just make sure that you take care of yourself
and take care of your loved ones. And you know,
as a legislator, I found out that we can't legislate
every single aspect of a person's life. We should not
be doing that. But one of the things that we
should be doing is educating folks so they can make
(27:53):
the best decisions what's best for them and their loved ones.
And for me, the joint care ring is like it's
almost like one of those match made in heavens. It's
like dating a girlfriend and you fell in love. Car
ring offers those types of services and supports. And again
I don't twist anybody's arm. I just simply share the
information and hopefully the folks throughout Pennsylvania will make the
(28:14):
best choice for them. And I just think that, you know,
for me, this was a good choice, really the best
choice for me, and I think that the service that
we provide are second to none.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Well, Stephen Kinzie, we want to thank you for everything
that you've done in the past and everything that you'll
do in the future. They are certainly lucky to have you.
Stephen Kinsey, he's vice president of Government Advocacy and Community
Engagement for Caring Health and Patriot Homecare. And Stephen Gunther,
CEO of Caring Health and Patriot Home Care, which is
certainly expanding its footprint in the Philadelphia area and reaching
(28:46):
out to the community. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 7 (28:49):
Thank you very much, Lorraine, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app yy Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard. Morrel and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(29:12):
You've been listening to insight and thank you
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