Spinach Strawberry Salad

OBJ's Community Impact Heroes: Grace Medical Home's Stephanie Garris bolsters mental health efforts

Stephanie Nelson Garris, CEO of Grace Medical Home

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CATIE PETERSON/OBJ; RICH JOHNSON/SPECTACLE PHOTO

By Ryan Lynch  –  Staff Writer, Orlando Business Journal

Dec 5, 2022 Updated Dec 7, 2022, 4:41pm EST

Editor's note: This is part of a series on the 2022 Community Impact: Heroes, stories that highlight Central Floridians who are pushing for positive change in health care, workforce development/education, transportation and affordable housing. This story focuses on health care. Read more in OBJ's Dec. 2-8, 2022, weekly edition.

Stephanie Nelson Garris has been focused on addressing needs through her organization’s health care services.

The CEO of Orlando-based nonprofit Grace Medical Home said her organization cared for more than 1,200 unique patients with a total value of care of $10.36 million. Plus, the group addresses other social determinants of health, including mental health and food insecurity.

Food was the most common need, and through a partnership with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation, Grace Medical Home provides healthy food every other week to pediatric patients and, more recently, for adult patients.

Another recent move: Grace Medical Home added Dr. John Sanderson and Carisa Jones to address mental health needs, Garris said.

"We provided 1,710 mental health encounters and anticipate this number will increase. More than 18% of all Grace patients received mental health services, a 36% increase from the prior year. On average, our counseling patients visited with their mental health counselor more than seven times this year."

Here’s more from Garris:

What was your unfinished 2022 business on health care access gaps? We are excitedly looking forward to introducing Grace’s Mobile Medical Unit to the community. Grace received a $250,000 appropriation from the state of Florida to purchase a mobile medical unit. It will enable us to reach patients who don’t have access to transportation for their appointments and provide outreach opportunities to underserved communities.

What partnerships have helped bridge health care access gaps in the area? The most significant were those forged long before we opened our doors. AdventHealth and Orlando Health are sustaining partners through donations, much-needed services and ongoing support. Both hospital systems understand the value of providing access to health care, as many of the uninsured go to local emergency rooms for non-urgent treatment or go without care completely. Grace provides an alternative to the emergency room which helps lower health care costs not only for patients, but also the community at large. We have deferred more than $2.5 million in hospital costs for Grace patients since 2015.

How can businesses help contribute to fighting these issues locally? Volunteer. Volunteers play an integral role in advancing Grace’s mission. Last year, over 681 volunteers served Grace, donating more than 37,000 hours of service — the equivalent of 17 full-time employees. We especially need clinical specialists to provide specialty clinics for our uninsured patients. Also, donate. Grace is completely funded by donations and every gift counts.

How has the demand for the health services you provide changed from last year? We saw an increase in demand for mental health services this past year. Trauma-informed care also became a foundation at Grace; it shifts the focus from “What’s wrong with you?” to, “What happened to you?” These practices potentially improve patient engagement, treatment adherence and health outcomes, as well as provider and staff wellness. It also can help reduce avoidable care and excess costs for both the health care and social service sectors.

Stephanie Nelson Garris

• Title: CEO, Grace Medical Home

• Years with nonprofit: 13

• Contact: sgarris@gracemedicalhome.org

A Healthy Recipe from Grace Medical Home

Ann-Marie Cools: Flavoring Lives at Grace

Ann-Marie Cools, Grace’s new Community Nutritionist, first learned about the job opening from her sister, Samantha Cools Bermudez, our staff attorney with Medical Legal Partnership. “She spoke so highly of her experience with the Grace team and patients, that I was eager to apply,” recalls Ann-Marie. “It was divine timing as I had just moved back to Orlando.”

 Ann-Marie’s interest in nutrition developed at a young age due to her severe allergies. “I remember how much time and energy it took for my parents to find nutritious foods and therapies that helped alleviate my ailments,” shared Ann-Marie. “Thankfully, I come from a family of great cooks who like to experiment with a variety of ingredients.”

 While studying dietetics and nutrition at Florida International University, she learned there are a multitude of ways to create a balanced lifestyle and that “one size does not fit all.” “I began to appreciate how healthy food choices make a huge impact on people’s lives,” Ann-Marie said.

 “As a nutritionist/dietitian, we’re often labelled as the ‘food police,’” Ann-Marie said. “Many think our food preferences are boiled chicken, carrots and salad - all bland and unappealing. Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring or bland. It’s a great way to experiment with fresh ingredients and different flavors.”

 “What I love most about nutrition is being able to spread messages that inspire people to feel as good as they can through food, and how to achieve that in a sustainable way,” Ann-Marie concluded.

A Bittersweet Goodbye

It’s always bittersweet when we say goodbye to patients as they leave Grace once they obtain insurance, but that is our goal! Edwin Amesty, a Venezuelan native, was referred to Grace by Dr. Phillips High School’s nurse when looking for care for his daughter with special needs.

“From day one – the very first moment we arrived – it was special,” said Edwin. “We knew right away that everything was going to be much better. We took a deep breath. We finally found our place.”

Their entire family became patients at Grace – Edwin, his wife and his daughter.

They have insurance options now along with the tools needed to determine which option is best for the entire family.   

“What I dreamed of from the very beginning – if we ever somehow make some money, we will make a big donation,” Edwin shared. “The work you do is wonderful and everybody who comes here feels this way. We’ll miss you all.”

Thank you, Amesty family, for entrusting Grace with your care. 

National Grant Generates Important Quality Improvement Initiative

Grace Medical Home has been chosen by the Americares Foundation, Inc. as one of only nine clinic recipients of their Roadmap Addressing Disparities in Health Outcomes quality improvement grant.

“Grace Medical Home continually strives to improve our clinical operations with a proven track record of success,” said Stephanie Garris, Grace’s CEO. “This $30,000 grant will be a driving force to undertake a new quality improvement initiative focusing on Diabetes, particularly poor control of Hemoglobin A1C. While we review this outcome annually, we have never stratified the data to identify racial or ethnic disparities, until now. The data shows that our African American patients face a disparity in controlling or preventing diabetes. This grant will provide the resources and incentives to undertake an initiative to address this disparity.”

Specifically, the data shows that diabetic African Americans have a greater likelihood of having poor diabetes control (an A1C greater than 9%), with 29% of African Americans in this category, compared with 21% poor control of our Hispanic patients and 23% of our white patients. Our clinicians prefer our diabetic patients to be in the 7.0 to 8.9 range, so that is the goal for improvement as we work to eliminate this disparity. Additionally, African-American patients have pre-diabetes at disparately high rates. In a large sample of our adult patients who are not diagnosed with diabetes, 35% had A1c results in the pre-diabetic range. Unfortunately, a higher percentage of African American patients in this sample with 44% in the pre-diabetic range.

 Targeted intervention with our diabetic and prediabetic African American patients will include a multidisciplinary team, led by our staff nutritionist, Ann Marie Cools, who has extensive knowledge in providing nutrition education in culturally-sensitive ways, Dr. Sherry Brooks, Medical Director, Dr. John Sanderson, Assistant Medical Director, Stephanie Garris, Chief Executive Officer, Nirvana Muniz, Director of Behavioral Health, and Sara Sullivan, Data and Evaluations consultant.

Dan The Man Navigates With Grace

Volunteer Navigator, Dan Jeffers, interacts with patients at Grace.

Nearly every Wednesday, following devotion at Grace, shouts of “Dan The Man” echo throughout the Welcome Room. Staff and visitors alike recognize and thank a mainstay at Grace – Volunteer Navigator, Dan Jeffers, affectionately known as “Dan The Man.”

Upon retirement from a 35-year career in medical sales, Dan was looking for a volunteer opportunity to serve others. He learned about Grace from Trustee Rick Fletcher’s daughter, Arden Magee, in October 2019 and he has been volunteering consistently ever since.

Though his official volunteer role is as a Navigator, cheerfully escorting patients to the appropriate area in our facility, he willingly wears many hats. From serving as a “roadie” assisting fellow volunteer, Dr. John Fleming, by setting up Dr. Fleming’s keyboard on days he provides musical accompaniment, to serving as joke translator for Pastor Omar, part-time baby rocker and upstairs coffee maker, he lends a hand wherever and whenever he is needed. “I really enjoy making our patients smile or laugh, especially the little ones,” said Dan.

Dan shared, “This place is such a soothing place. I am amazed at the incredible compassion, respect, and heart that the entire staff show towards our patients. Grace is an incredible community, everyone in the building conveys God’s positive spirit. I have never experienced a kinder, more positive environment than Grace’s.”

If you are here on Wednesday mornings, join in our celebration and appreciation of Dan The Man.

WESH 2 Community Champion: Grace Medical Home

Keila’s Journey: From Immigrant to Advocate

(Left to right) Keila and fellow Gap Year Intern, Tori, at the Sizzlin’ Summer Luau

Keila Bazile knows the challenges of being an uninsured immigrant firsthand. “When my family and I relocated to Florida from Haiti, we didn’t have access to healthcare and were uninsured,” recounts Keila. “It was through a financial assistance program at a local community health center that we were able to gain access to primary care and various healthcare opportunities.” Her personal experience inspired her to volunteer at Grace Medical Home.

Keila began her volunteer service as a Gap Year Intern after graduating from the University of Central Florida in June 2020. During her internship, she served in Care Coordination, managing Optometry/Ophthalmologist referrals and in Women’s Health, managing referrals for mammograms and well-woman exams. She also served as a scribe working with our providers and as a KNIGHTS Clinic liaison working closely with UCF med students. “Every day that I came to Grace,” said Keila, “I always had the thought, ‘Patients are relying on your assistance and for you to advocate for them therefore you cannot let them down.’ That motivated me to try my best at whatever I was doing whether that was handling mammograms, optometry referrals, or translating.”

Keila wanted to do something for our patients who lost their jobs or were housing insecure due to the pandemic. Keila recalls, “In the third grade, I was chosen by my guidance counselor as one of the students to receive a Christmas shopping spree. Fascinated with the idea of purchasing toys, it never dawned on me how much of a financial relief it was for my parents. This experience inspired me to create the toy drive.” The Toy Drive held last December ensured that all of our pediatric patients and their siblings received Christmas gifts. 

Following the success of that event, the Sizzlin’ Summer Luau was created to provide an opportunity for pediatric patients to have a fun summer experience before returning to school. “Not every child has the privilege of participating in a summer camp. For some patients, this event was probably the most fun activity they’ve done this whole summer,” said Keila. “That event reminded me what community is supposed to feel like. Everyone from volunteers and staff came together to help. Our pediatric patients were happy to see their providers in their Hawaiian shirts, we did the electric slide and had snow cones. It was an awesome day!”

Despite creating those joyful events, Keila’s personal experience was never far from her mind. Though similar to Grace patients’ arrivals in the US, Keila’s experience was far less challenging. Her service at Grace made her realize, “I’m not much different from our patients but at the same time, my journey is. I came to the US from Haiti when I was eight years old and all we did was get on a plane. When I hear stories about the ways some our patients arrived to the US, in a way I feel guilty and find it unfair. I feel as if I should have faced the same obstacles and gone through the same journey as them.

I remember one of our patients explaining how one of her sisters was sent back once she made it to America and another saying how she had to learn how to swim in order not to drown when crossing the rivers. I have a hard time understanding why it was such an easy process for me but not for them. Not that I would have liked to go through the obstacles they’ve experienced, but at least it would have been fair.”

Keila’s personal experience and hearing the plights of our patients spurred her passion to eliminate health disparities. “Grace has allowed me to give back and become an advocate for those without a voice,” said Keila. “You don’t have to wait to become a healthcare provider to act. You have the possibility to make a difference whether it’s small or big. I know that I made an impact in the lives of our patients whether it was advocating for them to be able to get vision exams, mammograms or organizing the toy drive and summer event. Those services make such a difference in caring for our patients and allow us to provide them with more resources.”

Keila is in the process of applying to PA school, where she wants to continue working with and advocating for underserved populations, especially undocumented immigrants. “The PA field is team-oriented. Working in Care Coordination, I’ve learned how to work collaboratively and seek guidance from others,” said Keila. “As a Gap Year Intern, I’ve made sure to ask myself: ‘Do I want to be the type of provider that does the bare minimum? Or do I want to be the type of provider that goes above and beyond?’ I keep the mindset that these are also my patients and they’re trusting me.”

We have no doubt that Keila will continue to be the voice for the marginalized. Thank you for your amazing service to Grace, Keila. You have left an indelible imprint on our hearts and in the lives of our patients.