Revolutionizing Healthcare and Community in Wayne County & Surrounding Areas
Oct 16, 2023
Kevin Shook
Curious about how a community can rally together and create a haven of holistic healthcare? We connected with the dynamic Carrie Miles, CEO of the Neighborhood Health Center, a beacon of comprehensive care in Wayne County. Coming from a background of community service nurtured at Ball State and Indiana Wesleyan University, Carrie proves why she’s the servant leader embodying the values of this revolutionary center. Discover how their distinctive approach values the individuality of each employee, fostering an enriching work environment that benefits both staff and the community they serve.
Our conversation then shifts to the heart of Wayne County - its resilient community. Witness the extraordinary unity shown in response to the tragic death of Sierra Burton and how the COVID pandemic unearthed unexpected silver linings. Be inspired by Carrie's insights on how to engage with your local community and learn about the instrumental role of organizations like the United Way and Natco Empowerment Center. As we delve into their initiatives aimed at combating homelessness, we can't help but express our gratitude towards the dedicated staff and governing board of the Neighborhood Health Center for their relentless service.
Curious about how a community can rally together and create a haven of holistic healthcare? We connected with the dynamic Carrie Miles, CEO of the Neighborhood Health Center, a beacon of comprehensive care in Wayne County. Coming from a background of community service nurtured at Ball State and Indiana Wesleyan University, Carrie proves why she’s the servant leader embodying the values of this revolutionary center. Discover how their distinctive approach values the individuality of each employee, fostering an enriching work environment that benefits both staff and the community they serve.
Our conversation then shifts to the heart of Wayne County - its resilient community. Witness the extraordinary unity shown in response to the tragic death of Sierra Burton and how the COVID pandemic unearthed unexpected silver linings. Be inspired by Carrie's insights on how to engage with your local community and learn about the instrumental role of organizations like the United Way and Natco Empowerment Center. As we delve into their initiatives aimed at combating homelessness, we can't help but express our gratitude towards the dedicated staff and governing board of the Neighborhood Health Center for their relentless service.
Welcome to another podcast episode of our community. I'm Alfredo Diamond and I'm here with a special guest, carrie Miles Neighborhood Health Center. Welcome, carrie.
Speaker 2:
Thank you, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1:
Awesome. Yeah, man, it's cold out there. It's like Mother Nature just said, boom, turn the lights off. Exactly when does cold weather come?
Speaker 2:
from. It is fall in Indiana.
Speaker 1:
Man, thank you for being here. So tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2:
So I am born and raised in Cambridge City, lived my entire life in Wayne County and worked almost my entire life in Wayne County, went to high school at Cambridge City, lincoln, and graduated with a small class of about 72 or three of us.
Speaker 1:
Wow.
Speaker 2:
And I've been here all my life.
Speaker 1:
Wow, have you ever had the opportunity to leave, or just you just chose to stay here?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we chose to stay here. We wanted to stay close to friends and family and the community that we grew up in and it's been a really special, a special thing to see our kids grow up in the community that we did so very invested in our community and involved with various functions in the Cambridge City area.
Speaker 1:
In your position. You obviously went to college somewhere. Where did you choose to go to school?
Speaker 2:
I went to Ball State. Chirp, chirp, right, yeah. So I went to an undergrad at Ball State and then, did my master's degree at Indiana Wesleyan.
Speaker 1:
We have a lot in common. I've got a master's from Indiana Wesleyan.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Master of Science.
Speaker 2:
It was a great program. I enjoyed the faith-based part of that and they really spoke to us a lot about being servant leaders and I think that's been. It was a great platform for me, you know, as I became a leader in various organizations and various roles.
Speaker 1:
Was it the LEAP program?
Speaker 2:
It was yeah, yeah me too.
Speaker 1:
Great opportunity to you know if you've got a family, you're going, you're going to be working full-time and you can continue education. So it's a great thing.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:
So, Carrie, discuss your role in our community.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so Neighborhood Health Center is a federally qualified health center. We provide holistic care for anyone in the community, but we're specifically geared to take care of those who need some extra assistance whether that's financial assistance or help in their everyday lives in terms of being able to afford their healthcare, transportation to their appointments and we provide primary care and mental health services in a holistic way. So it's a great place for patients to come to be taken care of for their physical needs, but also their mental health needs, and so my role I was chosen as the CEO for Neighborhood Health Center back in 2017, made that transition, so that's been a great learning opportunity, and I've been able to really grow and develop an organization that I'm extremely proud of.
Speaker 1:
What makes the Neighborhood Health Center so special?
Speaker 2:
Well, I think there's a couple of things that really you know separate us from a normal physician's office or doctor's office.
Speaker 2:
We really provide comprehensive care, so we know and understand that we can't take care of a person's depression or diabetes if they can't get to their appointment or they can't afford their healthcare or they can't afford the medication to treat that. So it's a very holistic, inclusive way to provide healthcare. That makes us very different. We work really closely with a lot of community partners. We're very blessed in Wayne County with a lot of great nonprofit organizations that help patients with a variety of different things in their lives. So we work really really closely with other organizations in the community just to try to meet that connection point for patients and to receive patients from those other organizations. If they have a client or an employee that's really struggling, being able to step in and work collaboratively for the betterment of that individual.
Speaker 1:
What locations do you have? Just one location. There's multiple locations.
Speaker 2:
We have three locations here in Richmond, down on South A and 10th Street, it's here in Wayne County, and then we also have a clinic in Liberty, indiana, in Union County and then most recently Connorsville in Fayette County. We opened that clinic in August of last year.
Speaker 1:
And you're over all of those. Yes, what kind of struggles are you having in the workforce?
Speaker 2:
You know I'm going to knock wood here a little bit, al.
Speaker 2:
We have been incredibly fortunate to recruit and retain some really amazing people. We were really intentional when we were building our employment package for our employees that we wanted to find the right people and we wanted to retain them. So we sat down and met with every individual member of our team and just asked them what's important to you? What types of benefits do you need to be supportive of your family and your life outside of work? And so we really have worked really hard to incorporate all of that feedback into our employment package, and our human resources team has done an amazing job of vetting candidates and finding the right people with the right heart and the right mission to be a part of our team, and they've really invested into us as an organization. So we've really tried to kind of take things back to basics that one-on-one relationship not only with our patients but with our staff.
Speaker 2:
So we are really intentional about knowing them personally and knowing what their challenges are in their life and trying to meet those needs. So we've done a really good job of retaining. The other thing that we've done is work really collaboratively with area high schools and colleges to try to build that feeder program and that pipeline so that we're constantly getting great people into the organization.
Speaker 1:
Wow, this major has an employer to open up and look at what, listen to what your employees have to say. Potential employees, Can you share just a couple of things that really stand out to you, that were kind of not necessarily eye-opening but really kind of changes within the culture, organization as far as what employees wanted?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think when you look at the data and historically, as an employer, you think about long-term recognition being starting at that year five mark. Well, if you look at the data, most patients or most employees don't stay in a job. Two and a half years was the average. So it didn't make sense for us to have a long-term recognition policy that didn't start until five years. So we start year one. They receive an incentive.
Speaker 2:
After that we really utilized paid holidays, almost one of the big pushes for our employees. Starting next year they'll have an additional day that they can choose as a mental health day that they're paid for. But I think, generally speaking, that culture of wanting to belong to a small organization where they feel like they matter and they make a difference has really been the biggest kind of change from, like you and I, when I got out of college I wanted to work for a corporation. We wanted to work for a large organization where we were part of something corporately or bigger. We're really seeing that start to change with employees and they really want to be part of a smaller organization with a really strong culture where they know each other and they have those relationships with each other.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, where do you see the future of the workforce headed?
Speaker 2:
Well, I think we're gonna have to continually make those adjustments as the workforce changes. There's much more focus on work-life balance, both with the hours of work, but also giving them tools so that they can turn off home when they get to work and then turn off work at the end of the day and be able to focus on home. So the workforce is much different in terms of how they wanna structure their life and we've gotta continually make those adjustments as an employer.
Speaker 2:
You know I think the mental health component of the world really was escalated with COVID. So really being able to provide them those tools and those resources and that skill set to manage that mental health component is really important.
Speaker 1:
Sounds like you're an amazing leader and innovative and it shows within your staff and your organizations. I think you're probably setting trends within your industry and just keep doing what you're doing. We're kinda breaking up and going to a little segment that I've got called Hot and Ready or Cold and Steady. It's just a little bit of fun here. So just thinking about our community and what's your favorite park 10th Street Park.
Speaker 2:
It's right next to our clinic, a little known park. I didn't know it existed until we opened the clinic, but yeah, it's a great park.
Speaker 1:
Awesome. Are you a coffee drinker? I am a coffee drinker.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, Roscoe's.
Speaker 1:
Roscoe's.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's Street Bagel. Yeah, Shout out to both of those, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Pizza Place.
Speaker 2:
There's a lot of great pizza places, probably Claire's Pizza King. Pizza King Can't beat Pizza King in Indiana.
Speaker 1:
Okay, what's the local business comes to mind for ice cream?
Speaker 2:
Ulurries.
Speaker 1:
Ulurries has to be. Yeah, this is a tough one. It's a tough one. Favorite place for dinner.
Speaker 2:
I'm gonna shout out to my hometown number nine grill.
Speaker 1:
Number nine grill. Like number nine grill.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, you can't beat the number nine Lakeview.
Speaker 1:
What's your go-to meal there?
Speaker 2:
Barbecue chicken salad Nice.
Speaker 1:
All right.
Speaker 2:
Sam, and you're making me hungry.
Speaker 1:
I know it's too early, I know I got fast. I can't eat till one o'clock.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, oh yeah, it's a long morning. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1:
Got power through it. With local business, education and business development in mind, where would you like to see our community within the next five years?
Speaker 2:
Well, I mean, I think, for this community to continue and I think we've made some really good strides and I think there's some great conversations being had in the community how do we retain some of these young people, how do we keep them invested in this community, how do we help them establish roots here and not migrate out? I think we've got some great programs that have been started. I think there's a lot of movement because we know we can't continue to watch the outflux of the population. So I think showing them the opportunities in the organization and in the community is really important, being invested in that education component. It takes a lot of time as an employer to have interns, but I think we all every organization that's doing business in the community has to invest in that if we want them to stay here and we want them to realize what opportunities are available.
Speaker 1:
And that's something that's important to me with my roles in the Chamber and at IU East and just passionate about retaining our education. I think it starts, you know, at the school and bridging that gap with employers. Now, I mean, what can you share? Maybe an idea that you have to help us bridge that gap?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, we've had a prone start and started the last couple of years with Lincoln, so we've hosted two of their high school seniors for work-based learning. So it's a great opportunity. We get funding back through the Earned Indiana program, where we're compensated for part of their salaries. But this year we have a senior coming out of Lincoln High School. She's with us, you know, four days a week, about four hours a day, and she's doing some tremendous work and she's one of those individuals.
Speaker 2:
She has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She doesn't necessarily want to go into healthcare in terms of nursing or medical assisting, but she's got a lot of great ideas for marketing and blogging and vlogging, which she had to explain to me. I thought that was a typo, but she's going to start doing some work for us, which is something that we need. We don't necessarily have a full-time position for marketing or really able to afford a full-time position for marketing, so it's a great way for us to give her some real-world experience and for us to get, you know, some manual labor, you know, at a lower rate, so just those kinds of things. But it takes time, right, like there has to be somebody in your organization who's willing to meet with that student every day and provide direction and provide oversight. So having people on your team who are invested in that, and so we're very fortunate that way, to have people that want to invest in those students, can you?
Speaker 1:
share a memorable moment or experience with your involvement in the community that stands out to you.
Speaker 2:
There's a lot of great moments, I think, that are going on. I think to see this community come together you know, last year with Sierra Burton and that tragedy was really special to see the connection in the community and to see organizations and individuals support our law enforcement I think COVID brought a lot of community members together. There was a lot of really good things that came out of COVID and being supported, you know, from a healthcare perspective, by the community was unbelievable. And to see the community support teachers and various people who are impacted with the pandemic. So I think there's a lot of really great movement that way and a lot of connections in the community that make it really special.
Speaker 1:
Carrie, what advice would you give someone else out there that's kind of you know they're trying to figure out how to get there, you know, share their experience within the community, find out how they can help. And what would you suggest to someone out there that's kind of on the fence about just kind of taking charge and helping out?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think the first step is to figure out, you know kind of what sector you want to be involved in. The United Way is a great resource. You know. They're involved with so many different organizations in the community. Places like the Natco Empowerment Center. They do poverty simulations, which is really important, especially for leaders in the community to understand some of the challenges that a large percentage of our population deal with. But just making that first connection and just showing up to events I think there's just such power to that being present, being there, being available if someone calls to make those connections, is crucial. You know, I firmly believe that the world revolves around relationships and so you know, all you need is one. You just need that one relationship and then that person can really bring you into their world and make those connections with other organizations. Just to get started, there's just so many great organizations to get involved in, whether that's, you know, the Chamber or the Foundation, or so many nonprofits Boys and Girls Club, girls, inc. There's so many nonprofits who are looking for governing board members.
Speaker 2:
That's always a struggle is trying to find people who have capacity to be involved and the time to volunteer to be a part of those. But great things happening with some of those small nonprofits.
Speaker 1:
Are there any upcoming projects or causes of the community that you are particularly excited about Do you want to share? There's a lot of work being done in regards to homelessness.
Speaker 2:
You know, I think if you're driving down you know US 40 and in several different places in Richmond, you're going to see that struggle. So there's several groups who are working on you know, how do we start to combat this and what resources do we need and how do we come together. So that's been an exciting kind of turn of events happening. Again, I think some of the work that Forward Wing County is doing in terms of working with students and individuals to keep them invested in the community is really exciting. So, yeah, just a lot of really good, really good conversations going on and some work being done.
Speaker 1:
You're so involved, so think about your staff, special person, team members, anyone that you would like to shout out today?
Speaker 2:
Every individual that works at Neighborhood Health Center. We have been incredibly blessed with some amazing people, but also just the opportunity. We talked a little bit about governing boards. We've got an amazing governing board. They donate a tremendous amount of time to help us keep, you know, the wheels on the bus, so to speak, and are just really invested and great advocates for us out in the community with their local connections, and so a big shout out to our employees and our governing board.
Speaker 1:
Shout out to our employees in the government. Well, that closes out another episode of Our Community. I want to celebrate and thank our special guest, carrie Miles, for joining me today and I look forward to maybe having you back on down the road sometime. And thanks, bye.
