VISTA Profiles
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VISTA Volunteers:
Getting Things Done,
Making a Difference |
Volunteers
in Service to America (VISTA) members serving with
Upper Peninsula Access Coalitions are our “Northern
Lights.” They have stepped forward as valuable,
capacity-building resources to help move the Coalitions
and UPHAC toward their goal of 100 percent access to
health care for the region’s uninsured residents.
AmeriCorps*VISTA
is a program of the Corporation for National and Community
Service. Its focus: helping communities across the
nation fight poverty and become self-sustaining.
Currently, three Upper Peninsula
Access Coalitions and UPHAC host VISTA
members working on projects aimed at providing quality
health care with dignity for uninsured U.P. residents.
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Greater community involvement and visibility for the
services of Medical Access Coalition of Delta and Menominee Counties (MAC)
is a primary focus of development efforts by VISTA Ashlee
Valavala, Community Development Coordinator at MAC since February 2008. She also works with the Delta County office to explore
funding sources. She is the primary Prescription Assistance Program coordinator for pharmaceutical company donated medications for MAC enrollees. |
Helping to establish health care referral and prescription assistance services for uninsured working-age Alger County residents, VISTA Laura Lewinski is serving as enrollment and administrative assistant at the new Alger County Medical Access office in Munising. The newest VISTA member in the UPHAC Project, Laura began her year of service in August, 2009.
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At the Dickinson-Iron Medical Care
Access Coalition, VISTA Development and Enrollment Coordinator
Rhea Menza is working with DIMCAC to develop
coordinated volunteer and enrollment services for the program's uninsured
and underinsured enrollees as well as supporting fundraising and other
resource development, including Prescription Assistance Program applications. |
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At UPHAC's
Escanaba office is VISTA Angel Dittrich is in her second year of service. Her tasks include supporting
web-based information and marketing services, providing support and
coordinating services for the U.P.'s five access coalitions, developing program/services
data reports, and gathering local and
regional grant and fundraising source data. She also has been a key coordinator for "Hero for the Uninsured" Awards Dinner, Fall Conferences and other outreach events. |
Each
day, these dedicated advocates for community service
make a difference as Access Coalitions pursue the objective
of giving uninsured Upper Peninsula residents access
to quality health care with dignity.
For more information
about the AmeriCorps*VISTA program
and volunteer opportunities, visit the AmeriCorps web
site.
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