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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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. |
Kristine Axtell of Menominee joined the Medical Access Coalition’s Menominee office following a June Pre-Service Orientation. Kristine is a registered nurse with experience in direct care at Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette. During her year at MAC’s Menominee office, she will help with coordination of access services and development of a volunteer recruitment and retention system.
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Another summer addition to MAC’s staff, Escanaba resident Debra Calouette is be working on coordinating services and volunteer recruitment/retention systems at the Delta County office. Deb, who has a bachelor’s degree in social work, has been serving as an addiction counselor with the Great Lakes Recovery Center in Marquette and was also a volunteer mediator with the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress (UPCAP). |
Nicole Gearhart of Hermansville joined the UPHAC office in mid-August, after previously serving as a VISTA at North Menominee County Community Schools in Powers. Nicole’s work will include helping coordinate communication between the five U.P. Access Coalitions & UPHAC, increasing the public awareness of the Access Coalitions, and researching financial resources. |
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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.
See a former VISTA's reflections on her volunteer experience here.
For more information
about the AmeriCorps*VISTA program
and volunteer opportunities, visit the AmeriCorps web
site.
