Why Should Someone Have to Choose?

I recently had coffee with a patient of ours who recounted what her pre-InterFaith days were like. As she was sharing her story with me, she made this statement and it stopped me in my tracks. “Missy, before InterFaith I had to ask myself—Do I eat or do I go to the doctor?” Now I have spent some time with several of our patients over the last year since being here, but had never quite heard the struggle of what our patients experience put quite like that.

We finished our coffee and I left there with that phrase rolling over and over in my mind. It impacted me so much that I put it on this post it note (pictured here) and put it up in my office, ‘lest I ever have a bad day and forget that what we do here--it really matters to people.

For those that do have insurance, scheduling a routine doctor’s visit or having to see a specialist for something out of the ordinary, can often feel more like a nuisance than the luxury it really is. Finding the time to go to the doctor amidst family schedules, work schedules, and just life often feels like ‘one more thing to check off the list.’
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But for many of our patients who have now found InterFaith and for the tens of thousands that still need what we do in our community, accessible and affordable health care is a life-saving and life-changing gift. This is a gift that I pray we all do our best to never take for granted. And may we share the ‘gift of InterFaith’ with everyone around us so that no one has to decide, “Do I eat, or do I go to the doctor.” With InterFaith, they can have the blessing of both. 

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