Member Spotlight: Alicia Seggelink at Sulzbacher- Beaches Community Healthcare Location

Name: Alicia Seggelink
Position: Patient Advocate at Sulzbacher – Beaches Community Healthcare Location
Undergraduate Degree: Biochemistry and Spanish from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
Hometown: Little Chute, WI
Currently Reading: Middlemarch by George Eliot

Whether you are someone who considers the glass to be half full or half empty, no optimist or pessimist can deny that this service term is half over for us. By this time, we have all really hit our stride here at our host sites, and I am excited to say that everything is going smoothly at the Sulzbacher Center-Beaches Community Healthcare location. Duval County has the sixth largest uninsured population in Florida, with 20% of the county residents having no health insurance coverage. Homeless and transitional residents are acutely at risk of going for years without medical care. The patients of the Sulzbacher center can now address health problems that may have or will develop into serious illness. Chronic diseases of the heart, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, are rampant in the homeless community. The medical services of the two Sulzbacher clinics are designed as part of a community-wide “safety net” of health care providing primary and preventive care to the underserved population.

Vegging Out While Volunteering

A few fabulous NFHC Corps members spent their Saturday serving the community and learning new things at the Northeast Florida VegFest.

The Third Annual Northeast Florida VegFest, presented by The Girls Gone Green and Northeast Florida Vegetarian Society took place November 3, 2012 at Riverside Park in Jacksonville. The event was free to the public and promoted healthy, sustainable, plant-based nutrition.

The event had many local vegan and vegetarian food vendors, farmers, environmental organizations and animal rescues. There were many cooking demonstrations and tasty samples to try!

Health Corps members were busy throughout the day helping hand out samples of healthy foods and getting creative in the kids zone. Crafts included making magic with environmentally friendly wands, recycled magazine collages, and toilet paper tube owls.

Sarah & Anneke in the Kids Zone. Photo Courtesy of the Girls Gone Green

"I think that eating healthier is very important. The VegFest was a great way to show the community about healthier eating options and expose people to alternative products that are not as harmful to the environment or our bodies. And it was in a great location! 

I volunteered at the Kid Zone and helped kids make environmentally friendly crafts with recycled material and vegan paint. I enjoyed the experience! The kids made some really cute little critters." -- Anneke Demmink 

Running before we could walk

Our service term has started and we’re in full swing! While we settle into our host sites and get to know our mentors, we’re also learning a great deal about Jacksonville and the needs and interests of the community.

Members Krystal Kelly, Sheila Rahimpour, and Lauren Hudak
work on the siding of Habitat for Humanity home.
Photo by Tatiana Giustizia

The North Florida Health Corps has already begun making a difference in Jax with not one, but two Saturdays at Beaches Habitat for Humanity. Our members sported hard hats and got their hands dirty in order to provide affordable housing for low-income families.

"My favorite part was helping to build a house. I did not think I could do that type of work, but I was able to contribute to the project, which was a good feeling. It was a fun and positive experience."
-Sheila Rahimpour

Our outside service impact doesn’t stop there. NFHC members have found a variety of ways to serve the community with events like the Girls Gone Green “VegFest” and training in Question, Persuade, and Refer suicide prevention with Florida Youth Suicide Prevention. Look for posts about these soon!

We’re looking forward to a fun, service-filled term with plenty of news to keep our reader’s updated!

If you are in the Jacksonville, FL area and your organization would like to partner on a health-related service project, please contact us.

- Abby Bradford