Committees 101: Meet the Communications Committee

By now, you are quite familiar with the host site duties of a NFHC member.  What you may not know is that aside from our daily service at our host sites, NFHC members also serve on committees and training coalitions.  These additional components have made our service even more meaningful, so we wanted to share our experiences on our committees and coalitions with you.  First up in the Committees 101 series:  The Communications Committee.  Look out for upcoming posts on the Learning Series, Service Project, and Professional Development Committees!

Ariana Bentz Makes Sure Pregnant Women Get Their "Healthy Start"

“Pregnant?” I asked the man. “Is your wife pregnant?” He replied yes, and something about Medicaid, which was not uncommon, as I often assist pregnant women with their Medicaid for Pregnancy applications. I could tell right away that his wife would benefit from the Healthy Start program, which is a free and voluntary service in Florida to help women have and care for a healthy baby. Because of the extensive outreach I do in the community about the Healthy Start program, I often get phone calls of pregnant women who need assistance. But this phone call was different. In his broken English, he tried to explain more in depth about what he needed. I looked at the caller ID, and recognized his last name. I asked him, “Are you Burmese?” to which he said he was, and again that he needed help for his wife. I told him, in the way that I had learned to communicate with refugees who do not speak much English, that I used to serve at a Refugee and Immigrant Center, specifically with the Burmese population, and that I would be glad to help him and his wife.

It took us a few minutes, and many clarifications, but we decided to meet outside of a grocery store near his house, and he would bring his pregnant wife, who didn’t speak any English.

To prepare for the appointment, I gathered the regular healthy pregnancy information I give to all of my clients – information on healthy weight gain during pregnancy, how to reduce stress during pregnancy, counting kicks, baby spacing, family planning resources, safe sleep information and other flyers that pregnant women could look over to make sure they were prepared for their babies. In this packet, I decided to research and include a booklet on how to navigate your way through the American Health Care System as a refugee. Because of my previous service, I knew how confusing and frustrating it could be to try to receive services as a refugee. For refugees, not only is the language foreign, but so are the customs and procedures. Because of this, doing things such as scheduling a medical appointment, or even knowing how to get medical services can be really difficult. I was so happy to meet a refugee family again, and to use my previous knowledge and understanding of the refugee population to assist them in the best way I could.

When I arrived at the grocery store, I walked around the perimeter, trying to find the family. My favorite part of service is exactly this – meeting with pregnant women and educating them on healthy pregnancy topics such as childbirth, immunizations, SIDS prevention and breastfeeding.  After about ten minutes, I spotted a man and a child who also looked as if they were looking for someone. I called out the name the man had told me on the phone, and he came over to me. It was obvious to me that the wife was not there – and would not be coming. I was used to these misunderstandings, and decided to go through with the appointment anyway. I would not be able to enroll the pregnant wife into the Healthy Start program as she was not there, but at least I would be able to get across some information.

I gave the man the bag full of healthy pregnancy information and ways to navigate his way through the healthcare system as a refugee in America. Ten minutes into us talking, he pulled out an envelope, the back of which he had written a dozen phone numbers. I knew this drill – often, my refugee clients had come to appointments and asked for assistance calling back people who had called them and didn’t have the patience to slowly explain why they were calling. I ended up spending an hour and a half, standing outside of the grocery store, calling back Medicaid representatives and doctor’s offices, scheduling appointments, writing down full information, looking up with my iPhone the locations. I explained each situation, who was calling, what to do when they called next, and what questions he should ask to clarify when he did not understand. Even though it wasn’t part of my normal service routine, when I left the appointment, I knew that I had not only provided a family with more information about how to have a healthy baby, but directly assisted a family with receiving access to care.

When the refugee walked away after the appointment, he turned back and put his hands together and yelled loudly and with such passion, “God bless! God bless you!” That was a moment that I will never forget. 

Community Garden Build Service Project

Many neighborhoods in Jacksonville have little access to locally grown produce and other healthy food options.  One of the organizations working to remedy that is the Second Harvest Food Bank, an organization that distributes food and groceries to hungry people in North Florida and educates the public about the causes of and possible solutions to domestic hunger.  In March, members of the North Florida Health Corps volunteered with Second Harvest to help build a community garden in one of these low income neighborhoods with little access to good produce.  We built planter boxes, filled them with rich soil, and assembled irrigation systems as part of the project to create a large garden that can both supply the needs of the local community members who will work it and which will supply produce for Second Harvest's other nutritional outreach initiatives.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning, we accomplished a lot, and were happy to contribute to a great project that promotes both the health and involvement of the local community.

More information about Second Harvest Food Bank's community garden initiative can be found here.

Member Highlight: Kristine Ferrer

Name: Kristine Ferrer
Position: Wellness Coordinator at The Arc Jacksonville Westside
Undergraduate Degree: BA Sociology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL

Graduate Degree: Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration on Global Health Practice and a graduate certificate in Water, Health, and Sustainability at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL Hometown: Kissimmee, FL 
If you could pick a super power, what would it be? Healing and reading minds

The Arc Jacksonville is an adult day program that provides services, support, and advocacy to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities (DD/ID). Services such as job training and independent life skills are offered so that people with DD/ID can achieve their full potential, enhance their quality of life, and be active participants in their communities.

According to the CDC, there is a health disparity between individuals with DD/ID and individuals who do not have disabilities; 22% of DD/ID Americans are physically inactive and 38% are obese compared to 10% and 24% of Americans without disabilities respectively. This data proves that the need for my service as a Wellness Coordinator is crucial at facilities such as The Arc because the DD/ID population is dangerously under served in terms of health.

Teaching cooking class

Though I have never served this population, I do not regret choosing to serve at The Arc. I love coming into service and applying what I learned in school to the real world in a unique way. I have the freedom to creatively present health materials in a manner where it is understandable to my participants; this makes for a fun learning experience! I teach nutrition and exercise to my participants. In addition to nutrition, I also cover stress management, personal hygiene, and oral health. We are not limited to the “classroom” or the gym—we also go out to community outings such as cooking classes, aerobics classes, nature learning walks, and guest speakers. And of course they love our weekly outside walks on Wesconnett Blvd. I also have the freedom to put on events at The Arc such as this past February’s National Wear Red Day where I screened over 50 participants and staff through blood pressure, weight, and BMI measurements in commemoration of Heart Health Month.

Teaching exercise

In the beginning of my service term I sometimes felt that some of my participants did not understand the material I presented, I was pleasantly surprised when they answered my nutrition questions correctly at the daily Morning Trivia Workshop. I never underestimated them since then! I also see a difference in some of their lunch options and they never fail to come up to me and say “Kristine, is this healthy?” I feel that I am making a difference in my participants whether big or small. My AmeriCorps service allowed me to have the passion for the ID/DD population that I never thought I would have.

My future plans are to land a job in the employee wellness realm or HIV prevention and eventually work for the UN. 

Member Spotlight: Mandy Chan

Name: Mandy Chan

Position: Care Coordinator/Health Educator

Undergraduate Degree: BS Public Health at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL

Hometown: Sarasota, FL

How did you hear about AmeriCorps?: Through my twin sister, Sandy Chan, who served in the same program last year :D

With less than three months left of the program term, I am happy to say that I certainly making an impact in my community and at my host site. I serve at River Region Human Services, Inc. doing mostly case management and health education at their methadone clinic. My duties is helping clients connect to community resources, like housing, shelters and employment, as well as government assistance while table monthly health education topics. I also set up appointments for clients to see the physician assistant at River Region for primary care. Many of the clients at the clinic are in recovery from substance abuse and having someone to help them get back on their feet is always an awarding experience.


Last month has been a busy month at my host site. Twice a year (March and September), we hold a Serenity Café event for our clients. We make fruit smoothies and give healthy snacks to clients as a way to say “thank you” for using our services here. Also March was nutrition month and I was able to bring a North Florida Health Corps member to my host site. She taught my clients on about healthy eating and physical activities as she does at her host site. The topic was a big hit among the clients; they learned about the new myplate and took home healthy recipes to try!

My experience in the program has been exciting. I’ve never thought I would serve in a substance abuse population, but I’m glad I did as I learned a lot from them and was part of their recovery. As the end of the service term fast approaching, I know my clients will miss me for all I’ve done, but my next chapter after AmeriCorps is continuing my education and getting my Master’s in Public Health.