Mercy Services United is a newer initiative in Sedalia that provides a walk-in hub for social services and connection for those in need.
Rachelle Simon is the director of the United Way of Pettis County and said it was important for the center to be available on a walk-in basis.
For the month of August, we're focusing on the health of those living in Sedalia and the surrounding areas.
“Because we want people to feel like, 'Hey, they need help. They're ready to talk about it.' Whatever that looks like. We have staff professionals that will walk them through an assessment.”
Simon said they ask clients about a myriad of issues, such as housing, childcare, heating and cooling, and more – which is where collaboration with other community organizations comes in.
The Transformation of Rural Community Health, or ToRCH program at Bothwell Regional Health Center is one of those partners. It’s a program sponsored by the MO HealthNet Division, which operates the state’s Medicaid program.
Bothwell is one of the six rural hospitals selected for the program, which aims to reduce Medicaid patients ER visits by serving their non-medical needs, such as transportation, food access, safe housing and more.
“We have noticed that just improving their social determinants of health has really made a difference on their mental health and their medical health,” Elizabeth Green said. She’s the ToRCH program manager for Bothwell Regional Health Center. “I mean, if they know that we're here to support them and we care about their health, they're more inclined to actually come to their appointment.”
Both Simon and Green said they are excited about the connections that are being created in Sedalia – both between community organizations and with individuals who need services.
Rachelle Simon: We see all kinds of things come through that. Small things like, “I need a grab bar,” “I need to feel safe in my bathroom,” “I need to feel safe in my shower,” “I need to feel safe going up into my home,” right?
Those are very big deals – if people can't get in and out of their home, they're certainly not going to make their medical appointments, they're certainly not going to be, even, improving their mental health, right? Getting out of their home. Those kinds of things.
One of the people we helped was a woman who was in her 80s. We ended up fixing her well in March. She had not had running water since January. What does that do for someone's health, right? And she was on oxygen.
Just the day in and day out of being able to take care of oneself, being able to bathe comfortably, all of those things, right? Really can help, I mean, if you get injured, you need to wash out your wound, right? Everything matters in terms of health.
Then there's things like heating and cooling because, you know, somebody may be repeatedly every winter going to the ER, for the flu, for, you know, really bad pneumonia, or whatever it is, right? Because they don't have heat.
And when we can say, “Hey, now you have heat.” All of a sudden, that person doesn't get sick every winter. It's like a huge, huge, huge deal.
Elizabeth Green: The program is changing lives, and it's definitely changing mine because I had no idea we had this many people in our community who didn't have plumbing, who didn't have a toilet that worked.
And so, I'm so grateful to be a part of whatever I can do to try to improve this for some people.
And I would say the thing that has surprised me the most is almost every person that has came in to Mercy Services United while I was there, has always started out their conversation with me like, “I'm not a bad person.”
And I always say, “Look, we are not here to judge you. You Need help, and I'm here to help you,” and that's what we want them to do. We want them to think of us as someone who, we're there to help you. We're not judging you. We're not above you, you know, and that's been pretty amazing for me.
Rachelle Simon: I've learned so many things through the work that I've done, and I think a couple of things that are coming to mind – one is how something that seems small can make all the difference in someone's life.
So, Mercy Services United has a shower and has laundry, so they can, they have a place after work to come shower, they have a place to do their laundry and to be able to say “Hello” and people know your name.
One woman, she walked probably 20 minutes to tell me she got the job that she applied for, and she just wanted me to share her joy and give her a hug.
The impact of someone caring, the impact of just somebody saying, “Oh my gosh, I'm so proud of you. How wonderful,” you know, “doing a little happy dance and giving a hug.”
That’s significant.
And it certainly changed me, for sure, because it helps you think, like, how those little moments can actually, like, not only make a difference in your life, but they make a difference every day for people.
