Patient Spotlight: Joyce Wiggins

Meet Joyce. Joyce is a mother and grandmother. With a family history of diabetes, Joyce has struggled to keep her hemoglobin A1c level down over the years. She became a patient of Alliance Medical Ministry in 2006, and sees Dr. Maggie Burkhead.

Now, Joyce is happy to report that she has successfully lowered her hemoglobin A1c and is off all medication.

So...how did she do it?

"Diet and exercise! I love learning, and when I found out Alliance had a cooking class and nutrition program, I wanted to get involved."

Cooking Matters @ Alliance is one of the wellness programs offered that educates patients on cooking, meal planning, and shopping for healthy foods on a budget.

"Cooking Matters made me more conscious of how I cook with vegetables and how I selected them. I have such a sweet tooth, but now I snack on peppers instead of candy. I have a love affair going on with veggies! After the class, I had a feeling of wanting to plant my own."

That's when Joyce learned about Seed to Supper, a five-week garden education program in partnership with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Volunteer Master Gardeners teach patients how to grow their own vegetables, offering education around soil testing, pest control, and garden scheduling. 

At the end of the program, Joyce "adopted a box" in the Alliance Community Garden. "The whole summer, I've been getting veggies. Tomaties, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, and okra. I'm roasting them, steaming them, and eating them raw."

What's up next for Joyce?

Joyce is passing along what she has learned to others. She is also helping teach a Cooking Matters Class! She has been very busy planning her fall garden. 

"If I didn't have Alliance, I'd probably be in the Emergency Room. The staff is compassionate, which helps people feel welcome and open up. It really means so much to have access to these programs through my doctor's office. If you change your nutrition habits, you can make a difference in your health."

Patient Spotlight: Angela Jacobs

Alliance patient Angela Jacobs was the recipient of a car through Wheels4Hope! 

Wheels4Hope is a car donation program that turns donated cars into local blessings. Their mission is to provide affordable, reliable transportation to economically vulnerable families and individuals who are referred to us by one of their partnering agencies.  Angela is the third Alliance patient who has received a car through this partnership!  

"Wheels4Hope has been great for me. I was able to receive an affordable car and the car itself is doing wonderful! This car has helped me and my daughters so much with commuting between work and picking them up from school. It has really helped out a lot." - Angela Jacobs

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Elaine Pleasants, Wheels4Hope Executive Director:

"Wheels4Hope was delighted to be a part of Angela's journey. We see everyday how transportation is so important in the lives of our recipients, and we know that Angela's Nissan will open so many doors for employment, education, and social opportunities for her and her daughters. This is the third car blessing we have celebrated with Alliance since our partnership began, and we are grateful for the work our community partners do in preparing clients for car ownership and self-sufficiency. We look forward to continuing our work together."  

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Dr. Toby Bonar, Director of Pastoral Care & Counseling Program:

"Angela's dedication, humility, and resilience are inspiring, and she has encouraged us to continue to be creative in our caregiving. She is using her car to create more stability in her family and work life.  Having a partnership with Wheels4Hope allows us to expand our imagination to see new ways of improving the health and well-being of our community through quality transportation resources."

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Raleigh Food Corridor Hosts Nutrition Hub Gathering

The Raleigh Food Corridor is a community project connecting people, ideas, and resources to build a better food system for all.

Alliance Medical Ministry is a nutrition hub of the Raleigh Food Corridor.

A nutrition hub is a centralized community space that provides provide nutrition, health, and food-related services and education in a single location. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Passage Home are two other partners in the Nutrition Hub Project.

Are you interested in food security, community development in Southeast Raleigh, access to healthcare, and food and nutrition education? 

Join us at a Nutrition Hub Community Meeting!

Wednesday, September 20th, 5:30 - 8 pm @ Alliance Medical Ministry

RSVP here

August 2017 Wellness Report

We’re excited our Wellness Program is as busy as ever! We’re happy to celebrate a great Summer Cooking Matters Course as well as our ten graduating participants who completed the course. Never satisfied, we’re busy planning and recruiting for our Fall Course and are excited to engage some of our past graduates as instructors! Stay tuned for awesome stories!

Our summer Cooking Matters participants received their certificate of completion.

We’ve begun our Fall Seed to Supper class in partnership with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Three Alliance patients are enrolled, and we look forward to having another garden box adopted by one of the students this Fall!  We are very excited to watch this program grow and give patients more opportunities and support to grow their own food in our garden!

August 2017 Garden Update

After a long, hot summer, the garden is tired but still diligently producing tasty okra, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and watermelon. July was a bountiful month and, to date, we've harvested about 1,550 pounds of produce for our patients! As the summer vegetables wind down, we look forward to seeding lettuce, beets, chard, cabbage, collards, and radishes in the coming weeks as the weather cools (fingers crossed!). 

Big thanks to our garden volunteers this past month from Edenton Street United Methodist Church, Crossroads Fellowship, and Triangle Healthcare Executives’ Forum! With all of our volunteer help, we had some awesome garden clean-up and were able to start prepping for the Fall. We also planted some Fall wildflowers!

Join us next month as we say goodbye to summer veggies and do some fall planting!

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Come dig in our garden!

Join us for our regular Garden Work Days. Learn a thing or two about our garden and bees and help provide fresh produce for our patients. RSVP or just drop in! garden@alliancemedicalministry.org

Second Saturdays, 9 am to 12 pm
September 9 / October 14 / November 11

Fourth Wednesdays, 5 pm to 7 pm
September 27 / October 25

Volunteer Highlight: Lindsey Miller

Masters of Public Health student Lindsey Miller joined as our teacher for the Cooking Matters class @ Alliance this summer!  Cooking Matters @ Alliance is offered in partnership with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

Lindsey led the six-week cooking and nutrition course that helps Alliance patients plan, shop, and cook healthy, nutritious, affordable, and delicious meals.

“I am a firm believer that everybody deserves the right to be healthy, including access to nutrition and cooking literacy, fresh affordable foods, and the confidence and knowledge to be physically active. But most of all, I believe everyone has the right to be a part of a community and that's what Alliance Medical Ministry and the Cooking Matters Curriculum does so well.”

Lindsey, a North Carolina native, attended Appalachian State University where she studied Health Promotion and Sociology. Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, Lindsey was employed by Bounty & Soul. Bounty & Soul is a non-profit outside of Asheville, North Carolina that provides health education, cooking literacy, and fresh produce at no cost to community members. Her passion for food access and nutrition education in rural communities flourished during her time in Asheville. After some time working with Bounty & Soul, Lindsey decided to pursue a long-time dream of serving in the Peace Corps.  She lived in a rural village in Botswana working with community members to implement various programs focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and education needs. Although Lindsey was working in an HIV/AIDS programs, she noticed that most conversations circled back to nutrition. It was apparent that this population expressed the desire and need to learn more about healthy eating, sustainable gardening methods, and cooking education.

With the completion of her time in Botswana, Lindsey found herself back in Raleigh in a time of transition. A friend invited her to the Raleigh Environmental Awards, and this was where she first heard about Alliance Medical Ministry. The speaker discussed Alliance’s work with the teaching garden. Soon after, Lindsey introduced herself to Jesse Crouch, Alliance Garden and Wellness Coordinator, and asked how she could get involved.

"I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with Jesse and the interns on implementing this curriculum.  I feel as if I learned more from the participants and Jesse than I could have ever taught them and am very appreciative of that dynamic nature."

Lindsey explained that it is hard to identify one single barrier people face with eating healthy foods, as most families and individuals have their own reasons.  Based on the conversations from this particular class of Cooking Matters Participants, the main hurdles were the cultural norms or expectations. This was especially true in a setting like a large family gathering.  When certain foods have deeply rooted value in families, it's very difficult to change the way you eat while still upholding respect for your culture and family. 

"Of course financial barriers are present. Many families find themselves working 1-3 jobs to be able to pay the bills and provide food for their family.  At the end of the day sacrifices are made to be able to put healthy fresh food on the table. That's why Alliance Medical Ministry and programs like Cooking Matters is so beneficial.  Not only does it educate families on how to eat and cook in nutritious ways, but also how to purchase healthy foods on a budget, proper storage of foods, and even includes a grocery store tour to apply the knowledge learned throughout the class"

Now that Lindsey’s time with us has come to a close, she is heading to New Orleans to pursue her Masters of Public Health Nutrition at Tulane University.

Alliance wishes Lindsey the best of luck in all of her personal and professional goals!

Meet our Summer Interns!

We are extremely grateful for the support and hard work of our summer interns.  What a talented and compassionate group of students!

L to R: Natalie Holdstock, Garden & Wellness Coordinator Jesse Crouch, and Doha Medani helping fill bags of produce for Cooking Matters participants to take home.

Doha Medani: Doha is a rising senior at N.C. State. She is pursing a bachelor's degree in Nutritional Science. Doha was connected to Alliance Medical Ministry through Health Career Connection, a summer, public health internship program. Doha has been working closely Jesse, our Garden and Wellness coordinator. 

"During my time here, I've learned that holistic community-focused healthcare leads to invaluable results for patients! I love that AMM's work and mission stems from a deep compassion for others, which I truly admire. Thankfully, I've experienced that same warmth in every encounter I've had this summer!" 

Natalie Holdstock: Natalie is completing her undergraduate studies and will receive her bachelor's degree in Public Health this August. Natalie's course work required a semester long internship. She was connected to Alliance through a friend and knew it would be the perfect place to complete her internship. This summer, Natalie has worked with Dr. Joyner tracking diabetes patients as well as some communications and marketing projects. Natalie plans to study Spanish in the fall and complete a Spanish immersion program in the spring. She also plans to pursue a master's degree in Public Health in the following fall. 

"I have really enjoyed my time as an intern here, at Alliance. I have learned a lot and I have really been able to see all of the different aspects that make Alliance what it is. There is always such a positive atmosphere and I think that is something people (patients, staff, volunteers) really value. The compassion that is shown for patients, I think, goes above and beyond. It has been a great experience.

L to R:  Sara Pascucci, LPC, and Crystal Rivera, prior to seeing patients in the Purple Pod. 

Crystal Rivera:   Crystal joined LPC Sara Pascucci, seeing patients through Alliance's Pastoral Care & Counseling Program this summer. Crystal is in a dual degree program, working towards a Masters of Divinity at Duke University, and Masters of Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill.

"I was drawn to Alliance based on the idea that the practice provides patients with 'whole person' comprehensive healthcare. The biggest thing I have learned from my time at Alliance is the importance of vulnerability and unconditional acceptance. Vulnerability is the key to growth and it is only through fostering an environment of acceptance that people can be vulnerable enough for healing to take place."

L to R:  Brad Steed with volunteer Cooking Matters instructor Lindsey Miller.

Brad Steed: Brad is finishing his undergraduate studies at Appalachian State University and will receive his bachelor's degree in Health Care Management. Brad is long time family friends with Megg Rader and Sheryl Joyner, so he has always been aware of Alliance. It was not until he became interested in health care that he saw Alliance as an opportunity to not only help out but grow personally as well. Brad plans to come back to Raleigh after graduation and pursue a career in either pharmaceuticals or health administration. Brad also plans to record music in his free time. 

"[I appreciate] the fact that Alliance focuses on the "whole" person (mind, body, soul) when treating patients. I think each of those three aspects is as important as the next for over-all health and well-being."

Interested in volunteering or interning?