Caring Beyond Our Walls

Around here, we talk a lot about treating every person the way we would want our own loved ones treated. It is a simple idea, but it takes a lot of people working together inside the hospital, in our practices, through Gilchrist, and alongside community partners who support people in their everyday lives.

You know the saying, “It takes a village”? That is true in healthcare, too.

Recently, many members of our “village” came together for GBMC HealthCare’s annual Community Benefit Meeting. In healthcare language, “community benefit” can sound formal, but to me it simply means working together to help people live healthier, fuller lives. During that meeting, we heard stories that brought that idea to life.

One person shared how a cancer diagnosis left her needing more than medical treatment. She needed a place to feel safe, process fear, build strength, and reconnect with herself. Through one of our community partners, she found mindfulness, friendship, and a healing space that helped her move through treatment and beyond it.

Another person shared how access to healthy meals helped him better manage Type 2 diabetes and improve his health. Different stories, different needs, same reminder: when it comes to health, people often need support that extends beyond a medical appointment.

That is what happens when the village works together.

Much of my clinical career was spent as a hospitalist, caring for people once they were sick enough to be admitted to the hospital. That work teaches you that the medical problem is rarely the whole story.

A patient may be admitted with heart failure, diabetes, or another serious condition, but behind that illness, there may be missed follow-up appointments, unaffordable medications, limited transportation, difficulty accessing healthy food, loneliness, or an exhausted caregiver. A patient may be medically ready to leave the hospital, but the real question is whether the plan we created can actually work when they get home.

As a not-for-profit health system, we are here for more than the moment someone needs medical care. We are called to help improve the health of the community we serve by caring for people when they are sick, supporting them as they heal, and working with others to remove barriers that keep people from being well.

One example is GBMC’s work, funded by the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission, to connect Baltimore residents to primary care at Jonestown or through Gilchrist’s Geriatric Care at Home Program. Since 2022, we have enrolled 2,729 new patients into primary care. While that number matters, the people behind it matter more: individuals who now have a better chance of being known, supported, and cared for before a crisis occurs.

No hospital can do this work alone. A healthier community depends on partnership with public health, schools, faith communities, nonprofits, social service agencies, local government, volunteers, and residents themselves.

The stories we heard reminded me that the “village” is what happens when people and organizations show up for one another... with medical care, healthy food, emotional support, trusted relationships, and a safe place to take the next step.

When that village works together, people have a better chance to heal, grow stronger, and live fuller lives. That is the work we are grateful to do with our partners every day.

Employee Spotlight

Kara Ramsey, BSN, RN

RN Care Manager

GBMC Health Partners - Jonestown

How long have you been at GBMC HealthCare?

2 years

What is one key way you support a zero harm/safety culture?

I support a zero harm/safety culture by believing incidents can be preventable and that no level of harm is acceptable. Everyone shares accountability for maintaining a safe environment, so we all need to work together and report unsafe conditions so changes can be made.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part of my job is getting to know patients over time and seeing their personalities while helping them navigate the health system and continuing to educate them to make them healthier and more informed patients.

What's one unique thing we'd be surprised to learn about you?

I've been to Kenya, Africa, and the Philippines!