Laura Czajkowski, an interpreter at Southeast Health and Dental Center, decided to join thousands of others in Indianapolis on May 18, 2012 and ride her bike to work!

Only she didn’t stop there.  She had such a positive experience that she has committed to riding her bike to work at least one day a week ever since.  I was able to meet with Laura and ask her a few questions about her experience with riding to work.

Here are the details!

What motivated you to participate in ‘Ride Your Bike to Work Day’?
At a couple of my previous jobs I have been able to ride to work and always enjoyed it.  I saw signs around town and heard the buzz going around about this year’s event. Then I saw that IU Health was promoting the event on Pulse and had a six-week cycling challenge to encourage employees to ride more.  I decided to give it a shot.

What made you decide to keep riding your bike to work?
‘Ride Your Bike to Work Day’ really inspired me.  I had a great experience and figured I could keep doing it at least once a week.

What are the benefits you’ve gained from doing so?
Saving gas money!  I live about 9 miles from work, which is an 18 mile round trip.  Even just one bike ride to work a week saves almost $20 a month in gas. 

I feel better and stronger.  I can tell I’m gaining strength in my lower body.  The first couple of times I rode to work, I felt really energized once I got here.  I would feel more tired by the end of the day, but that’s not the case anymore.  My body has adjusted and I just feel more energized overall when I ride in. Plus it’s easier to fit in a workout when it’s part of your commute.  I don’t have to worry about coming home and trying to get a workout in.

My coworkers have encouraged me to keep going.  They continuously support my riding goal by asking how I’m doing and some of them have either rode to work or are strongly considering it.

What are some of the barriers you’ve faced with riding to work?
Construction and weather are probably the two main barriers.  If the weather is bad I can’t risk riding, and there’s a lot of construction along my way to work.  Also, if I have meetings during work, or commitments before or after work, they may prevent me from riding.  That’s why I’ve only committed to at least one day a week.  I figure it’s not reasonable for me to ride everyday, but one day a week is reasonable and I have definitely seen benefits from just riding once a week.*

Riding a bike to work is certainly not feasible for everyone.  Barriers such as distance, time, improper equipment and lack of safe routes can understandably prevent many of us from participating.

But for some of us this can work.

If you’re even considering the possibility of riding your bike to work, I strongly encourage you to try it!  If you’re nervous to do it alone, talk to some coworkers and see if riding together would be possible.

Maybe you start slower.  If the commute to work is too long or intimidating, try riding your bike to run an errand or just taking a short bike trip in your neighborhood on the weekend.  Some is better than none.  As Laura mentioned above, even riding one day a week does make a difference!

Below are some great resources for more information about cycling in Indianapolis:
Central Indiana Bicycling Association
Indiana Bicycling Information
IndyCOG – Indianapolis Bicycle Advocacy

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Do you ride your bike to work?
Do you want to start?  What barriers have you come across?
Comment below!

“Medicaid patients go to ERs more often“

In the article, data from a U.S. National Health Interview Survey showed that 16% of Medicaid beneficiaries had one or more barriers to primary care.  It was also found that 40% of Medicaid patients used the emergency room, as compared to 18% of those with private insurance.

There is no doubt that there are barriers to care for Medicaid patients.  Many of these individuals live in medically underserved areas (to learn how medically underserved areas are determined click here), but basically an MUA means that the ratio of primary care doctors per 1,000 people is very low.

Health Centers as an answer.

In a report, just released this week, by the National Association of Community Health Centers another indicator of the barriers faced by Medicaid patients was shown

..at least 25% of U.S. counties in greatest need do not have a health center.

Community health centers are an answer to the complex problem offered in the article posted by WTHR.  “Health centers are required to be open to all residents regardless of ability to pay or insurance status, target medically underserved areas, offer comprehensive primary care services, and be directed by a local patient-majority governing board.”

Not only do health centers eliminate barriers of access for patients no matter what your insurance status, but they have a proven record of reducing the amount of emergency room visits by Medicaid beneficiaries – “Medicaid beneficiaries relying on health centers for usual care in four states are 19% less likely to use the emergency department for unnecessary visits and 11% less likely to be hospitalized compared to beneficiaries relying on other providers.”
(Cost Effectiveness of Care Provided at Health Centers)

Addressing the problem in Indiana.

As Indiana’s largest federally qualified health center, our health centers are the medical home for over 50,000 Hoosiers.  We have posted about the need for health center expansion – here, here and here – and HealthNet has enjoyed the expansion of three health centers in the past year along with the opening of a new center on the Far Eastside of Indy.  But, as noted above, the need for greater access to health care for all residents is increasing.

Health centers do eliminate barriers for patients who need a source of quality primary care, but they also are one of the most cost effective forms of health care available.

• Health centers’ average cost runs a dollar less per patient per day compared to all physician settings ($1.67 vs. $2.64).
• Health centers save the health care system about $24 billion annually

We need your help..

Health center expansion is essential to reduce these barriers as well as costs on the entire health care system.

So for the next month, we will be collecting petition signatures to show local support for community health centers nationwide.  Each signature counts, and if we collect enough, then we will be able to present the petition along with all of the signatures to our legislators when they are home during the first week in May.

1) Sign the petition.
2) Tweet this – “@WTHRcom #medicaid patients go to ER more often except for those who use community health centers! http://bit.ly/GQ0UUG #SaveCHCs”
3) LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with more updates on our Petition Drive!

HealthNet’s outreach programs provide case management and basic necessities to thousands of families each year. This year in particular, we are hoping to meet some of these needs by encouraging local companies, civic organizations, schools and faith-based institutions to host Holiday Fund Drives to collect much needed items and donations.

In particular, our Better Indy Babies pantry at University Heights United Methodist Church is in need of boys clothes sizes 6, 9, and 12 months.

Better Indy Babies (BIBs) is a free home visitation program for expecting mothers. BIBs is designed to promote a healthier you for a healthy pregnancy.

Learn more about this program by watching any or all of the following interviews we had the pleasure of doing with staff!

• Meet our Supervisors
• Meet our Home Visitors
• Words from our Program Director

If you have been meaning to clean out those closets – now would be a great time to do so! Not only would you help provide families and children with some much needed items this season – you will also get a jump start on that New Year’s resolution.
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Are you hosting an office holiday drive?
Comment below, we would love to hear how you are doing it!
If you want to inquire more about hosting a drive for HealthNet’s outreach programs – check out our wishlist, or call (317)782-2111 for more information!