Clockwise, from left: Danielle Parks, Stephanie Cifuentes, Christine Thach, Harsh Shah, and Keith Dancy.
The health care system can be complex. Population health specialists work with doctors, hospitals, community health centers, and insurers like AmeriHealth to help people get the care they need to stay as healthy as possible.
Let us introduce you to the AmeriHealth Population Health team! Our Population Health Specialists Danielle Parks, Stephanie Cifuentes, Christine Thach, and Harsh Shah — along with Director of Population Health, Keith Dancy — work together to support local health care providers and improve health outcomes for our members.
We had the opportunity to chat with them and learn more about the work they do to enhance the health and well-being of our communities.
Question: What drew you to this field?
Christine: Simply put, I wanted to improve the health of individuals and populations. I became very interested in prevention work and community health. I feel that through my role at AmeriHealth, I can help make an impact on members and improve their health outcomes.
Harsh: Working in health care, I have realized that there are many gaps in patient care due to lack of knowledge and resources. Being a Population Health Specialist allows me to support [provider] practices with resources and educate them to help close those gaps.
Question: What is your favorite part of the work you do?
Stephanie: I really love getting to meet the providers and staff who are doing all the work on the frontlines. It’s very rewarding when I see offices doing something that I have educated them on in my meetings with them.
Keith: One of the things that always gets me excited about this job is the focus on innovation and how we utilize that to really drive change at this organization. Collaborating with others to build out new ideas and strategies that make a difference in the lives of our members is extremely rewarding.
Question: How is our Population Health team giving back to the community?
Keith: Our team is always looking for opportunities to work within the community and make a difference. One way we do that is by participating with our volunteer team for volunteering events. At end of last year, we volunteered at Share Food Program to pack food boxes for distribution to local communities in need. I’m looking forward to more volunteering efforts across our team this year!
Danielle: We’ve been part of quite a few volunteer opportunities. I personally work with communities in need to improve access to quality health care services and information. I also facilitate community workshops aimed at improving health literacy.
Question: Are there any particular initiatives that motivate you?
Danielle: Initiatives that improve access and health literacy are important to me. I’m passionate about impacting health outcomes related women’s health and diabetes. Some of the teams’ current goals are to provide cervical and breast cancer screenings on a mobile unit and to offer on-site retinal eye exams by partnering with vendors. These initiatives motivate me to think about how we can make health care like this more accessible.
Stephanie: I’m very interested in women’s health — primarily cervical cancer screenings. Back in 2015, my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer after her routine exam. Without these screenings, my mother probably wouldn’t have been able to catch it as early as she did. During my meetings with my providers, I focus on this screening and the need to educate their patient population.
We’re grateful for the hard work our Population Health Specialists do for AmeriHealth members. Stay tuned for future initiatives with the AmeriHealth team!
