The Future of Health is Together - Sabastian Berry

That's why we've asked a bunch of our friends (and strangers on the internet...) to share their thoughts on what's coming next. We will be sharing their stories every Friday at https://www.advancementleague.org/blog, also using the #futurehealthfriday here, and @advancementleague on instagram. Share your voice: https://www.advancementleague.org/futurehealthfriday.html

Today, Sabastian Berry joins us from Atlanta, Georgia where he is currently a second year Master of Public Health student at Emory University, within the Rollins School of Public Health.

What are your predictions for the future of health and healthcare? 

Three words: quality, convenience and consolidation.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are pushing health care organizations to move from the current fee for service payer model to one that is more value and quality based, and focuses on the totality of the patient experience. I believe in the future you will see hospitals allocating more resources to their respective offices of quality improvement/sustainability. Closely associated with quality is convenience. The advancement of telemedicine and retail clinics like CVS, Urgent Care, etc. are providing more affordable and convenient and time saving options for patients who have acute medical issues. Telemedicine and retail clinics are also opening avenues of communication between physicians and their patients in areas negatively impacted by the consolidation of hospital systems. Often consolidation has the worst impact on rural and low income communities, making it harder for them to access care. Ultimately, I think we will see a shift towards more retail clinics and companies like CVS becoming more of a one stop shop for convenient health care services like dialysis, chemotherapy, general checkups, and of course prescriptions. 

Why did you choose your career path? 

I chose my current career path to provide better access to and quality of care to patients. 

What is the best advice you give? 

Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks, especially in your 20s. This is the time when we should be the most risky and daring—in our careers and daily lives. It’s rare for people to win big if they don’t risk a little. I will add that calculated risks require work and research. Given that most people are risk averse, doing the homework and preparing can ease the uncertainty associated with taking a risk, and will help guarantee that you’re ready to execute when the moment is right. 

What projects are you currently working on?

I recently completed a project with Emory University Hospital analyzing their hospital acquired infection rates due to lack of cleaning of patient high touch areas (bed rails, call buttons, IV polls, etc.). By surveying the nursing staff on several of the hospital’s busiest floors, my team was able to take that data and design a protocol to increase cleaning rates and hopefully reduce the amount of infections caused by bacteria/viruses within the patient’s hospital room. Our next task will be to complete a similar project analyzing hand washing rates amongst clinical and non-clinical staff. 

Why did you choose the school (and major) you went to?

As a 2nd year graduate student at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from some of Public Health’s leading professionals. I initially chose Rollins because of the amount of diversity present at the school and because of how respected Emory University is in the field of public health. As a top 5 public health institution, I also knew that attending Rollins would prepare me to succeed. Prior to pursuing a graduate degree in the fall of 2018, I was a teacher in Houston, TX. Though an exciting and impactful experience, I was often frustrated with the performance of my students. Almost immediately I realized my students were not performing often due to reasons outside of the school’s four walls. Many of the behaviors acted out in the classroom were due to a lack of access to quality care in my student’s daily lives. It’s extremely difficult to focus on school when you have a tooth ache, but no access to dental care, or when you or your parent is sick and the closest doctor is miles away and you don’t have transportation to get to the physician’s office. I knew that there was a better way for me to have an impact on the lives of my students and other students who looked like them. My goal as a public health professional is to increase the access, and improve the quality of care for marginalized communities. 

Where have you traveled and where do you have plans to travel (and what have you learned from those places)?

I’ve been to 5 continents, multiple times.

What traveling affords you is the opportunity to be a global citizen and for me personally, acts as a constant reminder of how small I am in comparison to the rest of the world.

Often within our professional and academic careers, as well as our social circles people become very comfortable and feel this grand sense of accomplishment. Though important, this feeling of self-importance and accomplishment can fog our idea of how worlds outside of our own, actually work. Each time I travel I come back to America with a greater understanding of religion, culture, food, music, and various traditions/practices. These experiences have made me more empathetic, and have made drastic impacts on my career as a teacher and as a public health professional.