In this post you will find highlights, the crowd favorite popular posts and my year-end reflections on 2015.
It was fairly quiet around here in 2015 as far as writing goes, but the lights are still on and I’m still on a mission to make the world a little greater for Black folks. Between working my 9-5, I’ve been in a coaching program for most of the year to build my speaking platform. I still managed to post to the blog here and there. Despite the small number of updates, I had a couple momentous occasions.
Highlights of 2015
In February, I had a live in-studio interview with Sylvia Matthews Burwell, the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We talked about open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act and had a Q & A session featuring questions from readers and friends of the blog. Catch the replay here: HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell on Open Enrollment
In June, I had the distinct pleasure of hosting Rev. Run and his daughter Vanessa Simmons on my podcast.
In September, I facilitated a learning lab at Stanford Medicine X|Ed, an educational conference for healthcare providers and stakeholders. I taught on Patient Engagement Techniques For Your Toolkit. That was a blast!
In December, I provided media coverage for a very cool book and documentary project by Crystal Emery, Against All Odds: Black Women in Medicine. The book is out and the movie trailer is ready. I can’t wait to screen the full-length film. We definitely need to celebrate the contributions of Black women to medicine, as they have been phenomenal. I also worked with Healthcare Access Maryland and the State of Maryland Health Connection to raise awareness about open enrollment among the black community in the Baltimore area. That was lots of fun, too. I interview Joe, 1 of the navigators live on Periscope. Check us out here: http://www.empoweredmochapatient.com/getcoveredmd-maryland-health-connection-open-enrollment/
If you’re on Periscope, follow me.
Most popular posts of 2015
Besides the highlights, the most popular posts you all were checkin’ for were the weekly newsletters. Let’s pause for a transparency moment here. I was supposed to publish these weekly and what had happened was, my consistency wasn’t set up right. But anywho, ya’ll seem to love the newsletter. I’m giving my word to publish the newspaper every week in 2016 for a long as ya’ll keep checkin’ for it. We good now? 🙂
You can read it here: The EMP Weekly News
The other popular posts were:
You Should Pass on the Truffle Butter
How to Setup Your iPhone “In Case of Emergency”
My Reflections on 2015
Overall, 2015 was a great year for the EMP. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to share my time, talents and passion with the world. For that, I couldn’t be more thankful. It has been a year of tremendous personal growth and stretching. I have truly walked by faith this year and God gets all the glory for that. Greater things are coming in 2016.
I’ve had 4 people in the last few weeks tell me that I need to do more with this brand, my baby. I’ve taken heed to their words and you will see consistency here in 2016. I’m currently identifying and talking with some potential media partners to bring you a more comprehensive experience. My goals for 2016 are to feature patient stories to empower you to take charge of your own health. There will also be fitness tips and healthy recipes for you to try. The EMP will be 5 years old in 2016 and I want it to be the best year yet. Coming soon, there will be buttons on the site for you to share news and health tips you would like to see featured. There will also be submission guidelines if you are interested in telling your own or your family member’s patient story. In the meantime, if you want to share something or ask a question, don’t hesitate to email me at empoweredmochapatient[AT] gmail dot com
Is This Your 1st Time?
If you’re new here, I’m on a mission to close the gap in health outcomes for African-American/Black folks. We are plagued with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and more at rates higher than any other race. On top of that we don’t fair as well as other races with these diseases. I’m not immune to these diseases as I’m in the trenches trying to reverse my own diabetes diagnosis. So, I provide resources and educational content here to help you be more informed about these diseases that plague us. I want to improve your health literacy and help you feel empowered and confident to ask questions when you go to the doctor and hospital. Please visit the resources tab of our site to learn where you should be going to find credible health information on the internet.
Until next time, blessings and good health.
