ETG - IU Health Foundation Mosaic Center

November 02, 2022 00:29:08

Hosted By

Eric Kilbride

Show Notes

In our latest episode, we speak to Starla Hart and Andrea Russell from IU Health Foundation Mosaic Center. The Mosaic Center offers a “mosaic” of individualized and intensive services to help individuals chart pathways to meaningful careers at IU Health, other healthcare settings, or beyond the healthcare field.

The Mosaic Center supports under and unemployed individuals, entry-level IU Health employees, independent former foster care youth ages 18-26, and Crispus Attucks High School students in the IU Health Fellowship program, which uses a curriculum co-developed by IPS and IU Health and guarantees fellows job offers from IU Health upon graduation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 00:00:15 So, hello everyone, to another episode of Eliminate the Gap podcast. I am always excited to be, uh, co-hosting, uh, with my good friend Eric, um, this podcast. So I'm also very, very excited to see that we are exceeding the 38,000 viewers, um, on these episodes. So I'm glad that we are actually making a difference across all continents around the globe. So let's, uh, keep on going with that. I'm very happy to introduce our guests today. We have, uh, Starr Heart and Andrea Russell from IU Health, uh, to talk to us about their most recent, uh, endeavor with the Mosaic Center. So, welcome and, um, we're really looking forward to a great show today. Speaker 2 00:01:11 Good morning. Good day, and thank you for having us. Thank you. Speaker 3 00:01:14 Yeah, thanks, uh, I appreciate that. Yeah, very excited to have Andrea and Starla join us from, in my mind, in the Mosaic Center, but at IU Health, and we can you all kinda about that relationship, um, here in a moment. But anyway, uh, again, I echo, uh, shuk in, in thanking folks to be loyal viewers and listeners. Um, we put out a map on our social media this past week representing kind of where our listeners are living and, and it's more than a couple dozen countries. I'm just always amazed at, at, at that kind of thing when you see that graphic representation. So anyway, so welcome, uh, Shuk, uh, go ahead, kick us off. So, Speaker 1 00:01:58 Alright, so let's, uh, start this with maybe telling us a little bit about how this initiative came to life and, you know, what bought it about, um, what bought this kind of partnership. It's such an interesting partnership, especially in a, in a very, uh, important and dynamic, uh, sector, I have to say. Speaker 2 00:02:22 Yes, it is. So, um, I can't, we can't take credit Andrea, or I can't take credit <laugh> of this being our initial brain child. Um, but there were several, um, community leaders that were interested in figuring out how healthcare can be more leveraged, more in the community, um, and help, um, hurting neighborhoods at the same time that IU Health was looking at the need for talent and really looking at, you know, the, the vast anchor they are in so many communities, having hospitals and, but having a real need for, for people, for workers, you know, um, and how could, how could they make a better, bigger impact, um, meeting their talent needs, but also making a eco a bigger economic impact in the community. Um, and so just kind of thinking through that, um, there were several individuals for a couple of years that looked at, um, different community workforce development models. Speaker 2 00:03:23 They looked at, um, talent recruitment models. They looked at a, across a variety of different, um, ways they could figure out how to put this together. And they finally landed on, um, adapting, um, a model called the Financial Opportunity Center or Bridges to Career Opportunity Center, um, model that's a part of the local initiative support corporation in the us. Um, and so LISC for short, um, and in this model usually, uh, workforce development centers are embedded in neighborhoods and individuals have an opportunity to, you know, work on soft skills, you know, resume writing, interviewing. They get to potentially participate in skills build, skill building trainings. So, you know, eight, um, um, HVAC training, health skills training, um, manufacturing logistics. Um, they might get to participate in these trainings with hopes to having a job and employer partners on the other end. Usually that link, the weakest link in that, that equation has been the employer linkage. Speaker 2 00:04:31 You know, once someone's prepared and they've been supported at the community center level, they go off to an employer and then you kind, it kind of from the community perspective kind of goes into a black hole. You don't know what happens, You don't know if someone's getting the same support, you know, usually if folks are a little bit financially more financially stable, they're not as, um, um, you know, frequently frequent frequenting their phone calls and their appointments as much and that sort of thing. And so, um, what we decided to do, or the folks at IU have decided to do was to take that model and to figure out how to embed it within the healthcare system within our organization itself as an employer and as a, um, with a focus on healthcare jobs. And so we know that there's gonna be vast, um, shortages of employees in healthcare over the next decade. Speaker 2 00:05:22 Um, we also know that actually cuz healthcare is such an anchor in communities, they provide a great job. You know, they provide full benefits, they provide good wages where folks can have a livable wage. And so just putting all those pieces together kind of created the Mosaic Center. And so we're really excited about, um, launching this initiative. Uh, we're focused on adapting that workforce community embedded normally community embedded workforce model, which is really the cornerstone of it is coaching. Um, so our team consists of a variety of financial coaches, career coaches, resource coaches, which are social workers that can help people address all types of barriers. And so in naming the center, you know, we want people to just feel like they can come through our doors virtually or in person and perceive a mosaic of supports that can help them build their career and their financial futures for their family. Speaker 3 00:06:20 Hmm. That, sorry. So Mosaic comes from the, the, uh, variety of services and programs and supports that are there. I was curious the derivation of the name. I'm, I could guess, but that, that he weaved it in there quite nicely. Thank you. Speaker 2 00:06:36 You're welcome. Speaker 3 00:06:38 <laugh>. Um, you know, it, it's interesting, so a lot of our audience is comprised of teachers after school providers, funders, policymakers, but also those just working in community development as a whole. And so while you all have a Elaine or two, um, I guess I was reflecting a little bit on the fact that, um, Mosaic Center and what IU Health is seeking to do is, is not just be a monolith, uh, in the community, but really how do we embrace, uh, clearly based on a model, But there are mul many, many partners beyond lisc, uh, and IU Health that are involved in trying to, to make this work and, and, and meet the community's needs. So talk to us a little bit about that community mobilization piece and more importantly, how do you effectively coordinate these partners with who might have diverging interests from time to time? Speaker 2 00:07:32 Yeah. Well, there are definitely a lot of partners, and from what I hear at IU Health, this is one of the, this is, um, the first initiative they've had with the, like the most community based partners, um, ever. So, um, it's quite an undertaking for the organization to really conceptualize that and how to pull all the pieces together. So, um, in their genius, um, they, uh, wrote in a partnership liaison. Um, so it was actual formal role on our team that we have someone dedicated to helping us maintain and manage all the variety of relationships we have. And like you mentioned, they're both internal relationships because, um, only two of our team, two of our 10 team members actually come from a healthcare background. The rest of us come from community or workforce or higher ed or, you know, other places, other pieces of the puzzle. Speaker 2 00:08:22 Um, and so for us, it's really important to figure out how to develop internal partnerships with all the various departments that are in these various career pathways in healthcare, both clinical and non-clinical as well as community partners. And we have a variety of community partners. Everything from, um, the K12 system, which we'll talk a little bit about, um, higher ed training providers, um, housing providers, folks that can help our members with rental assistance or home ownership. Um, we even have some specialty, um, partnerships that really help us target some high need populations that really need additional support in building a career like Foster Success and Recovery Cafe. So Foster success helps support young people that have aged out of foster care, but still need that additional support and recovery cafe helps for individuals that are in various types of recovery. Um, and we're really, really honing in on that population, thinking about peer recovery coaches, um, behavioral health, um, career avenues where, you know, folks can help folks, others get over addictions or issues that they may have that are more significant, um, in their life. Speaker 2 00:09:34 So, um, we have a vast array of partners, like you said, and so we just, um, have quarterly convenings where we bring folks together and try to keep them informed, um, and net networking events, um, as well as then just building that relationship with that partnership liaison, just maintaining that, um, constant contact to make sure we, you know, we're all individual organizations, but we have one purpose in terms of improving the economic lives of, of others and the opportunities for them. And so we try to make that our North star and build the partnership components around that. Speaker 3 00:10:11 That's great. Andrea, I wanted to, to maybe think, I know you all just recently formally launched, right? And it's been a lot of planning and work ahead of time. So if you can think of like maybe an example of something that was challenging during that kind of prepping period and how'd you all overcome that? Where was that kind of moment where you were able to kind of overcome that? Speaker 2 00:10:33 Oh, where to start? I think, um, it was really great. So first, um, have to give credit to all of the genius minds that came together and conceptualize what this program, um, could look like. Um, all the different components of the Mosaic Center. I think, um, the challenge came and in terms of how do you operationalize a conception, right? So how do you think about what are all the strategies that are needed to, um, think about, um, individuals coming into the door, um, getting the support and services that they need. And so there was a lot of work that was done to visit various different community centers, um, within the state and even out of the state as well. But thinking about what will really work, um, for our community, what will work for our population as we talk about the fellowship program, um, for our high school students, um, what that looks like in terms of continuously staying on the cusp of what is needed, um, to help them reach higher levels of success and really provide the wraparound supportive services that they need. So I think the greatest challenge has been operationalizing the planning. I can think across many organizations and entities and startups, It's, you have an idea, how do you put that idea into motion? Speaker 3 00:11:45 Yeah, I, that's a great example and I appreciate you sharing that. Um, there are a lot of great ideas out there. A lot of folks have, uh, thoughts and, um, actually bringing them to fruition and then kind of managing, in this particular case a lot of different, uh, potential, uh, interest areas is, is, you know, so kudos you all for the, the smooth start thus far at least mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and, and so I'm sure it will continue. One of the things that when Starla and I were chatting, uh, before, uh, this episode was the fact that you all don't just focus at all by on, on young people, right? You, you're focused on the community and, and underserved population Sure. With the target of, of how do we lift up all the folks in the community and, and help in particular this, this field. Um, but tell us that you've alluded to it a couple times. So let's talk a little bit though about the, the, uh, initiative or the emphasis you have, uh, with Christmas addicts or local high school here in Indianapolis. Um, and, and maybe some others that, that, uh, specifically what is it that you're doing with that group of, of young people, um, to bring them through this process you described? Speaker 2 00:13:01 So Starla alluded to this earlier, um, thinking about, um, the staffing shortages that will be, um, coming about. And I would certainly say those have been heightened since the pandemic. Um, and so our, um, the individuals that really came together to think about what the Mosaic Center could be in the fellowship, um, could be certainly were ahead of their time in thinking about what's needed to create a pipeline of talent, um, into healthcare careers, be it clinical or non-clinical. Um, I'm so passionate about the program because it provides individuals with the opportunity to be exposed, um, to healthcare careers early and often. I'm a huge advocate for exposure, um, as you can expose individuals, um, to various different, um, opportunities or even ways of thinking, you're able to unlock their potential, um, and really to forge, um, a bright path ahead. And so thinking about the fellowship program, creating a pipeline of talent, um, to healthcare careers, but also diversifying the workplace, um, having our patient population be mirrored, um, in the team that comes alongside them as providing that care. Speaker 2 00:14:09 And, um, when we think about IU Health's mission and vision to be one of the healthiest states, um, what we do know is that when individuals have access to higher levels of income, they're able to invest, um, personally in their healthcare. And so it really comes full circle. So, um, providing our students with opportunities to see themselves, um, as successful, um, will help them take the appropriate steps to be successful, um, and then have them be the tide that maybe raises all shifts within their community. And so, thinking about, um, we, um, really come alongside the students in a very supportive way, um, not just to support their curriculum, but provide them with work-based learning opportunities such as internships, providing them with certifications. They'll be earning dual credits. Um, but also understanding that so many of our students are first generation college students. Um, and so what does it mean to see yourself being successful and understand the steps that are needed to get there? So filling out a college application, how do you write a essay? Those are all very needed steps, but thinking about what is my character, How do I develop as an individual so that I'm leading both inside and outside of the classroom? And we allow our students to really grow to reach their full potential. And I believe that the more each generation can unselfishly invest in the generations coming after them, the better we all will be because of it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, Speaker 3 00:15:41 That's, uh, I appreciate you sharing that. And, um, a lot of it's resonant for SHA and I for sure. Cause uh, whether you're here in the, uh, uh, near west side of Indianapolis or, or elsewhere around the world, same kinds of things are needed. Same kinds of opportunities, same kind of activation is critical. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> Speaker 2 00:16:04 Mm-hmm. Speaker 1 00:16:05 <affirmative>. Yeah. I, I I really love this, um, community embedded workforce model. I, I love that it is such a, you know, spot on kind of phrase cuz it is true, you cannot start this kind of initiative without making sure that you have all these different elements within, um, the respective community involved in it and really, you know, gearing up to, to do something about it. And, and it is really, really amazing. Um, and, and I guess that, you know, we all have our influencers. If, if you could say, you know, people who have, you know, impacted our lives in one way or the other that has been, that has allowed us to actually, you know, say, Okay, this is the path I wanna go on and, and this is what I wanna achieve and take it a little bit, you know, one step further and, and really create that impact that maybe at that time may not have been that feasible or that pos or that possible, uh, for whatever the reasons are. Speaker 1 00:17:20 And, um, over the last couple of years, we've all been, you know, seeing this, this whole, um, mosaic, if you wanna call it, you know, get into place no matter which country you're at. Everyone now is focused on how do we bring all these things together to actually create the intended impact and to support, you know, critical survival of, you know, fut our future youth and, and even our existing communities at the moment with everything that is taking place from, uh, be it economical, psychological or, or whatever it is. It's, it's, it's really of importance. So I wanna, you know, we ask each of our audience and our guests, um, tell us a little bit what, what has made you get to this point? What are, who are the people that have influenced you and, and made you reach this, uh, certain, you know, this heightened level of, of incredible, um, initiatives such as the one that you are, uh, launching, um, you know, and to gain this kind of achievement. What were the success factors that you were looking at? Uh, all the time? Speaker 2 00:18:51 You go take it. I'll start. Speaker 1 00:18:53 The question is for both. Speaker 2 00:18:56 I'll be remiss if I didn't say my mother. I know that's a cheesy answer, but my mother has always been just a high proponent of education. And so really instilling in me and my siblings just the value of education. Um, serving as my elementary school PTO president, going on to be a school social worker. And so just being a lifelong learner was important to her and she certainly passed that, um, down to all of us and really being involved and engaged in the community. Um, I would also have to say we cannot, um, overstate the impact that, um, early learning has on individuals. Um, I was fortunate enough to attend Head Start in Cold Spring Academic Academy. And I think back to, and those were my preschool and my elementary school respectively. And those experiences that I had, um, played such an integral role in who I am today. The culture, the experiences that they were able to sustain and cultivate, um, were truly profound. The way they were able to make learning accessible, to make information fun, to make individuals feel seen and known and understood, certainly served as a catalyst to help me aspire to learn, to achieve, to be great. And so having early educators take a sincere interest in me, um, has made me want to grow and develop. And I, I think maybe selflessly want to be someone that they could be proud to say they have known and, um, engaged with. Speaker 3 00:20:30 Oh, yes. Have you, uh, have you had a, an opportunity to let any of those folks know that? Speaker 2 00:20:37 I have. So, interestingly enough, um, one of my teachers still works at Cold Spring Academic Academy. Oh, and I volunteered there maybe six or seven years ago and they were still there. And the school secretary just happened to be volunteering. And after 20 plus years, um, I was able to connect with them and just share just the impact that at 5, 6, 7 years old, 20, 30 years down the road, how much that sincerely, um, meant to me. So it's kind of, we were a small school, um, at that point in time. And I mean, it was everyone, not just from the teachers, but the lunch ladies from the janitor, from the school nurse. Everyone just had a true orientation to helping and serving and making sure that we felt, um, prepared and purposed. Um, and also cared about, um, in our school, um, community. I, I wanna say we had a whole unit where we talked about chocolate. Speaker 2 00:21:37 Um, so that was, that was fun. And that was a caveat, but it was ways just to integrate and make students feel that anything was possible. Um, that education is not rigorous, um, that it's necessary, but can also be fun. And it could also, um, really be, as I say, you know, raising the tides and helping you think and explore what is the art of possible that's so good. Can't, I can't follow that very well, um, <laugh>. Um, but when I think about this question, it's funny, I used to ask it of my students, um, in higher ed a lot and I just was like hoping, keeping my fingers crossed and no one would actually ask me the question too. Um, because folks would have such great answers. And when I think back to how I got into doing community work, I didn't have an example. Speaker 2 00:22:30 My family were all blue collar workers, you know, they worked hard. And so, um, I feel like my work, my work ethic, my mom's sentiment of do something right or don't do it at all, like, what are you, you know, some of those things echo and the way I do work now, but it definitely wasn't the work that they did that you can't see a direct alignment sometimes to the work that my family did and the work that I do now. And I spend a lot of time actually at family gatherings, um, explaining what I'm doing and why I'm doing and why I didn't just go to medical school. Cuz at one point I wanted to be a doctor myself. So even working in healthcare now as full circle, um, but I end up explaining these things a lot. And so, um, you know, I don't, you know, I don't, I don't know about that part, but I do definitely, there have been individuals in my, in the course of my life as I've gone along the way that have made, um, just made me notice things in a different way or in illuminate the possibilities that, um, are exist, um, in terms of, you know, what I'm bringing to the table and how it could be leveraged for the broader community. Speaker 2 00:23:39 And so as an undergrad student at I U P U I, Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis, I was president of the Black Student Union and, um, involved in the community, I was involved with Marion County Commission on youth as a, as a a community service scholar and did volunteer hours. But I did a bunch of different things but didn't really understand how they could all come together. And it was, um, one mentor that I had that had been deputy mayor of the city of Indianapolis that, um, at the time was helping me put on this big huge dinner with Dr. Henry Lewis Gates and all these things. And she was like, Starla, what are you, what are you doing <laugh>? And I'm like, What do you mean what I'm doing? I'm just doing all the things. And she was like, But what are you, what's the broader purpose? Speaker 2 00:24:25 And she was like, What are you gonna do with your now from medical degree to communications degree? What are you doing with all of this time you're giving of yourself to advocate for students on campus and do all these things in community? Like, how is this coming together for you? And she was like, Have you ever considered working in the non-profit sector? And I'm like, What is that? Am I gonna get paid? I don't understand this. What do you mean my mom is gonna kill me? It's, you know, it, I equated that with like, you know, I wouldn't poo poo on it now, but like bma like a philosophy major. Like what do you do with it? Besides think like, I wasn't quite sure how that worked. Um, and she just exposed me to that. I was able to then add on, um, some certifications to my undergrad degree in non-profit management and I've gone on and got other degrees in, in, in it, in the work. But, um, she was the first person that really said like, take a look at what you're doing. You're contributing so much. How can you make this come together better? How can you make this, you know, a part of, of a longer term impact in the community? And so she was the first person that did that, and I attribute my now 20 plus year career in nonprofit to, to her. So Speaker 3 00:25:41 Yeah, that, you know, that's not, uh, both of those are great examples and it's never a cheesy answer to, to pick your, your parent or family member, uh, by any means. But it's interesting and, and at its essence, youth development is very much at the forefront of, of this podcast. And, um, you all just articulated the fundamentals of, of youth development really. Um, you had caring, consistent adult presence, whether it be your family members or people in early education later in your career, people not telling you what not to do, but, but really asking you and promoting other things to try and, and, and, and, and, and spread and, and, and push your boundaries. I mean, that's all youth development as you all know. But, uh, mm-hmm. <affirmative>, just a reminder there to our audience that, that just reflecting on our own lives and our own kind of arc, uh, once again reinforces how critical the youth development approach is. Speaker 3 00:26:42 Whether you're in education formally, whether you're working with young people in an initiative, uh, like the Mosaic Center is, or the shuks around workforce and bulked or whatever it might be. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, how important I feel, and, and, and I've know many of you do, how important having that at the forefront of the approaches of, of helping young people, uh, thrive, uh, is critical. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So that's just me. I'll get back off my soapbox around that. That's great. And, and and just say, um, as our time has come to a close here, thank you very much for taking some time with us, uh, to, to share, uh, this exciting and, and in, while it might not seem, uh, groundbreaking to you all, it's, it's, it's an approach that hasn't, uh, really happened a lot or enough around the world. And so you all are in a lot of ways are are taking the bumps in, in Bruces for, for others to learn from. So as somebody here that lives in your community, I'm grateful, um, and somebody that's in the field with you all, uh, even more so. So again, Andrea Russell, uh, Starla Heart, thank you so much for, for spending time with us. We look forward to sharing more information, uh, when we release this episode. Additional information that you all can find out about the Mosaic Center, um, and, and kind of track, uh, their progress and success, uh, that's forthcoming. So, uh, I appreciate it. Sh do you have any parting thoughts before we, uh, sign off this episode? Speaker 1 00:28:17 We're gonna be, you know, closely following, uh, each and every step in terms of uh, how this is, uh, going to come to life. Cuz I really do think it's incredible. Yeah. And we share the best of Speaker 2 00:28:33 Thank you. Well, thank you for having us today. We appreciate the opportunity. We love to keep you posted on all the things as they keep developing and, um, appreciate the time that she's in the conversation this morning. Speaker 3 00:28:46 Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you all so much. Thank and to all of you out there. We'll see you next time. Take care. Speaker 1 00:28:52 Thank you.

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