By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As a child, Lindsey Ruivivar spent a great deal of time in the hospital with severe asthma.
“I woke up many a night and couldn’t breathe, and my parents had to rush me to the hospital,” she said. “It was pretty traumatic.”
That experience in Ruivivar’s youth helped propel her to a profession in public health – and to her new job as CEO of the Community Health Center at the Wood County Health Department.
“All I knew was that I wanted to help people,” she said. That led her to consider nursing, and ultimately to public health policy.
For nearly two decades, Ruivivar has been helping people through the community health center model.
“We are focused on removing barriers to care and making sure everyone has health care,” she said.
Ruivivar has visited community health centers all across the U.S.
“Every health center is unique,” she said. “They are all supposed to be community based.”
But they all share one feature – more than half of the center board members must be consumers of the services.
“That’s a beautiful part of our model of care,” she said.
“We are the nation’s largest health care system,” Ruivivar said.
Ruivivar, who grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, has spent the last 15 years in community health care in Washington state. While much of Wood County is rural, it’s far more populated than the three-county area she served in Washington.
To get to work, Ruivivar had to drive an hour through a mountain pass.
“I would pass more animals than people,” she said.
Ruivivar is now acquainting herself with the health needs of people in Wood County.
“What are the gaps that still remain in the community?” she said. “Do we need to be expanding?”
She has been familiarizing herself with communities from North Baltimore to Northwood, and everywhere in between.
“There is need all across the county,” she said.
The Wood County Community Health Center has 32 staff and provides medical, dental, behavioral health and pharmacy services. Patients can access primary care such as annual exams for all ages, vaccines, mental health screenings, referrals to specialists, and dental services such as cleanings, fillings and extractions.
“There’s a lot of demand for dental services right now,” especially since the health center is the only local provider to accept Medicaid coverage, Ruivivar said.
“We do serve all patients,” she said, noting that the Wood County Community Health Center sees more than 2,700 patients annually.
“We’re part of a national effort to get access to health care,” regardless of insurance or ability to pay, she said.
Of the 12 postal zip code areas covered by the Wood County Health Department, more than 40,000 residents are low income – and likely going without health care, Ruivivar said.
Ruivivar wants to connect those people with health care.
“While there are challenges to be met, I feel there’s a lot of opportunity.”
Ruivivar is also a believer in collaboration, and is trying to reach out to other agencies to work together to better serve residents.
“I want to explore partnership opportunities,” she said.
As for returning to her Ohio roots, Ruivivar said it’s good to be back closer to family. She is looking forward to exploring Wood County Parks, and is enjoying the sweet corn dropped off by a new neighbor. She is also glad to be back in a climate where she can grow a vegetable garden.
“So I can compete with my dad,” she said with a smile.
