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Ben McCombs / Author

support@antiochcollege.edu

Midwest, Ohio, Psychology, Mindfulness, & Wellness (Pre-Social Services), Public Health
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The Work We Do
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Culture, Power, & Change, Featured Post, Justice and Community/Identity, Psychology, Mindfulness, & Wellness (Pre-Social Services), San Francisco Bay Area, Study Area - Community Organization and Advocacy
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SKILLS & INTERESTS

Test skill 1 Test skill 2 Interest 1 Interest 2

Gallery I

Gallery II


 

A New Experience, A New Beginning: Erina McGuire ’24 at Rocking Horse Community Health Center

Sep 26, 2024
 

“At Rocking Horse Community Health Center we provide complete health and wellness services to take care of you, your family and everyone in our community. We offer medical, dental, behavioral health, patient advocacy and material assistance to help you be the best you can be.”

-Direct quote from the Rocking Horse Website

  My final Co-op at Antioch is at Rocking Horse Community Health Center in Springfield Ohio. It is a self design Co-op that I decided to do for two reasons. The first reason is that it is close to my house so I can easily ride my little electric bicycle to and from the location. The other reason is that even though Rocking Horse is a hospital, I work in the Patient Advocacy department. I don’t plan on being a healthcare worker in the future, but working as a Patient Advocate can help me learn more about patient needs and resources that can help my clients when I one day become a therapist.

“Our patient advocates can assist you in breaking down the barriers that may be keeping you from living your best life. We can help with navigating resources for housing, employment, guardianship, applying for cash, food and medical assistance, applying for daycare, transportation, prescription assistance, utility assistance, homelessness, domestic violence and more. Please talk to your provider or call one of our advocates directly.”

-Direct quote from the Rocking Horse Patient Advocacy Page Patient Advocates do plenty of things around Rocking Horse. They work with every department and do their best to ensure that the patients here have what they need in order to have their needs met. As one of the Advocates, Ja-Lynn told me: Patients won’t get better until the issues in their lives start to improve and their needs are met. The two main parts of my job are working in the food pantry to put together food boxes and hand them out, and collecting Opportunity Assessments and calling patients to get them in contact with resources they may need.

Example of a food .box that I have put together

For the food pantry, when people come by for a food box, we put their name into PantryTrak and check to see if they’re a patient here or not. If they are, we put in their chart on NextGen that they received a food box, if not we mark it on a sheet to keep track of how many non-patients we assist. I also put together food boxes and help to bring in the food delieveries for said boxes roughly once a week. For Opportunity Assessments, every morning I pick them up from one of the nurse stations. Opportunity assessments are meant to be given to patients during each visit, and they ask if there are any areas in their lives that they may need assistance with, like food, housing, healthcare and other similar areas. There are four nurse stations in our facility that have the Opportunity Assessment drop boxes. One in Pediatrics, two in Family Practice, and one in Obstetrics.

Example of a blank Opportunity Assessment

When I return to my workspace, I organize the assessments into three piles. Negative Assessments, English Positive Assessments and Non-English Positive Assessments. A negative assessment is where a patient marks ‘no’ for each question asked about assistance, while a positive assessment is one where the patient marks at least one yes. Both negative and positive assessments are put in patient charts on NextGen, but with positive assessments we reach out to the patient and share with them different resources depending on their needs. However if a patient marks that they do not want an Advocate reaching out to them, we still treat it as a positive assessment but we complete it and note in the chart that they did not want to be contacted. As for the Non-English Positive Assessments, Rocking Horse Community Health Center serves many Spanish and Haitian-Creole speaking people. The questions aren’t any different, which is why the Non-English Negative Assessments can be done since we do not reach out to the patient, but the positive assessments are put into the patient’s chart and then a task is sent to all Advocates for someone to take. We have a few advocates who can speak Haitian-Creole as well as some Advocates and student volunteers who can speak Spanish, but we also have a translation service that can be called to help the Advocates who cannot speak any of those languages. Although I can really only speak English, I did take French at Antioch. While Haitian-Creole is its own language, it uses French as its base. So even though I can’t hold a conversation with someone who speaks Haitian-Creole,  I can at least speak enough that I can roughly ask someone what their name and birthday is so that I can look them up in the system to give them a food box or see if they have an appointment (Thank you professor Cary Campbell). Food boxes and Opportunity Assessments are not the only tasks that am able to do. I have done a few office tasks, and recently got the opportunity to go on a house call with one of our Advocates who did an initial assessment to assist one of the doctors for a telehealth visit. So far I have really enjoyed working with the Advocates and other volunteers. They are all amazing people who find a way to make me laugh everyday, even when things aren’t going the best. It’s been fun learning the work, though it can be hard with the personal situations of patients needing assistance. I think it is definitely helping to prepare me for the types of things I can see later in life as a therapist.
Rocking Horse Website Banner

 

Winning Victories For Every Species: Schleeter ’26 Antioch Kitchen

Aug 31, 2024
 

Over this past spring, I have been deeply committed to fostering a harmonious relationship between education and ecological stewardship. One recent initiative—a crafted birdhouse near the campus apothecary garden—exemplifies this dedication. Designed to promote avian habitat and facilitate ornithophilous interactions, which is the act of pollination by bird species, this project supports local wildlife and enriches our campus ecosystem and educational experiences.

The construction of the birdhouse involved meticulous planning and sustainable practices; I chose heat-treated wood for its durability and finished it with an all-natural hemp sealant to ensure the structure remained eco-friendly. The birdhouse features a stainless steel hinged roof, allowing easy access for cleaning, and is assembled with sturdy steel screws. One of the main challenges was securing the birdhouse to its base from the interior, which we overcame using an extender drill bit provided by Richard Kraince. This innovative solution ensured the birdhouse’s stability and functionality.

 Completing this signature assignment gave me valuable insights into the best practices for birdhouse orientation and preparation. Positioning the birdhouse facing east minimizes exposure to prevailing winds while maximizing sunlight, keeping the interior warm throughout the year. Additionally, filling the interior with an inch of natural substrate before installation has been proven beneficial, as birds prefer to clean out and personalize their nesting spaces rather than starting with an empty house.

 The birdhouse is strategically placed approximately fifty feet from the apothecary garden. This location, surrounded by a 30-foot diameter of unobscured area, provides ample space for birds to fly in and out freely while staying close enough to interact beneficially with the apothecary garden and nearby area. We anticipate that this project will enhance pollination and seed dispersion throughout campus, contributing to its growth and biodiversity.

 Looking forward, this birdhouse represents a small yet significant step in the broader conservation efforts I plan to undertake during the latter half of my undergraduate career. I aim to build on this initiative with my senior project. This involves implementing red-colored light-gel sheets into the artificial lighting within our campus restoration area near the Arts & Sciences Building, which will be monitored against a white-light restoration area near Weston Hall and Pennell House. This initiative is designed to create a safer environment for local bats, night-migrating birds, and other urban wildlife.

This birdhouse project is more than a simple construction; it symbolizes an ongoing commitment to ecological harmony and educational growth at Antioch College. Whether you’re interested in building birdhouses, contributing to our apothecary garden, or participating in other efforts, your involvement can make a significant impact; together, we can achieve victories for every species!


 

“In the Bay, at Martins”: Bridget Padilla’24 at Martin de Porres in San Francisco

Feb 21, 2024
 

What is Martins?

Martin de Porres House of Hospitality, affectionately known as Martins, is a Free Restaurant, serving soup for anyone and everyone Monday – Saturday from 1-2pm. Martins was inspired by the catholic workers movement which lead to their mission to “serve in the spirit of compassion, love, and understanding.” Martins is a non-profit 501(c)(3) community that is run as a collective, meaning no funding comes from the government or the church, leaving Martins to be dependent on private donations.

What have I been doing here? 

For the past couple of months, I have been helping as a full time volunteer at Martins working Monday through Fridays, with the exception of Wednesday, from 9am- 2:30pm. My day to day activities range throughout the week, mainly since everyday we serve a different kind of soup. Monday’s are Oatmeal, Tuesday’s Tofu Curry, Wednesday’s Minestrone, Thursday’s Black Eyed Pea, Friday’s Split Pea and Saturday’s Lentils. The days are usually spread out to three different shifts: 

 

9am-10:30am

During this time is what is called “the big chop”. The volunteers gather around the serving counter with knives and cutting boards, ready to tackle the 7-9 trays of freshly washed vegetables and greens for the soup and sides. Along with the chopping, we also place bread on trays and make tea to hand out to the guests before we begin serving lunch. 

12pm-2pm

It is finally serving time! For this, the volunteers gather around and decide who wants what job. There is no real hierarchy when it comes to shift duties, there is a general crew chief who is there to help, not control or boss around. The jobs are simple kitchen duties like dishwashing, serving, or walking around bussing tables. During this shift as well, there are showers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, along with a free pop up clothes and necessities store, filled with items that are usually donated.  

2pm-2:30pm

At the end of a usually chaotic but satisfying shift, we begin the clean up process. It usually takes around 30 minutes or so since there are around 10-12 volunteers per shift which really makes the clean up easy. The clean up consists of washing dishes and pots, mopping floors and other front of the house operations. We offer bathrooms everyday, which also need general cleaning.

Community and Communication

We are open to serving any kind of person who walks through the doors. The goal of the Martins location is to provide sanctuary, a calm and inviting space to lounge around and enjoy a meal or simply sleep in peace. The majority of our guests are unhoused and low income locals, so we cater more to their needs on the daily bases. Along with providing their material needs, we also help with setting guests up to receive government funds, and even sometimes housing. There are many guests who come in who have been a part of the community for 10 years. This free kitchen is the only source of food for some folks in the Potrero/Mission area, so it is vital for Martins to continue to create meals and feed the people.  

I never considered social justice work as something I would have been interested in, but since being here at Martins, I have loved it. Entirely, I feel so grateful to have been able to come and volunteer here while making so many special friends. My experience has been unforgettable and has even become a place I want to spend many years in. I can not wait to return to this wonderful, and loving community.