Sweeping Changes in Health Care Keep Baltimore Care Manager Busy
One person who would like to help simplify what she describes as the current quagmire of doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, is Michelle Rubin who is currently the care coordination program manager at Chase Brexton Health Care in Baltimore. When asked why she entered her field of public health, her response was that she wanted to improve the health care system for the individual patient.
Rubin has worked hard toward this goal: She has a bachelor's degree in political science and history from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fl. and a master's degree in public health (MSPH) from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her career began at the People's Community Health Center here in Baltimore where she was a community health grants coordinator, and later she worked as a research assistant for the Primary Care Policy Center at Johns Hopkins.
In discussing how this educational foundation relates to her current role as care coordination program manager, Rubin believes that this background prepared her with the necessary skills to obtain her current position; and it also gives her credibility in dealing with other professionals in the workplace. She stresses, however, that since the health care landscape is changing so rapidly due to the Affordable Care Act and state-level initiatives, that learning will be ongoing as legislative changes impact patient care.
Lastly, regarding advice for those thinking about a career in public health, Rubin emphasizes that it is critical to be passionate about two things in particular: health and helping people, especially vulnerable populations. Rubin also suggests talking to people in the field, and learning as much as one can about the particular area of interest and the types of places where this work occurs. As Rubin so accurately points out, public health is a broad field of endeavor; it is growing and it needs dedicated people.
Susan Brown originally spent many years in banking/finance before confronting her addictions. She has now been in recovery for 20 years. Her current interests, in which she has several certifications, are metaphysics and the healing arts. She has written for Examiner.com since 2009 and also writes for Om Times.