Hello! My name is Elsa Batten and I’m a third year Biology major with a minor in Hispanic Studies. This semester, I’ve been interning at SOS Health Services in College Place, a free clinic that provides high-quality 
healthcare to uninsured or underinsured individuals in the Walla Walla Valley, regardless of citizenship status or geographic location. The clinic is a safety net organization that aims to fill the gaps in our nation’s healthcare system, and it serves a very important role in our community. It operates through grants, donations, and the work of volunteers. I began volunteering at the SOS clinic my first year at Whitman, and it has been amazing to hold a more involved role with the organization.
Due to COVID-19, the clinic has been operating remotely since last March, offering only telehealth appointments for patients. In order to feel more connected to the patients they serve and to streamline clinic operations, the folks at SOS decided to implement a patient messaging platform called CareMessage. CareMessage is designed for safety net organizations like SOS, and allows the clinic to send text messages and voice calls directly to patients. These messages include appointment and lab reminders, patient satisfaction surveys, and messages for coordination of care. As an intern, my role has been to plan for & oversee the implementation of CareMessage and to create materials related to the platform for clinic use. Before the clinic started using CareMessage, I researched how to maintain compliance with HIPAA while texting and calling patients, and how to ensure that the platform is as accessible as possible for all of the clinic’s patients. More recently, I’ve been creating message templates and appointment reminders in both English and Spanish, which has helped me learn how to apply my Spanish speaking abilities in a clinical setting. I am also developing messages for COVID-19 outreach and mental health outreach, which is especially important because quarantine can be highly isolating.
While I am not working directly with patients, it’s rewarding to know that I amhelping facilitate important communication between the clinic and those it serves. Many patients have expressed that they enjoy being able to contact the clinic so easily, in a way that works well with their schedules. This process has pushed me to consider details about healthcare accessibility–it is important that everyone has the ability to visit a clinic, and effective communication with patients is crucial to making that happen and providing high quality care. Since arriving at Whitman, I have developed an interest in public health, and interning at the SOS clinic has made me even more inspired to go into the field. I look forward to continuing to work with the SOS clinic in the future, and with similar organizations which provide such important services.
Experiences like Elsa’s are made possible by the Whitman Internship Grant, which provides funding for students to participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit, some for-profit, and government organizations. We are happy to be sharing blog posts from students who were supported by either a summer, fall, spring, or year-long grants at organizations, businesses, and research labs all around the world. To learn how you could secure a Whitman Internship Grant or host a Whitman intern at your organization, send an email to Assistant Director for Internship Programs, Mitzy Rodriguez