Trish Hopes to Put Healthcare Innovation into Practice at enFocus

I’ve been asked at least 6 times “What made you apply to enFocus?” or “How did you hear about enFocus?”

As a new transplant to the South Bend - Elkhart Region looking for my first job after graduate school, I hadn’t heard many people in the community talk about enFocus. In fact, even the friends I’ve come to know since moving here hadn’t even heard of it.

Then, one day, as I was dropping my son off to a school event at Purdue Polytechnic in the Studebaker Building, I saw “enFocus” on the sign in the lobby.

I thought, Huh–I wonder what they do. So I googled enFocus on my way up the stairs.

Immediately, I knew I wanted to be involved. Before even leaving the parking lot, I sat in my car and applied to the Innovation Fellowship.

Up to this point, my career has centered around healthcare–the sector I started in during the early 2000s. I volunteered through high school at my local fire department, eventually becoming a licensed EMT-B and earning my Associate’s in Occupational Therapy.

In each of my roles in healthcare, I noticed a recurring theme: many patients were held back by factors out of the clinicians’ control. There were systemic barriers that reduced their access to treatment and kept patients from overcoming chronic illnesses.

I wanted to do something about it. So, I enrolled in a Master’s of Public Health program at George Washington University. But my studies were still theoretical; it was time to put what I have learned into practice.

Seeing the Innovation Fellowship position gave me just the push I needed. In this role, I could combine my clinical skills from years in healthcare with my skills relating to research, program design, and data analysis from my MPH.

And, as a new resident of the area, I wasn’t familiar with the region at all–and I was yearning for a way to connect to the different people and opportunities the region has to offer.

So, what made me apply to enFocus?

The Fellowship program represented the perfect opportunity to apply what I’ve learned, contribute to major impact initiatives, and learn more about my new home—all at the same time!

I’m eager to be of service to my new community.