At the Grassroots

Cherylee Sherry is a senior planner for health care homes at the Minnesota Department of Health and a conference volunteer.

I’m the cheerful lady who welcomes you when you pick up your conference badge at the entrance. I’m attending the IUHPE Conference for the sixth time, but it’s the first time my employer didn’t finance the trip. As a result, I work as a volunteer a few hours per day so she I can attend some sessions the remainder of the day.

I’m working for a certification program for primary-care clinics to improve the coordination of care. Doctors have to show that they successfully work as a team with other health workers in an experimental model, where the patient is in the center of care. The goal is to improve healthcare by improving patient health, experience and making healthcare more affordable.

Because of the current economic crisis, many people lose their jobs, which in our country means, you also lose your health insurance. Our current situation in the U.S. is a mess: the pharma lobby and the government are not doing enough to cut healthcare costs and make insurance affordable for all.

I used to be an executive director of a community clinic, which provides affordable healthcare. My city has the largest Somalian community in the U.S. and many Hmong people who come from the mountainous regions of Thailand.

My main interest in attending the IUHPE conference as often as possible is to be able to provide culturally sensitive healthcare and education as well as health literacy. So I’m coming here to see how other countries are dealing with problems and try and apply what works for them.

Before the start of the conference, I dropped off my two girls, Marissa, 14, and Micaela, 17, in Adelboden so they could spend a few weeks in the Swiss Alps, not just for a fun holiday as most youths do at their age. They went to Our Chalet, the oldest world center of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. Like me they want to meet people from many different cultures, explore Switzerland, learn new skills and help the community.