Twenty years ago Jerry and Julie Walden listened to an articulate and compassionate woman speak at Life Lessons, an integrated cardiac wellness program at St. Joseph Mercy’s Michigan Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Jerry Walden, Packard Health founder, recruited her on the spot to join his small clinic.

This month, Karen Koeppe, Registered Dietitian, Nutritionist, and Certified Diabetes Educator, retired from Packard Health after 20 years of service.

To chat with Karen is to understand how countless patients have improved their lives working with her…and to appreciate what Jerry Walden saw so many years ago.

Here are 4 things we admire so much about Karen.  

Essential team player
When a patient comes to Packard, they join forces with a primary provider, maybe a mental health therapist or addiction specialist, and often a chronic disease manager, Karen. Everyone works closely together, communicating, coordinating, listening. It’s not idle talk when a patient exclaims, “That Karen, she’s awesome!” 

Empowering Educator
There could be a sign on Karen’s office door saying “knowledge is power”. That’s what you feel when you step inside. You have the power to understand your chronic disease – and you have the power to make choices. Karen helped patients live the life they chose. As she says, “I put the patient in the driver’s seat.” Knowledgeable, compassionate, motivating, and non-judging, she was the perfect person for the job.

Energetic Can Do-er
Working at Packard Health is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done endeavor. Karen was great at it. She’s helped Packard achieve and maintain a blue-ribbon certification of care – Blue Cross, Blue Shield Patient Centered Medical Home. She’s shared her knowledge in team presentations on Social Determinants of Health to UM medical students. Maybe you’ve seen her representing Packard at Ann Arbor’s annual CROP walk or at a table after your church service. She’s run down grants to fund home blood pressure monitors, and nutritional supplements for cancer patients. Packard Health Fair? Karen was there to help.

Strong Community Builder 
“What I love about Packard is that right from the beginning it was designed to create community,” says Karen. She was an early adopter and developer of Diabetes Group Medical Appointments, where patients share their experiences, learn from each other, and find hope. And here’s to the Packard Pacers! Karen created the summer walking group (2005-2018) that hiked the trails of County Farm Park, supported each other, adopted healthy habits. and found fun and friendship along the way. Watch video.  

In 2000 Karen joined Packard Community Clinic with Jerry and Julie Walden and 5 part-time providers. Today Packard Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center with comprehensive, team-based programming delivered at 3 office locations, at the medical clinic at the Delonis Center, and in partnership with Avalon Housing. As our longest serving employee, Karen can look way back, but she’s looking ahead and is excited about health and wellness services at Packard long into the future. 

Retirement? Karen will volunteer making phone calls urging people to vote, to have a voice (she’s doing that already!). She’s also looking forward to bringing her special brand of care giving to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After all, as Jerry Walden said so long ago, “Karen has a passion for helping and healing.”

Congratulations to Karen, a real Packard Health Champion!

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Every Friday our staff meets virtually in a video meeting that unites us across offices, homes and hearts. We take time to care for the caregivers.Dr. Ravi Vadlamudi was in Nepal during the 2015 earthquake and ran a free clinic in the aftermath of Katrina. He gave the Packard staff his very personal insights from those times. Hannah Hyde, Behavioral Health Therapist shared ways to self-care in this time of tremendous uncertainty. Although we listen remotely, the impact of these meetings is intimate and powerful.

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Meet April Bigelow, PhD, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and Palliative Care Specialist. For our patients living with serious illness, April provides specialized care to relieve symptoms and stress. She is a skilled listener and advocate for patients and their families, and their expert communicator with all members of the care team. 

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Lori received a great honor last week – 2019 Hometown Health Hero from the Michigan Public Health Week Partnership. Lori created a program called F-SHARP (Family Shelter Assessment and Referral Program). She visits families in shelters across the county and connects them with health care at Packard and The Corner Health Center.

On her visits to INH-Alpha House, SafeHouse Center, Ozone House and Staples Family Center Lori meets with families, identifying immediate health needs, making referrals, and setting up appointments to see her at Packard Health or The Corner Health Center.

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In our offices and out in our community, the Packard team is tackling some of our county’s most pressing health care problems. Here’s just a FEW examples of great work:

• • Gina Dahlem, FNP at the Delonis Center and UM Nursing Professor, delivers her Naloxone training program and kits to community agencies throughout southeastern Michigan, with more than 250 overdose saves. Gina is a member of Packard’s Medication Assisted Treatment team.
  • Ronald Romero, MD, builds linguistic and cultural bridges to our Latino community, for which he was awarded 2018 Michigan Clinician of Year by the Michigan Primary Care Association.
  • Dr. Ravi Vadlamudi, MD provides “backpack medical care” to individuals onsite at Avalon Housing’s Miller Manor or in their homes. He’s breaking down barriers to health care, including lack of transportation or severely limited mobility.
  • Karen Koeppe, MS, RDN, CDE educates patients about chronic disease and nutrition in her office and throughout the community, including Packard Pacers, Cooking Matters classes, CROP Walk, and speaking to UM undergrads.

I could go on and on about how everyone on the Packard Health team puts the “care” in health care. For our patients who trust us with their care, it is all very good news, indeed.

Sincerely,

Raymond Rion, MD
Director Ejecutivo

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Talented and compassionate people working together to make a difference – that’s the essence of the Packard Health care team.

Growing up in Miami, poor and uninsured in a single mother household, Ron Romero could never have envisioned that one day he would be honored as 2018 Clinician of the Year by the Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA).

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The award honors a Michigan Health Center clinician who exemplifies leadership, dedication, and commitment to providing quality health care to Michigan residents.

Dr. Romero is recognized for providing care that bridges linguistic and cultural barriers to health care access. He is a native Spanish speaker. “My goal is to create a hub for the Latino community, a place where patients feel safe, with trusted providers and outreach resources,” he says.

At Packard Health Dr. Romero’s day is filled with patients young and old. Word of mouth in the community attracts parents, cousins, and whole families to a family practice where everyone knows everyone. “Care is improved when a caregiver knows about a patient’s life – money worries, immigration uncertainty, rent due, 3 jobs and all the emotional and physical strains these circumstances entail, “ he said.

“Dr. Romero builds strong relationships with each of his patients in the most tender way, as he accompanies them on their journey to wellness,” said Ellen Rabinowitz, Health Officer, Washtenaw County Health Department and Packard Health board member. “I’ve referred a number of my friends and family to him because I know that they will receive great care.  Dr. Romero, and all of the providers at Packard Health, take their time with each patient, and deliver comprehensive care that addresses all of the patient’s needs.”

In a note to Packard Health staff, he expressed his appreciation. “This honor is at its core a Packard-wide award and a reflection of the incredible time and work everyone at Packard puts in to care for our patients. It’s this commitment to serving our under-served community that makes Packard so unique and what makes it such an honor to work alongside each of you in our shared mission. This really is a special Packard family.“

After college, Dr. Romero worked in a variety of fields including consulting and law without feeling like he had found his professional calling. It wasn’t until he was on a soul searching cross-country road trip that he turned to his wife in the Arizona desert with a sudden but hesitant clarity and stated, “I think I want to be a doctor”.  Many in our community are so glad she said, “Yes! That’s it.”

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