Serving as a Patient Healthcare Navigator at the UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center

For the past seven months, I have had the privilege of serving as a Patient Healthcare Navigator at the UPMC St. Margaret New Kensington Family Health Center. New Kensington is a former steel town located about forty minutes outside of Pittsburgh. As my start date approached, I realized how underprepared I felt for this role. I had just graduated college with a degree in Chemistry, and aside from shadowing physicians, I questioned what I could truly offer patients navigating complex barriers to care.
 

At the beginning of my service term, I spent much of my time trying to define what my role could and should look like. Many of my early days were dedicated to learning the healthcare system I was working within and identifying resources for patients whose needs extended beyond what our clinic could provide. During this period, I often questioned whether I was making a meaningful impact. Restocking the food pantry and organizing product drives felt helpful in theory, but patients were still falling through the cracks of a fragmented system. As both the clinic staff and I grew more comfortable with my role, patient referrals began to roll in. Many of these referrals focused on ensuring patients remained connected to care, particularly when social drivers of health created barriers to access.
 

One referral, in particular, has stayed with me. Like many others, it began when a patient shared concerns related to social drivers of health during an appointment with one of our behavioral health specialists. I planned to meet with her before she left the clinic to see how I could help. Sitting across from her in an exam room, I asked her to walk me through what she had been experiencing. She described a health crisis which had extended over several months that had led to repeated emergency department visits, financial strain, and the overwhelming responsibility of caring for her children while managing her own health. I vividly remember her looking at me and saying, “I’m just so tired, Grace.”
 

Sitting in front of me was one of the strongest individuals I had ever encountered. Someone who consistently prioritized the well-being of others over her own, yet in that moment needed someone to advocate for her. Over the following months, we worked together to coordinate both her care and support her family’s needs. We navigated appointments, referrals, and resources. During this time, she trusted me enough to share her experiences as a woman of color navigating the healthcare system. She spoke about how exhausting it is to advocate for yourself when you know something is wrong, yet feel unheard. Eventually, she got a diagnosis and began receiving treatment that finally brought her some relief. While I was grateful to play a small role in her journey, her progress was ultimately a testament to her resilience, persistence, and unwavering commitment to her family.
 

One of my greatest takeaways from this service year, especially as someone pursuing a career in medicine, is the critical role of advocacy. Advocacy must come not only from patients and their loved ones, but also from within the healthcare system itself. I have seen how patients with strong support systems are better able to navigate complex care pathways, ask questions, and persist when barriers arise, while others without that support are at greater risk of being overlooked. This has reinforced for me that effective care requires more than clinical knowledge.
It demands an understanding of each patient’s lived experience. It requires listening deeply, earning trust, and practicing radical empathy.
I will forever be grateful to the patients of New Kensington for trusting me with their stories, allowing me to learn from their resilience, and shaping the kind of advocate I hope to become.