Staff profile: Annamieka Hopps
Annamieka Hopps is that uncommon nonprofit employee who used to be among the people she’s now assisting. As a 19-year old University of Oregon student in 2005 she found herself diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and uninsured. The experience motivated her to pursue a career in healthcare access.
“I got first-hand experience navigating the healthcare system as an uninsured patient,” Annamieka said.
She considers herself lucky, however: she had a mother advocating for her, and an education that helped her tackle the process of getting care.
“It’s enough to be sick, let alone pay for it,” Annamieka said. “I wrote letters of appeal to each of my providers, Riverstone Clinic connected me to a patient advocate, and I qualified for the Bridge Assistance Program at PeaceHealth Hospital. My friends and family also held benefit concerts, garage sales and other fundraisers to help with my expenses.”
Annamieka moved to Portland for “a new chapter in my life”. She researched nonprofits in the medical field, and in May 2010 found Project Access NOW. As a Spanish speaker and a trained medical interpreter, she also wanted to “advocate for people who don’t speak English and help them navigate [the healthcare] process.”
She started as a Care Coordinator for Multnomah County, and since December 2010 has been running Clackamas County Project Access.
“I help people experiencing serious health crises coordinate their care,” Annamieka said.
Annamieka has found the new position “busy and incredible. I have direct relationships with patients. I help them with paperwork and get care. It’s been an honor to do that for them.
“We’re also a really dedicated, close-knit team. I’ve enjoyed working with such a talented group of people at Project Access NOW. We all work really hard to do it all for the patients, from doing care coordination to cleaning the office, we all help each other.”
The year 2011 will be a year of growth, according to Annamieka, who feels “like we have a huge vision, and things like the new database will allow us to serve more patients than ever. We’re doing what needs to be done: patients need care and doctors want to care for people. We’re making things right.”
Annamieka also has other projects in the works. Aside from an artistic pursuit as a painter, she goes to massage school. Her long-term goal is to establish physical therapy and pain management services as part of Project Access NOW’s offering.
(January 2011)
