How a Healthcare Team Works Together for Each Patient

Improving healthcare requires reimagining and readjusting the relationships between the care team, patients and the payment system. Healthcare shouldn’t just focus on the number of patients doctors see each day, but that is often the reality. At Marathon Health, we celebrate a culture where providers can deliver care the way they want to deliver care. It begins with a collaborative healthcare team that spends more time with patients to improve health outcomes one relationship at a time.

For Family Nurse Practitioner Christina Tourangeau, the Marathon Health culture motivated her to make the move from urgent care. “We’d been hit with this pandemic, and I wasn’t actually looking for a job, but knew I needed something different for my own health,” Christina says. “I found an open position at Marathon Health and read the job description. I thought, if this culture is real, that is a place I want to work. I did a little research, spoke with someone I knew within the company and sure enough, it’s real.”

Christina shares why she joined Marathon Health. Watch the video!

A Healthcare Team Who Works Together Improves Patient Health

At her previous employer, Christina says she also noticed that the people in the community used urgent care for their primary care needs. “Patients were not likely to get back into a primary care doctor because of waitlists. We wanted to do a little more for them, spend more time and build relationships, but that drives up costs.”

By spending more time with patients, teams can create care plans to drive behavior change to improve overall health. Collaboration amongst care providers also results in better health for patients. At Marathon Health, the integrated care team can include a doctor or physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, behavioral health counselor, health coach and dietitian.

“It’s about building relationships with your patients so you can care for them,” Christina says. “We have time here at Marathon Health, and I am really supported by leadership. Plus, we don’t have to worry about billing insurance or checking a box to make sure we bill a higher amount. I just have to focus on making lifelong lasting change.”

Damir Alisa, a Behavioral Health Counselor worked full-time in a private practice setting before joining the same Marathon Health center as Christina. The ability to work on an integrated team attracted him to the organization. “The thing I learned very quickly about private practice is that there was no team approach. Yes, there were colleagues, but I was still by myself,” Damir says. “The main driver for me was to find a place that shared the same values I have, but in a team setting.”

Damir Found a Collaborative Healthcare Team. See How It’s Working.

Like Christina, Damir knew someone who worked for Marathon Health and inquired about the culture. “She went on for an hour talking about how great Marathon Health is, and I thought this can’t be real,” he says. “Now, I can tell you it’s real. I feel completely supported by my supervisor, and we have formed an incredible team that works well together.”

Damir appreciates that he and Christina, who “is literally on the other side of the wall from him,” collaborate on the spot regarding medication and care without him having to call and schedule appointments with other providers. “It was just an immediate connection in that sense. I was able to take that information and talk to the patient. We do a much better job providing a service to the client than I could have done by myself.”

Time Builds Patient Trust

The care team works together to support each patient’s needs. One example includes helping a patient who has a 250-pound weight loss goal. Christina says helping that patient wouldn’t happen in a traditional 10-minute visit twice a year. “Think about that. It’s a three to five-year goal that is going to take some time,” she says. “We also got the patient to talk to Damir.”

Together, the team is helping the patient move toward his goal. “We’re at 50 pounds lost in a year and we’re still working on it,” Christina says. “It helps that we get out and walk. Patients see us and understand we work on our health, too. We’re part of the community at this point. It’s a relationship where they can come to us – they trust us.”

Does a team healthcare approach interest you? Come work with us! Check out our careers