Laura Bartusiak is an AmeriCorps member currently serving at Sea Mar Community Health Centers in Seattle in a birth doula position. She began her career in the field of finance but decided to pivot to a field in health care. She now has her sights on becoming a doctor. In this interview, Bartusiak describes how AmeriCorps is helping her become a servant leader while giving her hands-on skills to achieve her career aspirations. She began serving at Sea Mar in September of 2022 and is expected to complete her service in July 2023.
How would you describe what you do to someone not familiar with your program?
The goal of the AmeriCorps members at Sea Mar Community Health Centers is to directly serve clients and patients in their health and social needs while also enhancing our skills and experiences in community health. Sea Mar Community Health Centers provides health and social services to the low-income, underserved and underinsured community, specializing in serving the Hispanic community.
Sea Mar has many different AmeriCorps positions from volunteer coordinator, patient health navigator, a birth doula (that's me), childcare assistant, and assisted living specialist. Each role has different tasks and focus, but overall, our job is to be community health workers, grow in our understanding of community health and the social determinants of health, and provide service to our patients and clients and help them achieve their healthiest life.
Why did you decide to serve in AmeriCorps?
I joined AmeriCorps after working for two years in the financial industry and then a year in the healthcare industry. I had a good amount of professional experience and had volunteered extensively in my community, but I really wanted a position where I would be experiencing a lot of personal growth, serving to a greater extent, and really learning what it means to be a servant leader and create positive change in my community.
AmeriCorps appealed to me as I would be joining a national organization with the mission of serving communities and a strong legacy of making a difference and giving the experiences necessary to learn how to be a servant leader. When I found this position within AmeriCorps, it seemed like the natural next step for me to greater serve my community and gain experience and knowledge in the field of healthcare.
Your recently experienced your first birth with a patient during your service. That's not something a lot of AmeriCorps members experience. What was that like?
I feel so lucky to have such a unique position in AmeriCorps as a birth doula. Birth doulas work to provide emotional and physical support to pregnant people as well as evidence-based information on birth. I work with people throughout their pregnancy to help them learn and understand what is happening with their bodies, prepare for a birth, and help them make decisions about their birth so that they feel confident and happy with their birth experience, overall helping people create lasting, positive memories of birth.
As a doula, I am present during births, helping coach people throughout the experience and be advocates for themselves. Each birth is so special and different, and it is truly such a privilege to be able to witness the miracle of birth through my service.
Serve Washington believes national service can be a pathway to great things…jobs, higher education, other types of national service. What are your plans for after service? How has this AmeriCorps experience helped you with your future goals?
I received my acceptance to medical school at the beginning of my service term. Serving at a community health center as well as directly working with patients and being present with them during birth is giving me experience and knowledge on what it means to work in the healthcare field. This service year is teaching me a lot about what it means to help people, specifically in their health journey, and I feel so much more confident entering medical school having had this experience. I also have the opportunity to work with a lot of different providers and specialties, helping me think about the type of physician I want to be in the future.
What has been the most rewarding part of your service? Can you remember something that made you go 'I made a difference today.'? What is something that made you smile?
It's really hard to choose the most rewarding part of my service as every day and every interaction has been so incredible. I would say the most rewarding part of the service is after the birth, when everything has calmed, and it's just you, the parent(s), and the baby. The whole process and journey of pregnancy and birth can be quite difficult and sometimes very long (my longest birth has been 38 hours!) Seeing the baby and the joy and love that is present in the room is such a rewarding and special experience, and it is impossible to not smile after that. Most of the people I work with are immigrants where English is not their first language. I truly feel like a difference is being made with every birth I help with.
What's a challenge that you have faced during your service and how did you overcome it?
I wish I could say my role is without challenge, but unfortunately, many obstacles appear for my patients. I remember the first birth I helped with, the mother didn't have transportation to the hospital and didn't have a cell phone. She had been in the US for four months and had no family. Finding a way to the hospital was hard. You need to bring your hospital bag and car seat so you have a lot to carry, and birth happens when baby is ready which could be 3 a.m. when the busses don't run.
I asked my co-workers and supervisor for advice, and we all brainstormed different ideas and possible solutions. I made several calls to different organizations and the hospital, trying to find ways to overcome the several barriers that prevented this mom from getting there safely and in time. I worked with the mom to come up with different options and several plans, so that when the time came she knew exactly what to do.
This scenario has actually happened a few times, and every time it happens, I feel more confident helping connect with resources and leaning on my team for support.
For anyone considering joining AmeriCorps, what would you tell them?
I would tell anyone considering joining AmeriCorps to highly consider it. Take time to reflect. What do you want your impact and legacy to be, and what you are hoping to get out of a service term? AmeriCorps has been such an amazing experience for me, and you really gain so much from. You get out what you put in, so I would say if you are prepared to give your time and energy, then you will be well-compensated in experience, skills gained, knowledge, and the unique opportunity to greatly serve your community.
About Sea Mar Community Health Centers: Sea Mar Community Health Centers, founded in 1978, is a community-based organization committed to providing quality, comprehensive health, human, housing and educational and cultural services to diverse communities, specializing in service to Latinos in Washington state. Sea Mar proudly serves all persons without regard to race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender or sexual orientation and regardless of ability to pay for services. Sea Mar's network of services includes more than 90 medical, dental and behavioral health clinics and a wide variety of nutritional, social and educational services.
