Kat sits down to talk with Kaylin Werth about community health, in literal medical terms and what sits at the core. However, it’s not as simple as defining a blueprint for what every community should look like. “Community health for me is fairly complicated, and it changes a lot on my geography. So, I think we all have this ideal thought of what community health is, but then you dive a little deeper into a community and realize that each community is healthy in different ways…and also needs more work in different ways.”

Health is about safety, preventative care, and respect. “To me, community health would be not only a community where you feel safe walking down the street any time of the day, but also a community that is engaged, so where you know your neighbors…also community health in the aspect of preventative measures. Also, health as in respect—so, respecting the abilities of everybody around you, especially the health of the women in the community.”

You can grow community wherever you go, even if you’re just passing through. Kaylin moves constantly and struggled with this notion, but finally realized it was worth the investment even if she wouldn’t always be staying in one place. “So through my travels in Mexico, I felt like I was investing in a community I would leave. And when I was in Gustavus, I felt like I was investing into a community that I would leave. And that started to bother me…so I asked myself, ‘What is something that is really meaningful in my community to help build my community, to make my community stronger and healthier?’ …I decided that nursing is a really good avenue to go about that.”

Community isn’t just about a specific place, either. “I’m starting to realize that community doesn’t necessarily mean your immediate geography. It means the people that you love and hold dear to you.”

Kaylin also touches on some of the flaws in existing healthcare systems. “You don’t think about it until you need it. That’s really hard to ask us at the beginning of each year to pick out your healthcare plan. Because healthcare’s unpredictable, right? So do I want the catastrophic plan or do I want the gold coverage? …You don’t know what’s going to happen until it happens, so that makes our system fairly tricky when it comes to navigating healthcare.”

“I realized in rural health you can do something meaningful. …And in smaller communities you, you know the (health) history of the family. …You go to the store and you see them at the store. You go to church and they sit next to you in the pew. Like, this, to me, is meaningful healthcare.”

Plenty of times, healthcare becomes an issue because folks don’t take self-care seriously. “Not always, but often times people are sick because they’re not willing to put the time and energy into themselves and I need to meet them where they are.”

“I think one thing that’s really important for people to know about healthcare is that preventative measures (are) what’s going to keep you healthy. And I feel like we hear that all the time—prevention, prevention, prevention. And oftentimes not until it’s like, ‘Oh I’m feeling kind of sick…’ do we actually then begin our preventative healthcare. But it really is important and it really is key to staying out of the doctor’s office.” But once you do get sick, it’s important you speak up for yourself. You’re the only one in your body. “I think it’s really important for people to understand that they’re their best advocate. And if you’re not in the mental or physical space to be your own advocate, you sure as hell better sure as hell have someone you know, love, and trust to advocate for you.”

“That being said, with being your best advocate, you need to be informed, you need to do your own research and understand what options are available, understand what the course of treatment is, understand alternatives.”

“I would like to see equal access. …When an insurance company begins to tell the doctor what to practice, I don’t think that’s fair treatment. On the other hand, when someone comes in without insurance, in the ER we treat them regardless, but then they’re left with this giant bill.”

“Because a lot of hospitals don’t just readily give you the ticket price that things cost, a lot of people go into healthcare not knowing what their bill is going to be. If I could change one thing, I think it would be transparency.”