Welcome back to our blog! We hope everyone is staying healthy during this Coronavirus pandemic. With all of the chaos that is happening right now in our country, we are so thankful for people in our community who have stepped up to help us. In today’s blog, we would like to introduce you to an amazing woman who works behind the scenes at Bella Vita. The person we have chosen is on the Bella Vita board, a volunteer, and aids our clients with their Medicaid paperwork. We would like to introduce you to Mandi Schwenk!
Mandi Schwenk works as an Outreach and Enrollment Representative with HealthLinc. Her job includes being a navigator with the state for the people she helps through her work and for our clients. This gives her the ability to help people navigate the world of state-sponsored health insurance (Medicaid). It takes a special skill set to understand state programs and then help others with applying for those programs. She takes her work passion and brings it to our clients! Mandi knew she wanted to get more involved in our community, but wasn’t sure where. That all changed after she heard Becky Bailey speak at a networking event. Mandi knew she had to be a part of Bella Vita! Mandi tapped Becky on the shoulder as everyone was leaving and asked if she could come learn more about Bella Vita. Becky encouraged Mandi to speak with Angie Sutton to get more information and to take a tour of the facilities. Luckily, she did! Angie took her on a tour and they ended up talking for over an hour. After her tour, Mandi’s heart was won!
Winston Churchill once said: “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give”. This is similar to Mandi’s passion for Bella Vita and our clients that she helps! Mandi has been a volunteer for a little over a year and a half! She helps by speak with every client about their insurance needs. Mandi makes sure everyone is covered, and she helps them apply if they are not already covered. “I am so grateful to be able to help our moms (and their families) apply for insurance and help them all through the process as the state asks for documents or asks for other information.” Mandi comes in once or twice a week to help our clients in any way she can. After a while, Mandi was asked if she would be interested in joining Bella Vita’s board. Thankful, she said yes and has been doing a fantastic job so far! She’s even been appointed to be the next treasurer for Bella Vita!
We asked Mandi what her favorite part about Bella Vita, and she said: “I think what I love most about Bella Vita is how truly community forward the organization is. I’ve seen many places claim to be community-oriented, but sometimes you learn that is a facade… Bella Vita, Angie, Becky, Carol, all the board members, and the volunteers… they are authentic”. Mandi went on to tell us about her first clients she ever had. “The first client I ever spoke with was a single mother who was homeless at the time. She was pregnant with her 3rd child and was trying to find her way. She was able to have a warm meal and a shower before my appointment with her. We sat in the office and put a Medicaid application in so she could get the care she needed for her pregnancy and beyond”. Since then Mandi has learned that client is pregnant again. They met a couple of weeks ago and followed up on the client’s case with the State, to see if they needed a new application or not. Long story short, they ended up reapplying for insurance again. Mandi was happy to report that her client is in a stable home now and doing well. How amazing is that story? These are the stories we love to hear and love to share!
Mandi loves to encourage people to come into Bella Vita if they’re thinking of volunteering or just want to get more involved in the community. She always tells people that they would be surprised. “Once God brings you into Bella Vita, there will be a place for you!” Mandi not only tells people about how they can help, but she loves to share her stories and experiences with them. Mandi told us that she has gotten a great sense of fulfillment in knowing that she is serving a holy mission while helping our community. Mandi is an amazing woman and helper to our clients. She takes a very stressful process and breaks it down, so it’s simple to understand. Our clients love her, and we love her! We could go on and on about everything that Mandi does for our clients, but we would be here all day. We hope you have enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Mandi and now have a bigger insight into some of the services we provide for our clients.