Katie Gumm Hill
Goshen Medical Center | Duplin County
1. What is a quote that has had a significant influence on your life, and why?
To laugh often and much: To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote resonates with me and is significant in my life as it defines what I strive to be/do every day in my professional and personal life. They are the words I try to live by.
2. Where are you from originally?
This is a loaded question for me. If the question was –where were you born? – well then, Emmetsburg, IA. I left the US when I was three years old and did not come back to live in the US until I was 16. My parents were teachers and both wanted to travel the world. I have lived in Seoul, Korea, Udhailiyah, Saudi Arabia, Lahore, Pakistan, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bellevue, IA. I do not know if I am attached to a physical place, but rather attached to the people that make that place home.
3. How did you decide to become a physician?
Living abroad and being able to travel I saw first-hand the health care disparities we talk about and try to bridge. I feel this is what led me down the path of becoming a health care provider.
4. What do you like about practicing in an underserved area?
I find it very fulfilling; going back to the first question, I feel as though in these underserved areas, small acts can make a huge difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities. I also feel like working in these areas makes you have to be creative, learn to use your available resources, and you form connections/relationships on a much deeper level because of a degree of codependence and shared sense of social responsibility.
5. Is your practice using any tools to address social determinates of health for patients?
We have a social determinates of health form that is distributed at all well child checks and this is then used to determine if a case worker should reach out to the family to help with the areas in which the family needs assistance.
6. How has Medicaid Transformation/Expansion affected your practice?
I have seen improvements in access to and quality of care, as well as to the overall physical and mental health of patients, families and communities. An increase in coverage has led to improved access across ethnic, racial, age and income groups that as a result has led to improvements in overall health, work productivity and quality of life of our patients. With the increase in access to care, this has also increased the strain on a system (especially in rural areas) that is already trying to serve an underserved population with limited resources.
7. Do you have any hobbies or activities for self-care?
I enjoy working out (running, circuit training), going to beach, listening to music and spending time with my family.
Is there anything that CPP can do to help you and your practice?
As a participant of the CPP I would just like to say thank you for all that you do for the underserved communities in NC and providers and health care institutions that serve these communities. All I ask is that you do not stop; don't stop being advocates and a resource for these communities and the providers that work within them.
Thank you!
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