As a child, Heather Robinson didn’t consider her family poor while living in a trailer in rural Ohio.
Robinson passed the summers in McArthur, Ohio, a tight-knit community of no more than 2,000 in Vinton County, reading on her grandparents’ front porch, walking to her grandfather’s store downtown, and taking piano lessons from her grandmother who was a music teacher.
“Everybody knew everybody in McArthur. Your neighbors and family looked out for each other,” said Robinson.
After moving about an hour north to Columbus later in her childhood did she begin to notice the challenges McArthur faced.
“The population was older. There weren’t a lot of resources. There wasn’t a hospital. I don’t even remember seeing a doctor’s office.”
McArthur, like many rural areas in Ohio, faces shortages of primary care providers, dentists, and mental health professionals. Until recently, the county was left without a grocery store for many years.
“My grandparents had significant and multiple chronic conditions. They didn’t have adequate access to care and weren’t able to manage those conditions as well as they could have.”
Robinson, Associate Director of GRC, has devoted her career to improving health care access in underserved communities like McArthur.
“That’s how you open up lines of communication and build relationships in those areas,” she said.
The health care providers and local health departments knew my family had roots in Appalachia and that right there was a foot in the door.
Robinson joined GRC in 2015 as a Program Director and became GRC’s Associate Director in 2017. She currently oversees GRC’s workforce development projects which prepare health care providers to work with underserved populations.
With over 2.3 million Ohioans residing in rural areas, Ohio faces unique health care access needs compared to less populous rural states.
“People don’t necessarily think of Ohio as a rural state,” Robinson said. “Access is different depending on where you are, but if I don’t have transportation, need childcare, or I can’t get off work, I’m still prevented from access to care even if the doctor’s office is in or near my community.”
Robinson currently oversees the Medicaid Equity Simulation Project, which aims to increase Medicaid providers’ cultural competency and awareness of implicit bias through virtual reality and simulated experiences. Case Western Reserve University, Ohio University, The Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Toledo, and Wright State University are currently developing these trainings through funding from the Ohio Department of Medicaid. The immersive simulations will focus on the impact of factors such as unstable housing, transportation, and culture on a patient’s health care access.
After nearly 30 years, Robinson is still motivated to continue the work she does.
“When you go to a rural community and see how dedicated they are to making change, you want to keep doing this work.”
Q&A with Heather Robinson
What leadership values are most important to you?
Honesty and transparency.
What are you currently reading/listening to?
I listen to everything hip hop. I like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj and all the old school hip hop artists. I like lots of other music, too. Currently I am reading “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”
If you could do another job for a day, what would it be?
I love to sing and if I wasn’t doing public health I’d want to be a famous singer. Of course that’s more a dream than any sort of likely reality.
Where is your favorite place to be?
The beach, preferably a secluded one.