By nature, Tracy Elmer has always been an inquisitive person. “I’m always in discovery mode,” she said during an interview with Kate Gamble, Managing Editor at healthsystemCIO.com. In fact, when she’s looking to recruit team members, those who ask a lot of questions are most likely to catch her eye, for one simple reason: “When they’re leaning in, you know they’re probably willing to go the extra mile.”

To Elmer, communication is essential to an organization’s success. However, as remote and hybrid work models become the norm, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to facilitate meaningful conversations among teams and promote collaboration.

During the interview, she spoke about the importance of listening and empathizing; why flexibility is such a critical part of her team’s framework; and how TrueCare has been shaped by its “humble beginnings.” Elmer also talked about how the organization is improving access to care; what she learned during her time at Rady Children’s; and why she believes she has “the coolest job in the world.”

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Key Takeaways

* TrueCare’s “humble roots” started 50 years ago when RVs traveled to provide care for migrant workers with the philosophy that “a healthy community is one in which everyone is taken care of.”

* Incorporating social determinants of health and partnering with community organizations “has always been a core principle” for TrueCare, according to Elmer. “We’re stronger together.”

* Although it’s technically called a strategic plan, Elmer’s team thinks of it more as a framework “because we recognize the need to continually have the ability to pivot based on circumstances.”

* One of the biggest challenges in a remote or hybrid work environment? Not seeing facial expressions or body language, which makes it harder to know “when to dig in more.”

* It’s not enough just to create opportunities for individual conversations; leaders need to “listen and allow that moment.”

Q&A with TrueCare’s Tracy Elmer, Part 1

Gamble:  Let’s start with a high-level overview of TrueCare — where you’re located, the type of care you provide, things like that.

Elmer:  TrueCare is an incredible organization to be part of. We’re all about the provision of compassionate, high-quality care to everyone and anyone. We’re focused on access for all and promoting health equity to the fullest degree that we can.

We’re proud to offer comprehensive whole person care for our patients in 11 health centers, the majority of which are located in North San Diego County. We’ve also started to expand into Riverside County.

For us, whole person care starts with primary care. We have adult medicine as well as pediatrics care. We also offer integrated behavioral health, as well as women’s health services and dental, all of which promote the health and well-being of our patients.

“Humble roots”

We have humble roots that started 50-plus years ago as part of a goal to assure the healthiness of our community, which is diverse and multicultural in its population. They literally started providing care in an RV to migrant workers, with the understanding that a healthier community is one in which everybody is taken care of and we’re promoting health and prevention of illness.

Last year we introduced mobile services, which was so exciting to see. It’s an RV — a little nicer than the ones from 50 years ago. It can go anywhere and provide both dental and medical care, in addition to things like Covid testing or vaccines.