Originally introduced to warn travelers on the London Underground to use caution when stepping on a train, “Mind the Gap” has been adapted for use far beyond subway safety messages.
From movies to popular songs – and now to tourist t-shirts hawked across the UK – the phrase “Mind the Gap” is popping up all around us.
As I think about Care Ring’s role in providing health and wellness services and advocating for the best access to health care for those with limited resources, “Mind the Gap” has become an idea I return to for inspiration and motivation.
The people we serve and every one of the families we care for has fallen into their own gap in life. Some folks recently lost a job and cannot afford to purchase private insurance or do not qualify for public health assistance. Others are pregnant, have little income, may lack a positive family support structure and might not even have a home to return to each evening. Others need affordable, accessible access to clinical health care services to manage their multiple chronic diseases that make each day a struggle.
They have each, in their own ways, fallen into a health care gap.
Right here in Charlotte.
Care Ring’s focus is to not only “Mind the Gap” that occurs when individuals with limited resources in Charlotte find themselves needing health care assistance.
We are increasingly “Bridging the Gap” through our work.
We fill in the gaps that occur when individuals with limited resources need access to health care in Charlotte, bridging people from times of uncertainty to times of assurance.
We help individuals access donated care from thousands of local physicians and dentists, providing the means to get and stay healthy.
We help fragile first-time mothers see that they and their newborn have many reasons for optimism.
We help individuals who may have only visited the local emergency room for their basic primary care to see that there is a home in uptown Charlotte where their chronic diseases can be managed and they can look forward to a healthy future.
I keep a picture of the “Mind the Gap” iconic logo on my office door, to remind me of our role in keeping all of Charlotte healthy.
#DonJonas