Five Steps to Becoming Your Own Healthcare Hero

Contrary to what you might think, your good health isn’t up to your doctor. Or your nurse. Or even a whole hospital or healthcare network.

Because good health isn’t simple, and it isn’t static. Good health is a combination of dozens of interweaving factors: your family history, your environment, your habits, your job, your relationships. What you had for breakfast today and yesterday and last week. The exercise you got—or didn’t get. The steps you took—or didn’t take—to protect it.

The fact is, making health possible takes all of us working together—and becoming the hero of your own healthcare journey. And because every journey starts with a single step and continues with putting one foot after the other, here are five steps you can take to help make health possible in your life.

Step 1: Find A Great Partner

Nobody should have to make health possible alone.

Fortunately, you don’t have to. A Hancock Health primary care physician—family doctor, internist, OB/GYN, pediatrician, or some combination—is the right partner for your most basic, ongoing care, and a trusted resource for advice about where to go next if you need a higher level of care. And since a really great partner has next-level resources, as well, Hancock Health has invested in world-class facilities like the Sue Ann Wortman Cancer Center, our new surgical suite, and Gateway Hancock Health, with immediate care and low-cost labs, x-rays, MRIs, and other imaging services in a gorgeous facility that’s less than 20 minutes from downtown Indy.

In other words, having a great doctor is only the beginning—but it’s a great place to start. If you’re looking, start here.

Step 2: Stay Well Informed

Today, it’s easy to find advice about your health—maybe a little too easy. The internet offers a world of health information literally at your fingertips. It’s not all helpful or even accurate, and not all of it applies to you. Every day, people use the internet to misdiagnose themselves, or latch onto something that can actually do more harm than good.

So who do you trust? A national healthcare leader like MayoClinic.org can be an excellent resource for information about health conditions, treatments, and healthy living advice. Closer to home, HealthPossible.org, an online health and lifestyle magazine created by Hancock Health, offers a wide range of information and health tips—including health recipes, workouts, relationship and parenting advice, and more—with a Central Indiana angle. There’s even a quiz to help you understand your health style and how to stay informed, your way.

Step 3: Style Your Life

Sure, HealthPossible.org is a great resource for information and advice—but you have to do the work yourself. So don’t just read those health recipes: Try some of them for yourself. Don’t just think about creating a healthier environment in your home: Get on it!

And don’t just think about getting your workout on: Just do it! Hancock Wellness Centers, including our newest center at Healthway Park in New Palestine, are the region’s only certified medical fitness centers, with pools, Pilates, yoga, spinning, and all the aerobic exercise equipment you need to get fit and stay fit—not to mention massage therapy, nutrition consultation, and a lot more. Find out how you can become a member.

Step 4: Don’t Procrastinate

A doctor you never see is like a broken-down car in your garage: You might like having it, but it’s not going to get you very far. So you’re getting an annual checkup or physical, right? You’re getting all the necessary screenings and doing the tests your doctor recommends, yes? Even more important, you’re seeing your doctor when you suspect there may be something wrong instead of putting it off for months or even years, aren’t you? Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic has made access to some healthcare services more difficult—but the longer you wait, the more advanced your health issues may become. Don’t wait. Schedule your in-person or virtual visit now, while you’re thinking about it.

Step 5: Be A Good Neighbor

Your good health isn’t just about your body and your mind. It’s about your community. It’s about the environment. It’s about great education and spiritual well-being. It’s about looking out for your neighbors.

And maybe it’s about coming to work with a great organization dedicated to making health possible in our community. Right now, Hancock Health has positions for people like you throughout our organization—with competitive pay and benefits that contribute to your financial health, as well. We always have room for another hero.

And we’ve only scratched the surface of what we’re doing to make health possible in the lives of everyone who lives and works in East Central Indiana. We hope you’ll do your part. Let us know how we can help you.