SWACH Open House draws big crowd
Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health (SWACH) celebrated a new chapter with its first open house on June 5. Over 120 guests packed the organization's recently acquired office, marking their first such event since moving at the end of 2023.
Following time for guests to explore the office and read about work being done by the team, a land acknowledgment was given by Gabe Heredia, SWACH's HealthConnect Hub Referral & Systems Specialist. This was followed by opening remarks from Andy Tucker, President of the SWACH Board of Trustees, and Nichole Peppers, SWACH's Executive Director.
Tucker expressed his enthusiasm for the future, hinting at exciting developments related to Medicaid 2.0.
"I'm really excited about what the future has for SWACH,” Tucker said. “Not to get too far into the weeds on some of the stuff, but there's just some really cool stuff coming up with Medicaid 2.0 and bringing life to SWACH as a place where social care can come together and build community among people helpers to help our community."
Nichole Peppers followed, echoing Tucker's sentiment and underlining the critical role of the community.
"We have so many people who champion this community, and we just really appreciate you taking your afternoon to come to our home,” Peppers said. “We love this place and we really wanted to invite you all into it today. I think you can tell from the content that we put around and the staff and the partners here, we love the work that we do."
Peppers continued, emphasizing the collaborative spirit of SWACH: "We do it with community and for community because of our community, and we can't do it without our community. And that is a truism day in and day out of SWACH."
This open house served as a warm welcome to the new space, acknowledging the past and looking towards a future of continued collaboration. It also solidified the importance of SWACH's collaborative approach and community engagement in improving healthcare access and outcomes in Southwest Washington.