Who are you, Sayali Ghatpande?

Good Afternoon! Similar to the National Football League deciding to call last night’s Raiders v. Chargers game “Thursday Night Football”, this blog will be written as if it was Friday. In other words, welcome to my weekly SPOTLIGHT blog Monday Edition. For those new readers, I usually dedicate the Friday of every week to spotlight a member of the CHC team but AmeriCorps training got in the way this past Friday, so I had to postpone that post for today. Without further ado, Happy 54^th Birthday Simon Cowell! On October 7, 1959, this television music and talent competition judge, A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur and television personality emerged into this world and made shows like Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and American Idol interesting! Additionally, this talent seeker produced one of my favorite groups that no one has ever heard of, Il Divo. Hopefully that statement will get you to listen to these guys, because they are incredible and have some of the purest most beautifully sounding voices I have ever heard. Personal suggestion: Regresa A Mi by Il Divo.

Moving on as if it was Friday, I will now spend the rest of your time letting you get to know another AmeriCorps member I am fortunate to work with…

Who are you? Tell me something about yourself.

My name is Sayali Ghatpande (woo, go Indians!). I was actually born in Mumbai, India but grew up in New York and Connecticut.  The name “Sayali” is a type of flower as the last name “Ghatpande” means king of the hill (not associated with Peggy, Bobby, Hank and Ladybird Hill). My younger sister, Aboli, is also named after a type of flower. There are 5 of us in the house, including my beautiful dog, Cheyenne, who is a mixed Bernese, shepherd, lab. I spent my undergraduate years attending the University of Connecticut as I majored in Allied Health while minoring in Spanish.

What is your position here at the Community Health Center? How will it better facilitate your futures plans and goals professionally?

At the Community Health Center, I am a Health Core Navigator working within the Early Detection Program (EDP). Supervised by Nicole Jarjura, we stress the importance and provide preventative screenings for different types of cancers, ie. Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, while also advocating the importance of patient engagement.  (As a side note, I like to stress to the readers that patient engagement is vital to their coordinated care with their physician or provider. So make sure that you stay active and informed with your care and do not shy away from asking questions. In my last blog labeled “Champion of Change” I highlight an award sent to a physician from the White House partially due to his work in regards to patient engagement. Check it out!) Working within the EDP program, I am seeing and learning the many ways we can better involve patients with their care and will utilize those ways throughout my career as I strive to become a primary care physician.

What are 3 high priority things still left on your bucket list?

1. Hike throughout Peru (Machu Pichu)
2. Visit the Stonehenge monument located in Wiltshire, England
3. Finally get over my fear of heights.
   1. (As I mentioned to her, my mother was finally able to get over her fear of heights by attending this, http://www.skyventurenh.com/. Most recently, my mother has asked to go skydiving therefore confirming the fact that she has finally gotten over her fear of heights)

What is your favorite quick meal to make? What is the recipe?

Lemon Garlic Tilapia          4 servings

4 Tbsp butter

1 Lemon

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt and Pepper

2 Cloves of Minced Garlic

Melt the butter within a pan and add the following ingredients. Once you have created a flavorful base marinate, dip the tilapia and pan fry the fish. You should keep it on the pan until a light brown surface appears on the exterior of the fish and internally it reads white (obviously you don’t want a pink interior).

This dish should take about 15 minutes!

At what department store would you like to max-out your credit card at? Why?

This is easy Nordstrom’s, why you ask, because they have everything!!