VIDEO: Defining accompaniment, "it has to come from your heart"

At the end of her internship with PIH’s Right to Health Care project, Sarah Phillips made a short video in which she illustrated one of defining characteristics of PIH’s work: accompaniment. A broad and often difficult to understand term, Sarah beautifully captures its meaning in her short video – in large part because she embodied this approach every day while interacting with patients.

“Sarah’s primary role was accompanying people who have never been to the US, many who have never travelled more than a few miles outside of their local village, to medical appointments here in Boston,” says program assistant Kathryn Oas. “From meeting them where they were staying to going with them to the appointment, Sarah helped patients negotiate the literal and metaphorical mazes associated with the US’s complex hospital care system.”

More than just getting patients from one place to another, “she sat in appointments and took notes on the patient’s care plan – prescriptions, follow up instructions – and then communicated that back to the RTHC team. 

Kathryn says, “Sarah was an integral part of making sure that follow-up care and instructions were implemented correctly.”

“Sarah was enthusiastic, warm, and compassionate,” recounts Kathryn. “She helped us provide a high-level of assistance to patients, while working towards some of our long-term goals.”

As with all of PIH’s 25 summer interns, we will miss Sarah’s energy and commitment. At the same time, we know each of these young social justice warriors will continue advocating for social justice and health equity wherever the world brings them.