The ABQ Accent | Ep 27 - Liam Westgate

Liam Westgate, Director of Community and Clinical Linkages, Presbyterian Health Services

When you think of healthcare, do you think of hope? Liam Westgate believes not only in the power of hope, but creating mechanisms for healthcare workers to utilize optimism in their caregiving and relationships. As the Director of the central delivery system for Linkages, Liam guides his colleagues with the perspective that “there’s always something we can do” and that their work can be more effective when using curiosity and building bridges.

What this conversation revealed is that health providers like community health and peer support workers offer is so much more than one-off patient engagements – they are “points of light” among a network of folks endeavoring to care for community needs and create opportunities for healing at every interaction. Liam is a force behind these efforts, taking time to be grateful for his life-affirming patient engagements and “being open to where he is being called to be useful.”

Check out this episode to learn what a pracademic is, consider why the approach to healthcare is irrational, and where the Linkages programs can be of assistance to you.

Book rec: Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit

Community and Clinical Linkages https://www.phs.org/community/committed-to-community-health/programs