When we changed our name in 2017 from Health Intervention Services, or HIS, to Exalta Health, we chose a name that echoes our commitment to lifting up health and praising God who makes this work possible.

Our annual luncheon this month exemplified those two themes. Together almost 200 people gathered at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park to celebrate the Exalta Health mission and give thanks to God.

Board member Eva Alexander first was introduced to Exalta at one of our annual luncheons and was drawn to support us with her time, talent and treasures. She spoke movingly at this year’s event about her experiences with immigration, learning a new language and navigating the U.S. healthcare system.

Now Executive Director at Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates, Alexander was born and raised in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico and emigrated with her family at the age of 13.

“I don’t think people realize how difficult it is when you don’t have insurance, and it’s a choice between your health and groceries,” she said. “It’s a choice between your health and gas to get to work. It’s a choice between your health and putting food on the table for your kids.”

Exalta, she added, helps people not to have to make those hard choices. And the people who support Exalta become part of something bigger than themselves.

Monica and Charles, two Exalta Health patients featured in a video presentation at the luncheon, said they felt like part of something bigger than themselves as patients of Dr. Laura Vander Molen.

Monica recalled being without insurance for a number of years after a successful career in medical sales, followed by a rapid change in life circumstances, including a divorce. And she recalled something more.

“I had a lump that I could feel in my right breast,” she said. “So, when I came to Exalta on one of the visits I decided I should probably ask Dr. Vander Molen if she could check this out, and she immediately said ‘I don’t like this; let me get you a referral.’ And thank God she did.”

Monica’s lump was malignant, and she felt overwhelmed. But she didn’t feel alone.

“Dr. Vander Molen called me and just said ‘I’m just checking in,’” she said. “It just helped so much to know that there was somebody else on my team, somebody by my side. It meant a lot. I was scared out of my mind when I got my cancer diagnosis. And I just needed reassurance that people are there for me who care, and I was going to be okay. That’s what Exalta gave me.”

Charles said the same.

“The personal touch is what I think about when I think about Exalta Health,” he said with a smile. “It was that way from the time I arrived at the office to the time that I left. That was something I hadn’t felt probably since I was a kid at my pediatrician. And after all these years, I didn’t receive that touch until I walked into the Exalta office.”