Impacting the Community: A Perfect Fit
Marsha Ingle, senior director of Community Health Improvement, loves her job because she can help thousands of people and embody Texas Health’s Mission of improving the health of the people in the communities we serve. Here’s how she does it:
What did you want to be as a kid, and how did you ultimately choose your career?
I wanted to be a basketball coach from the time I made the team in junior high. I went to college and majored in kinesiology so I could be a coach. To earn a degree in kinesiology, I had to take a class called Exercise Physiology. Everyone warned me about this class. All said it was the hardest class ever. My adviser told me to make it a pass/fail class so it did not take me off the dean’s list. I delayed taking the class as long as possible, but finally signed up for it. I loved it. Everything just clicked. After my first test, the professor asked me to stay after class. I made a 97, which was a very high score in his class. He told me I should consider a career in medicine. He said, “Coaching is a noble profession, which could make a difference in the lives of everyone you coach, but a career in health care will not limit your impact to just people you coached.” I switched to a career in community health. After 20-plus years in this field, I know he was right.
What does a typical workday look like?
A typical workday is like a game of Clue. I solve problems involving diverse people in multiple settings while trying
to determine the tools needed to get the job done. For example, I oversee Texas Health Community Impact. The initiative, together with partners, pinpoints specific ZIP codes to help address social determinants of health before the resulting problems surface in the form of chronic disease and premature death. Once the specific ZIP codes are identified, the target population is selected. From there, the specific tools/programs are chosen. Texas Health provides funding for selected programs. I follow the data, or “clues”, to find the specific ZIP code, the target population and needed programs.
What’s your favorite part of your job, and what is the biggest challenge?
My favorite part of my job is knowing, through my work, that I am helping thousands of people, many of whom I will never meet. I was eating lunch at a restaurant a few years ago and at the table next to me, a lady was telling her friend about a program at the hospital in Azle called HELP (Healthy Education and Lifestyles Program). She said the program saved her life. I did not know the lady, but I knew the program because I oversaw it at the time. I left the restaurant knowing I impacted her life.
The biggest challenge, besides spelling, is to get input from many people. Proverbs 15:22 says “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.” Frankly, Community Health Improvement needs input from our 24,000-plus employees. Some may have ideas about new solutions. Some may have better insight into the root cause of a specific problem.
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
I have three wonderful children, whom I love dearly — but if you have had a conversation with me for any time longer than five minutes, this will not be a surprise to you. So, one thing that might surprise people is working for Texas Health, and Harris Methodist before Texas Health, is something of a family tradition.
My grandmother trained at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth to be an LVN. She worked in the surgery department until a physician recruited her to assist with heart catherization procedures. She was one of the first nurses in the area to assist with this procedure. Fondly called “Mother Margaret,” she worked in the cath lab for more than 20 years.
My mother started at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle as a lab tech. She quickly moved to lab manager, then to director of ancillary services. Eventually, she moved to administration as director of medical staff and quality improvement. She downplays her contribution to the hospital in Azle, but anyone who worked with her knows that her 20 years at Azle made a lasting impact.
I have worked for Texas Health Resources for 23 years. I am proud of my grandmother. I am proud of my mother. And I am proud of working for a health system that earnestly wants to make a positive impact and improve the health of the people we serve.
How do you do your life’s best work at Texas Health?
In order to do the best work, I believe you should follow the path the Lord has set for you. In Community Health Improvement, we design projects to help people; we seek out funding opportunities; and we are data-driven and outcome-focused. But the key to success is prayer and guidance from the one who makes our path straight. In the end, we can make a difference because “With God, all things are possible.”
By Judy Wiley • Posted January 14, 2020