achi Establishes Hope Fund to Help Community

Since its inception in 2020, achi’s leading mission has been to help the community. In July of 2023, the company accomplished its long-awaited goal of establishing the achi Hope Fund, a donor-advised fund through The Defiance Area Foundation (DAF).

Chris Yoder, Executive Director of the DAF, and Hayley Studer, Founder and CEO of achi

“I have wanted to be able to do this since I started achi over three years ago, so I am thrilled that we finally have the mechanism to make it official,” says Hayley Studer, achi Founder and CEO. “We firmly believe that when residents of a community are healthy and thriving, that community will flourish. This fund allows us to take earnings from the business and use them to reinvest in our communities, helping them grow and prosper.”

The achi Hope Fund helps achi’s partners provide services for individuals to get through some of life’s tough challenges by ensuring that their basic needs are met such as food, clothing, temporary housing, repairs to home or home goods, car repairs, rent/mortgage/security deposits, utilities, childcare, and more.

The achi Hope Fund also helps support the Caching Memories program. Caching Memories virtually connects socially isolated older adults to college students on a weekly basis via phone or computer to build relationships and share stories from their lives. This provides the older adult with an avenue to reminisce, share their stories, and improve their sense of connection to the world around them. At the end of the program, the stories shared are captured in a keepsake book for the older adult to continue to engage and connect with others, including family, friends, and caregivers.

“The ultimate goal is to help the community – a community comprised of patients, students, caregivers, and families,” says Studer. “By taking time to listen to each person’s story and identify the root cause of their basic needs, achi proactively engages people and resources to advance cost-effective, quality human care for all individuals. Thank you to Chris Yoder and the team at the Defiance Area Foundation for making this dream a reality.”

Meeting personal basic needs keeps individuals happy and healthy, and positively impacts the community at large. Please consider donating to this important work by visiting the DAF's website, clicking Donate Now, scrolling to the bottom to the donate button, and putting achi Hope Hub in the note section. You can also make checks payable to The Defiance Area Foundation with a note to the “achi Hope Fund”. Donations are tax-deductible.

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About achi

achi(pronounced uh-kai) proactively engages people and resources to advance cost-effective, quality human care for all individuals and communities. Through innovative partnerships, cross-sector collaboration, and creative solutions, we equip organizations across multiple industries to educate the people they serve and connect them with resources to improve their lives from the ground up. By partnering with health systems, educational institutions, and corporations, achi empowers lasting transformation in individual lives— resulting in an overall healthier population and data to transform our healthcare payment models. To learn more about achi and its mission, visit www.achisolutions.com.

Take Care of Your Fruit Trees

A Proactive Approach to Employee Care Through the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)

Imagine yourself on a plot of land surrounded by trees. These trees bear fruit of all different kinds and are your source of life and income. With your livelihood at stake, you take the time to learn how to care for each one—ensuring that you can yield the maximum amount of fruit each tree could potentially offer.

Each tree is different and has unique needs. Some need more watering than others. Some need special debugging. Some need trimming. Some need careful weeding. Some need the special placement to grow.

But they all have roots. Their roots, what you can’t see from the surface, is what grounds them the most. Tree roots anchor the tree in the soil, keeping it straight and stable, and produce what they need for the tree's growth, development, and repair. Simply put, a tree cannot and will not survive without healthy roots.

Employees are no different from fruit trees.

Their roots are their social connection to family and friends, access to food, economic stability, transportation, education, and the environment in which they live. When one root is infected or damaged, it affects the health of the entire plant system.

• A recent college graduate is stressed about financial burdens and cannot focus on work.

• A parent is on the verge of quitting because of childcare issues.

• A director is coping with their aging parents whose health is declining and is frequently tardy or begins calling off.

The root cause isn’t by fault of the organization but is affecting how an employee shows up to work: mentally, physically, and emotionally. This impacts turnover, engagement, production, and even medical expenses.

But these root cause external factors can be alleviated with proper support.

As an employer, you are a caregiver in many ways. Not only do you provide income for your employees, but you are also a source of growth for them. When you implement solutions and programs that tend to the needs of your employees, taking care of their roots, they will grow and produce the most bountiful fruits for your business.

There’s no one-size-fits-all care approach, with trees or people. It requires a non-traditional mentality to build solutions that work for each unique organization and employee population. While it seems like a daunting effort, your human resources and internal teams don’t have to do it alone.

achi works to uncover the barriers that keep a workforce from thriving and to help each company reach its core goals. We firmly believe that when employees are healthy and thriving, so is the organization. That’s why we utilize a proactive, data-driven approach to identify and alleviate those life stressors before they reach crisis level and affect the health of the employee and productivity on the job.

• For the employee with financial stressors; connecting them to financial resources or establishing an employee hardship fund

• For the employee with childcare concerns; partnering with local daycares or childcare centers

• For the employee with aging parents; tapping into local senior community resources to lighten some of the day-to-day errands and tasks

If you’re ready to take employee care to the next level and maximize the fruit produced by your teams, please contact Hayley Studer at Hayley.studer@achisolutions.com. We would love to see how achi can be a health ally for your organization and employees.

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About achi

achi(pronounced uh-kai) proactively engages people and resources to advance cost-effective, quality human care for all individuals and communities. Through innovative partnerships, cross-sector collaboration, and creative solutions, we equip organizations across multiple industries to educate the people they serve and connect them with resources to improve their lives from the ground up. By partnering with health systems, educational institutions, and corporations,achiempowers lasting transformation in individual lives— resulting in an overall healthier population and data to transform our healthcare payment models. To learn more about achi and its mission, visit www.achisolutions.com.

IT Developer Intern Joins achi Team to Perform Code Analysis and Development for Client Tools

achi puts clients first, providing insights and strategy to reach success in value-based care by giving them the intel they need to make informed decisions. To add increased functionality based on client feedback and further empower clients with decision-making tools, achi is excited to welcome Kinsey Daniels as a new intern IT developer. ‍

“Kinsey joins our team with a wide array of skills and an eagerness to expand her capabilities, making her a perfect fit to further develop and enhance the functionality of our innovative and comprehensive tools,” says Hayley Studer, achi founder and CEO. “Her educational background and performance in previous technical roles will prove to add tremendous value to our team, giving Kinsey the opportunity to continue to evolve her skill sets while also working with our team members to develop more efficient ways to design new tools for growth.” ‍

Kinsey previously worked as LEAD Manager for the Student Success Program at Arizona State University and was a Computer Science Facilitator for the SMASH Program. She recently graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems. Her expertise spans across business database systems, cyber risk management, and business information systems development. ‍

“I am truly passionate about helping others and paving the way so that other people like me will have the opportunity and space to excel in this industry. For me, there’s no feeling better than knowing you did something to make someone’s life a little better in some shape or form,” shares Kinsey. “I’m most excited about getting hands-on experience and learning from the achi team to help enhance and produce solutions. The team-based efforts and knowing I’m supported in my personal and professional growth are just a couple reasons I’m looking forward to this role.” ‍

Kinsey’s contributions will without a doubt bring a positive impact to the company and help achi assist clients as they move to more value-based care models, ultimately benefiting the patients, healthcare providers, and payers.

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About achi

achi is a holistic care management company that lowers overall expenses by actively engaging people and connecting them to organizations to address the social determinants of health. Through innovative partnerships, cross-sector collaboration, and creative solutions, we equip organizations across multiple industries to educate the people they serve and connect them with resources to improve their lives from the ground up. By partnering with health systems, educational institutions, and corporations, achi empowers lasting transformation in individual lives— resulting in an overall healthier population and data to transform our healthcare payment models. To learn more about achi and its mission, visit www.achisolutions.com.