Gingerich joined PCC three years ago but has lived in the area for about ten years. She grew up in Northeastern Ohio, then went to college and worked in Harrisburg, Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley region. She migrated to Washington, D.C., when she met her husband, Keith. She is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with a master’s in nursing. Her first job when she arrived in this area was as a nurse at Joseph’s House, a small nonprofit medical respite care facility for people living with HIV and end-stage cancers.
What Gingerich appreciates most about her current position at PCC is the relationship-building supporting patient care. While she is not currently providing direct care, she provides second-line support to the direct caregivers at the primary and specialty care offices. She values and enjoys this collaboration to provide access to quality care for vulnerable persons in the community. Last year, she even took on additional responsibilities, handling the vacant director duties until the position was filled in December. Gingerich was recently awarded the Mary C. Jackson Award for her outstanding work.
“The collaboration and connection with our partners is extremely satisfying,” said Gingerich. “I work with the Montgomery Cares health centers that provide direct care to our patients. I help them get coordinated and scheduled with the medical professionals who can provide the specialty care they need. What I love the most about my work is relationship-building with partners in the community. How we brainstorm and resolve complex cases, how we determine if we have the resources, and where we send someone for care are important decisions. Resolving healthcare issues for our neediest patients informs us for the next person who comes along, and it is helping PCC to build a better healthcare network.”
Tabitha Gingerich’s interest, compassion, and care for Spanish speakers comes from her father, who taught Spanish at her high school in Ohio. She was in her dad’s class in the 9th and 10th grades. As a young child, her parents took their family on a four-week trip to Bolivia to volunteer in a children’s home. This experience provided relationships, names, faces, sights, sounds, and flavors that, at a young age, helped to shape her appreciation of other cultures.
When not at work, Gingerich is busy at home. She and her husband purchased a house in Hyattsville two years ago. Gingerich says her happy place is her back-screened porch, where she enjoys birdwatching and hosting friends for homemade pizza parties in nice weather. She’s perfected a technique for making her pizza crust using 00 flour, a preheated cast iron skillet, parchment paper to transfer the crust, and the old oven that came with the house. She is also planting native perennials on the property as the weather allows. A new gallery wall she’s created now includes seven pieces of art reflecting her interest in birds. In November, Gingerich and her husband became foster parents for the first time, an arrangement that lasted a few weeks. The couple is looking forward to doing more of that.
“I love my work and what we do at PCC,” said Gingerich. “Although I wish healthcare were available and accessible to everyone, I’m grateful that the community is invested in serving those in need. This is one small way to counter the injustices. I am honored and grateful to be a part of our work together.”