Vot-ER: Dr. Graziane’s Drive for Civic Health
Julie Graziane, MD, has been an inpatient psychiatrist at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (PPI) for the Mature 50+ unit for five years. Though the Geriatric unit is her home, she also helps to cover the other adult units at PPI. Outside of her love for helping care for her mature patients, she has a side passion for civic engagement.
Dr. Graziane illustrates the situation: “A lot has happened since 2020, and we’re seeing a population with more acute needs. Depression and mental illness decrease the probability of voting, especially as it relates to a marginalized population. However, voting is an important part of the recovery process. It has been found to increase life satisfaction, decrease risky behaviors and increase mental wellbeing.”
“Voting affects policies that affect patients’ lives. With increasing focus on social determinants of health and giving patients a voice in the policies that affect them, voting empowers the patient on an individual level.”
When asked about her interest in this topic, Dr. Graziane responded: “Civic health is academically very interesting for me. It is important to think about when working with patients because it is not only biological illnesses, but also social factors (social determinants of health) that affect patients. A patient’s rights and decisions affect them in the long run, so it is important to consider this in the patient/provider relationship.”
Due to the benefits for patient wellbeing, PPI is offering support to help their patients vote. “Offered to our PA residents, we can help them check their polling place and voter registration. Our hope is to expanded initiatives to encourage voter registration throughout our hospital” explains Dr. Graziane. “We partnered with Vot-ER, a national nonprofit organization that integrates voter registration into the health care delivery system.”
- Vot-ER is founded on a core belief that empowered voices and full participation in the democratic process lead to positive health outcomes.
- More specifically, Vot-ER connects healthcare institutions and providers with the tools, training, and community to register colleagues and patients to vote, bringing providers and patients together to promote civic engagement and create healthier communities across the United States. Vot-ER views hospitals and community health clinics as central touchpoints in communities – much like schools, DMVs, and libraries – where citizens should consider their civic health as well as their physical and mental health.
“PPI has really embraced their identity as a community psychiatric center. With a fair amount of community outreach, and now offering a community psychiatric fellowship, PPI realizes the important role community psychiatrists play in society. We are now taking a broader lens when looking at patients and considering their social determinants of health, which is sometimes just as important as the illness when thinking about recovery.”
Excitedly, Dr. Graziane notes: “My personal goal is to continue to increase civic health at PPI. Civic engagement and voting impact the health of our community. I want it to expand throughout the entire system; getting providers to speak to patients in every department about voting. Providers helping patients register is one more thing they can do to help their patients feel empowered.”