College of Public Health Student Inspired to Make Direct Impact in the Lives of Arkansans
| A pair of life occurrences motivated Michael Bilodeau to find a way to help people in their time of need.
Bilodeau is a student in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health’s Doctor of Public Health in Public Health Leadership program.
“My hope with the Dr.PH., degree is that I’ll develop the tools and experience necessary to bring about health improvements in Arkansas and possibly the nation,” he said.
A native of Malvern, Bilodeau currently works as a program lead in the Baptist Health System’s value-based care program for its primary care clinics. In addition to being a student and a full-time working professional, Bilodeau, who has a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in health care management from Western Governors University, is a father of two girls, 13 and 10 years of age.
Bilodeau’s youngest child has a heart disorder and has needed six different heart-related surgeries. The kindness of the physician who did a nine-hour procedure on his daughter made a lasting impact on Bilodeau.
“I could tell the doctor wanted to help us,” Bilodeau said. “The doctor had great focus and compassion. He was on-point. Seeing how driven and caring he was — I was truly inspired.”
“While going through the experience with my daughter and after spending so much time in a health care environment, I not only experienced my own hardships, but I also observed the hardships of other families and their kids. I’d notice how helpful and empathetic the Arkansas Children’s Hospital staff members were. They truly wanted to help each patient improve. I wanted to be a part of that kind of environment.”
At the time, Bilodeau had a nice career in information technology (IT). However, Bilodeau, who also has a degree in physics from Henderson State University, determined he was not living his life purpose working in IT. He wanted a career that would make an immediate, meaningful impact in the lives of others, akin to the health care professionals who helped his daughter and family.
“I wasn’t happy,” he admitted. “I was not enjoying the work that I did.”
Ultimately, he sought and gained employment at Arkansas Children’s as a business operations manager. He was working at Arkansas Children’s when the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged society.
Throughout the pandemic, the hospital housed children who had behavioral, mental health needs. There was nowhere else for them to go. Seeing this on a reoccurring basis disturbed and motivated Bilodeau.
Why?
The situation made Bilodeau think back to his childhood when he dealt with mental and behavioral health issues linked to being sexually abused by an adult family member.
“There aren’t enough behavioral health and mental health services available in Arkansas,” he said. “There’s a major need to educate people on emotional intelligence and fight the negative stigma of mental health. Mental health issues are cyclical in nature and often go from one generation to the next. We must address it properly.
“I’m only where I’m at today because I was able to stop and realize what’s wrong and why I didn’t feel OK mentally. I got the necessary help. That’s why I need, and want, to help others. I understand how I can make things better.”
Ultimately, a chance discussion with someone who told him about the UAMS College of Public Health led to him taking a big step toward fulfilling his aspiration of interacting directly with patients and advocating for behavioral health.
Bilodeau found that the college offered exactly what he was looking for.
“Public health aligns with my overall professional goals,” he said. “There’s an overlap between behavioral health and public health. I made sure that I understood how going back to school would take a lot of time and commitment. But I thought about how after four years I could have a health degree, or I could wish that I had a health degree. If I don’t give up — I know I’ll succeed.”
He received additional assurance that he was heading in the right direction after meeting with College of Public Health faculty.
“I spoke with the head of the Dr.PH., program and I realized that the program is great for people, such as myself, who work full time and attend school. The program is ideal for a person like me.”
Balancing being a dad, working professional, mental health advocate and doctoral student is tough. But Bilodeau remains motivated by thinking about how this era of his life will give him the opportunity to be a positive presence in the lives of many.
“I know that at the end of the day, what I do is for the betterment of health for people throughout the state of Arkansas,” he said. “Knowing that all the work that I’m doing will eventually help improve the lives of others, inspires me to give my all every day.”