News Center

For as long as she can remember, Quetta Pipkin has wanted to serve others. It’s a path she’s taken because of the caring and concern she was shown following the loss of her mother when she was only 8. 

“My dad and my grandparents and so many others cared for me, and that made me strong,” Quetta says. “I was surrounded by love, and that blessing gave me a real heart for service.”

Today, in her role as a community care partner at BlueCross, [tweetit]she channels her passion for serving others by raising awareness of preventive screenings and care that can help improve BlueCross members’ health. And she works with her team and health care partners in the community to help create more opportunities to get that care.  

Connecting with those in need 

A native of Memphis, Quetta attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, earning a bachelor’s and later a master’s degree in clinical exercise and physiology there. That put her in the right place for her first role with an organization that assists those with serious mental health conditions to work toward wellness.  

“My role was leading exercise classes, but case management and mentoring were also rolled into it,” Quetta remembers. “It gave me the opportunity early on to see how I could help others.” 

A few years later, Quetta began working for the Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society as a Heath Care Marketplace navigator. For two years, she traveled the state, educating Tennesseans about health coverage available under the new Affordable Care Act. 

“These plans removed barriers to help many more people to access health insurance,” Quetta says. “I explained the benefits the plans have and how to enroll, and I often helped them enroll.”  

What she learned about the needs of her fellow Tennesseans was invaluable. Many didn’t know how to access or use health care services available to them, she said. For Quetta, it was rewarding to feel like she’d contributed to the wellbeing of others by helping them understand their health insurance.   

“One of my fondest memories was running into someone who I’d helped to sign up for a Marketplace plan,” Quetta says. “He remembered me and told me he’d gotten treatment he needed because of having that insurance.”  

Opening doors for care 

Quetta joined BlueCross in 2015 as the Community Care Partners program was getting off the ground. Being part of a team that helps Commercial members engage with their health plan was exciting to Quetta.

The team initially worked on projects to increase awareness about preventive care and screenings and shared educational information at events that raise awareness for breast cancer, colon cancer and other health conditions.  

As the Community Care Partners program grew, Quetta was part of a team that worked with health care providers, community organizations and churches. Together, they sought to make preventive care more accessible by offering screenings at locations or times that offered more flexibility in scheduling them.  

“We know that making screenings more convenient for people can increase the likelihood they’ll schedule them,” Quetta says.  

To this end, Quetta spearheads BlueCross’ annual drive-thru flu-shot clinics in partnership with a local pharmacy. These clinics started in 2015 with one event in Chattanooga and have expanded to six locations across Tennessee with dozens of BlueCross clinical personnel involved to answer questions and help participants with paperwork.  

“Those who get flu shots this way really appreciate the convenience,” Quetta says. “You don’t even have to get out of your vehicle.”  

She also coordinates outreach projects where members are advised about screenings they need or events where screenings are being held. “Reaching out to our members lets them know that we care,” Quetta says.  

Just as Quetta heard from the Marketplace member about the impact of her work, she said her team often gets feedback from BlueCross members. There have been members who let them know that because of a screening event that BlueCross coordinated, a serious condition was caught early.

Quetta loves being a resource for others in this way and helping them understand how they can advocate for themselves by getting the screenings and the care they need.  

“Where I was once helping those who didn’t have coverage to get it, I’m now helping people who have coverage to understand how to use and to take the time to take care of themselves,” Quetta says. 

Full circle for family and community 

Service to others is something Quetta wants to impart to her teenage daughters. Both love art, and Quetta loves supporting their endeavors and travels. 

“We enjoy road trips, and I love experiencing different things with my kids,” she says. 

As Quetta works to expand her daughters’ horizons, she hopes to do the same for other young women through her work with Girls, Inc. Her daughters participate in Girls, Inc. programs, and Quetta serves on the Chattanooga branch’s board of directors. 

The organization supports and empowers girls to lead by giving them opportunities to volunteer, develop entrepreneurial skills and even practice public speaking. And Quetta is passionate about the way Girls, Inc. invests in the lives of girls in the community, nationally and internationally. It’s one more path Quetta takes to fulfilling her goal of lifelong service. 

“We are all equipped to do something,” Quetta says. “I want to reach back to remember what helped build me up and use that to give to others.”