Spotlight: Jhana Chambers, health coach
When Sharecare members set out to improve their health and well-being, our coaches are there to provide the support they need to make the small, simple steps that become long-term healthy habits. This month, our Employee Spotlight is Jhana Chambers, a health coach whose inspiring story has not only improved the lives of the members she’s served during her nearly two years at Sharecare, but also uplifts her team members and is helping to transform Sharecare broadly by the lessons she shares in her presentations on managing grief.
After surviving a life-threatening car accident at age 25, completing two years of physical therapy to regain mobility with the assistance of a walker, as well as countless doctor’s visits and other personal life challenges – Jhana shares that these events haven’t dimmed her spirit, but instead have inspired her to uplift others by encouraging them to shift their perspective. Finding ways to add beauty and humor to her circumstances, Jhana shares how her blinged-out “pimp cane” and the wheelchair she affectionately refers to as her “Hot Wheels” allow her to view the situation differently.
When asked about the impact Jhana’s had on her team, Whitney Good, manager of coaching operations emphasized just how lucky we are to have her at Sharecare: “Jhana is passionate about her job and always striving to learn and do more. She takes what she learns and creates fun and educational learning opportunities to help our team grow. She is a great coach, mentor, and uplifting piece to our team.”
Helping others find peace in their health challenges and chronic pain – and even talking down a suicidal member on a call – Jhana is a remarkable member of the Sharecare family we are proud to know. We hope you’ll join us in recognizing her this month by reading her story, and check out her book, Pour out the Rain, which she wrote to bring comfort to children who have lost a parent following the tragic loss of her brother.
Tell us about your role, Jhana.
I’m a health coach at Sharecare. My job mainly consists of talking to members, helping them identify goals to improve their health and well-being, and giving them the resources, encouragement, and accountability to be motivated and capable of making the changes they want to see in their lives. It’s always key to find out why it’s important for them to reach their goals, to help keep them on track – whether it’s that they want to lose weight, lower their blood pressure, or more broad goals like having better health and a long life.
Although it’s a member-facing role, I’ve also had the opportunity to grow and manage different internal meetings and deliver presentations not only to my team, but to different teams across Sharecare. In fact, one presentation I put together ended up being shared company-wide!
What was the presentation about?
I compiled a presentation to coach others on managing grief – after my manager noticed a lot of positive feedback from members about me after completing many grief-related calls. A lot of other people have a hard time, but I’m good at those calls, because I’ve personally had to deal with it.
I have a lot of experience with grief, unfortunately. My brother was murdered at the age of 22, when his wife was four months pregnant with their daughter. I actually wrote a children’s book, Pour out the Rain, dedicated to his memory, to help others in their grief. It’s the story of him and his wife, to give his daughter something to hold whenever she asks where her Daddy is.
From my own challenges, I’ve also come to learn that grief isn’t just about the loss of a loved one. It’s the loss of a career, a relationship, good health, and different things like that. Somebody decided to run a red light one day, and it caused a car accident that almost killed me, and it took away my mobility. It took away good health and it left me with issues I’m stuck with to this day.
Oh no – what happened, if you don’t mind sharing?
During my accident, the front of my vehicle was basically smashed all the way in and it put the car on top of me, caging me in. I couldn’t get out. They had to get the ambulance and the jaws of life from the fire department. I was stuck for 20 minutes with thousands of pounds on my legs. It really sucked.
I ended up having to go to so many different appointments. I had this huge brace on my leg. It went from my hip all the way to my ankle. And I was completely bedridden for months because I was so messed up from the car accident, not just my legs, but my shoulders and everywhere. It was definitely a battle. It was a long, long recovery. Then I was in a wheelchair. It took me two years of physical therapy to learn how to walk with a cane. That’s not even learning how to walk again in general, just with the use of a cane.
I have conditions you don’t think somebody younger than their 60s would live with, but disease knows no age. It’s not something I complain about anymore, because of how I’m able to help other people from my experience.
You said this experience is something that enables you to help others. How so?
I’ve actually been able to share what I’ve gone through with members who are also struggling with chronic pain. In one case, I had a suicidal member. It was an urgent emergency call and it was a very challenging one. I was able to relate to the member and share that I knew exactly what they were dealing with.
Although I’ve never been suicidal, there was a point where I wished I had died in this car accident. It was like everything that I worked for, everything I had ever dreamed about since I was a child, and everything I had gone to school for and worked towards – being a chef, owning my own restaurant – was gone because of one person’s decision to be impatient and run a red light. It changed everything, so I knew exactly how they felt.
I shared a little bit of my story, and they ended up shifting their perspective and asking: how are you so cheerful? How do you sound so positive?
I was like, I might as well. I’m stuck like this.
Can I ask that too – how are you so cheerful?
If I gotta deal with all this, I’m gonna make it fun, you know?
They started me with a walker during physical therapy, and I remember one time I was so excited that I was finally able to move just a little bit, that I tried pushing a little too hard and busting my butt, man, I straight up fell. I’m pretty stubborn.
I have to walk with a cane, but I call it my “pimp cane” and I have more than one. I make them look cute, with flowers, glitter, and stuff. I call my wheelchair my “Hot Wheels” and I play the little Hot Wheels theme song and everything. And I’ve actually been able to use that as a motivator for members who’ve had chronic pain, on my coaching calls.
I haven’t always been positive about it. It took some time to get to that point. Sometimes I’ll even make jokes about it. You know, the best way to flirt with your husband is to be like, hey, I got handicapped parking. Man, I can get you in front of all the lines, get you in the best parking spots. – You know, I end up finding some sort of humor to help me. And then it ends up helping other people.
What do you normally help members with?
It’s always goals related to health and well-being, but their common concerns are for weight loss, healthy eating, and how those relate to any health issue they may have. There’s a lot of knowledge and support we provide to fill gaps they may have in their understanding of how to live with a condition.
For example, somebody with high blood pressure will call in who doesn’t don’t know how to manage their condition after getting diagnosed by their provider. We provide them with additional and comprehensive information, tools, and motivation to help make important changes and get their health on track. Helping them determine one small thing to do is important, because over time small steps can make a huge difference. When people take huge leaps they often don’t see any progress, because they’re trying to make drastic changes too fast.
How did you join Sharecare as a health coach?
Before my accident, I went to Le Cordon Bleu College in Austin, TX and finished a degree in culinary arts. I worked as a chef for a few years. After my accident, my husband, Andre, decided to join the military. To prepare for basic training, he had to lose about 40lbs to meet the requirements. But the school I went to was all about butter. You know what I mean? I learned how to cook for taste – not for nutrition at all. I had to adjust and look up healthy recipes to try out. I ended up becoming really interested in nutrition as a result, and eager to find ways to make food taste good – but still be healthy.
My mom suggested I go back to school for nutrition. I went to Purdue University, and while I was getting my bachelor’s in nutrition, due to my high GPA, they offered me the option to take master’s program classes at the same time. A year after finishing my bachelor’s, I also received my master’s in health education. One of the advisors at my school sent Sharecare my resume, and then I was asked to submit a formal application before interviewing. I’ll hit my two-year anniversary at Sharecare in January.
What would you say is your favorite thing about working at Sharecare?
Helping people, especially when it’s been a positive call. Sometimes they’ll share such good takeaways from our conversations, it’ll make me almost cry, you know? I had a woman say, “You have a voice that just makes me feel like I could do anything.” And I was like, oh, my God, that’s so sweet.
I believe everybody needs health coaching and not just for their health, but because we talk about anything that can affect your health, which includes stress, not getting enough sleep, or learning how to say no to people and setting boundaries – which are all so important to our well-being.
What advice would you give others, based on the experiences you’ve shared today?
Life is short. Don’t focus on things that don’t matter or worry about people who don’t care about you. Stop trying to be a people pleaser. And take time for yourself. It’s OK if you don’t succeed. You can always try something different. Always try to keep a positive outlook on life and find the positives – even in negative situations.
