PRESS RELEASE: HCAN awarded two large local grants to disrupt poor health cycle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Health Care Access Now (HCAN) has received two large grants to further the reach of its Community Health Workers (CHWs) by placing them in non-traditional settings.
- Interact for Health has awarded HCAN $50,000.
- bi3, Bethesda Inc.’s grants initiative to transform health, has awarded HCAN $50,000. This grant is part of bi3’s support of local nonprofit organizations. Since 2010, bi3 has awarded nearly $56.6 million in grants to TriHealth and community-based organizations to fund innovative ideas to transform health and health care.
- The funding will be used by HCAN to develop a referral pipeline within non-traditional settings in partnership with All-In Cincinnati. CHWs will be placed in a housing community and the court system.
HCAN trains and coordinates CHWs, as well as acting as director of the regional Pathways Community HUB model (HUB), an evidence-based system CHWs use to identify and break down typical barriers to good health outcomes.
Health Care Access Now (HCAN) has received two grants, each for $50,000, one from bi3, Bethesda Inc.’s grants initiative to transform health, and one from Interact for Health.
HCAN strives to reduce health care inequality for the most vulnerable and marginalized members of the Cincinnati community. It certifies and deploys Community Health Workers (CHWs), who use the Pathways Community HUB Model (HUB) as a framework for identifying obstacles to good health outcomes. They then provide access to resources to overcome those barriers. HCAN is the director of the regional HUB.
“The pandemic has exacerbated existing issues and created new health issues for the most vulnerable populations in Cincinnati,” says Sarah Mills, CEO of HCAN. One such issue is COVID-19 vaccine access and hesitancy, which CHWs have created Educations to address. “It is our hope that, through this initiative, we can change the way we systemically support the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our community—reform needed in every level of our community.”
Currently, CHWs are dispatched either due to direct request or based on referrals from area programs and agencies. These grants will be used to place CHWs in non-traditional settings in order to directly address clients’ management of chronic health conditions, mental health needs, and social or environmental barriers to good health outcomes.
For this new initiative, HCAN will partner with All-In Cincinnati, a racial equity coalition working to dismantle racial inequities in health, housing, education, economic mobility, and justice with the goal to uplift Black women in Hamilton County. CHWs will be placed in two new settings: a to-be-determined housing community and in the court system. They will work in these settings for one to two days a week for five months.
“This new approach will allow our CHWs to interact with people they may not have otherwise encountered and set up a referral pipeline for those who need services. They can provide these clients with needed resources to address the barriers to good health heightened by the pandemic,” says Mills.
HCAN is grateful to have been the recipient of these two grants to be used to expand the reach of its services. Its leadership is hopeful that these funds will bring them closer to achieving health equity in the Cincinnati region.
