PRESS RELEASE: HCAN releases 2021 Annual Report: a year of partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Health Care Access Now (HCAN) spent 2021 developing new partnerships and strengthening established ones. Its Annual Report elaborates on its partners in learning and in new programs, Ohio Pathways Community Hub network partners, and many more. HCAN’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) and staff focused on working with clients to establish suitable housing…

Pedestrian Safety in Cincinnati
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Safe streets, safe pedestrians: an issue of equity

More than twenty percent of Cincinnatians do not own a car. City Council member Mark Jeffreys believes that walkable streets in Cincinnati are “not just about safety but tied to so many other issues. It’s an area of equity.”  If it seems to you that pedestrian safety has become an increasingly urgent issue in the…

Transportation issues getting to the doctor
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“First, you have to get there”: Access to care and transportation obstacles 

Getting to appointments can be the hardest part of staying current with medical care for Kia Davis’ clients. Davis is a Community Health Worker (CHW), who cares for pregnant mothers and children through Mercy Health. Mercy Health is a partner agency of the Southwest Ohio Pathways Community HUB, which Health Care Access Now directs. Davis…

PRESS RELEASE: June 6th declared Community Health Worker Day in Cincinnati

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mayor Aftab Pureval has declared June 6th Community Health Worker (CHW) Day in Cincinnati. All are welcome to celebrate. CHWs make a profound difference in vulnerable communities, working toward health equity and to increase good health outcomes. Festivities will begin at noon on June 6th on Fountain Square. Hamilton County Commissioner Denise…

Mental health and transportation
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The link between mental health and transportation barriers

Transportation is a major social determinant of health and health equity. It’s one of the most frequently needed of the HUB Pathways that Health Care Access Now (HCAN)’s Community Health Workers (CHWs) address with clients. The ability to access reliable, convenient, safe transportation is intertwined with mental health. It goes both ways: Mental health issues…

PRESS RELEASE: New HCAN program designed to prevent criminal recidivism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Health Care Access Now (HCAN), in collaboration with the All-In Cincinnati Equity Coalition, has developed a program that educates and removes barriers for individuals who have entered the criminal justice system. HCAN’s dedicated Community Health Workers (CHWs) serve clients referred by Judge Janaya Trotter Bratton and Judge Wende C. Cross. Judges Bratton…

Transportation for medical appointments in Cincinnati, OH
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Transportation to medical appointments: The effect of MCO-contracted rides

Imagine you didn’t have access to a reliable personal vehicle, or that your monthly budget for gas had already been spent. How do you get to your doctor’s appointments? You could call a friend or family member to give you a ride—but they have jobs from which it is difficult to get time off. You…

Overcoming obstacles to regular health care
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Overcoming obstacles to establishing a medical home

People who have not established a medical home often have neglected to do so because they face obstacles that can seem insurmountable.  A medical home is the central provider (or group of providers) patients use for health care. A general practitioner serves as the fundamental health advisor, but other specialists—such as a dentist, optometrist, OB-GYN,…

CHWs in the community: a medical home for everybody
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CHWs in the community: a medical home for everybody

The Community Health Workers (CHWs) of Health Care Access Now (HCAN) recently got together to talk about the challenges they face connecting clients with medical homes—and the great things that can happen once clients receive regular preventive medical care. The challenges HCAN’s CHWs provide one-on-one care to vulnerable and/or marginalized community members by helping them…