PRESS RELEASE: HCAN awarded $8,000 grant to support field work
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Health Care Access Now (HCAN) has received a grant in the amount of $8,000 from The HealthPath Foundation of Ohio as part of its Community Connections initiative for use in general operations. HCAN acts as the Pathways Community HUB (Hub) for the region and will apply the funds to support the work it does using that program.
- The HealthPath Foundation of Ohio approved a grant of $8,000, which will be used in support of HCAN’s work as regional Hub.
- The Hub is an evidence-based system that helps its users identify and eliminate characteristic barriers to good health outcomes. Typical obstacles include food insecurity, lack of transportation access, and housing instability.
HCAN trains and coordinates Community Health Workers (CHWs) to use the Hub framework in the field by visiting under-resourced clients. Outside health care agencies partner with HCAN to become part of the Hub, benefitting from CHW training and certification, field support, and data.
Health Care Access Now (HCAN) acts as the regional Pathways Community HUB (Hub), training, certifying, and dispatching Community Health Workers (CHWs) to use the Hub model in order to reduce health care inequity in vulnerable communities.
The Hub is an evidence-based system that acts as a framework for CHWs to identify clients’ obstacles to good health outcomes and provide resources to overcome them. Not only does HCAN employ its own CHWs, but it also partners with other agencies in the region, so that they too can utilize their own trained CHWs using the Hub method.
HCAN has been awarded an $8,000 grant by The HealthPath Foundation of Ohio as part of its Community Connections initiative to further its mission in the coming year. These funds will be used in general Hub operations.
“The Hub provides immense value to its users,” says [Sarah Mills, CEO of HCAN]. “The framework allows CHWs to access a system in order to consistently recognize clients’ barriers and provide resources that can ease those burdens, resulting in better health outcomes.”
CHWs come from the communities they serve and interact with clients one-on-one, building rapport and trust, so clients feel comfortable revealing the factors that contribute to their individual situations. By providing Educations and taking clients through risk reduction Pathways (which range from Social Services Referrals to Medication Management to Postpartum—and more), CHWs connect clients to resources that can shift their circumstances, helping them to advocate for themselves and become more self-sufficient.
“We’re so grateful to have received this grant from the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio,” [Mills says.] “The funds will be used in support of CHWs and of the Hub, helping us reach more under-resourced individuals and move our region toward greater health care equity.”
The use of the Hub has helped HCAN make tangible improvements in the health of its clients, with great jumps in numbers of clients served, numbers of visits completed, and client barriers eliminated—particularly in the past two years. This grant will go toward continued improvement.
