Health Care Access Now has received two grants to place community health workers in two new settings: 1) a to-be-determined housing community and 2) in the court system, to directly address clients’ management of chronic health conditions, mental health needs, and social or environmental barriers to good health outcomes.
Each grant is 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 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,” says Sarah Mills, CEO of HCAN.
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.
“This new approach will allow our CHWs (community health workers) 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,” said Mills.
HCAN leadership is hopeful that these funds will bring them closer to achieving health equity in the Cincinnati region.