The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
R. Maude Guerrier, Health Promotion, Cambridge Health Alliance, 230 Highland Avenue, SON room 602B, Somerville, MA 02143, 617-591-6939, rguerrier@challiance.org
Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a partnership among the public health department of Cambridge, Massachusetts and several local hospitals serving the Cambridge, Somerville, and Everett communities. CHA is the local safety net provider, and perhaps the premier source of care for immigrants in the greater Boston area. This session will describe one of its programs, the Volunteer Health Advisor (VHA) Program, which was developed as part of the 100% Access, 0 Disparities campaign of the CHA department of Community Affairs. The purpose of the program is to increase access to preventive healthcare services and reduce health disparities among underserved racial and ethnic groups. VHAs provide information and referrals through individual and group educational sessions for people with or at risk for chronic diseases, the uninsured, and underinsured. They also refer community members to Community Health Workers for enrollment and connection to primary care. VHAs are an integral part of their communities, and can reach the most "hard to reach" segments of the community. The VHA program was initially launched in the Haitian Creole-speaking communities in Somerville and Everett. Volunteers were recruited from three churches. This interfaith group received twenty hours of basic training on key health issues facing low-income, underserved populations, health education, and access to free and low cost health insurance to enable them to become ambassadors of health within their communities. The VHA program is currently being expanded in the Haitian community, and new volunteers are being recruited from the Brazilian and African-American communities.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Outreach Programs, Community-Based Partnership
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Handout (.ppt format, 207.0 kb)