Illinois Public Health Association and Partners Educating and Empowering Communities During Pandemic

Now dwell, Pandemic Well being Navigator Program connects Group Well being Staff, well being care suppliers, sources and schooling with susceptible populations

AURORA, In poor health., April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Joined by Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Illinois Public Well being Affiliation (IPHA), in partnership with the Illinois Major Well being Care Affiliation (IPHCA), at present introduced that the COVID-19 Pandemic Well being Navigator Program (PHNP) is now dwell and Group Well being Staff can be found to assist residents all through the state of Illinois. The brand new program integrates group well being facilities, community-based organizations, and public well being companions to coordinate Illinois sources for probably the most susceptible populations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now live, the Pandemic Health Navigator Program connects Community Health Workers, health care providers, resources and education with vulnerable populations. — Now dwell, the Pandemic Well being Navigator Program connects Group Well being Staff, well being care suppliers, sources and schooling with susceptible populations.

“Illinois is properly above the nationwide common for getting first doses out to our residents, however making vaccines out there is simply half the battle,” mentioned Governor JB Pritzker. “I am proud to announce our Pandemic Well being Navigator Program is already exhausting at work constructing confidence amongst our unvaccinated residents, educating them on what COVID-19 is, what the vaccine can do for them, and the way they’ll defend themselves and their households. These are local people organizations who know their friends, their college students, their colleagues – individuals who converse their languages and know their neighborhoods. In brief, our Pandemic Well being Navigators are an important a part of retaining our most susceptible residents protected, and I am so grateful to all of them.”

“As we glance towards recovering from the well being, social and financial hardships introduced on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we acknowledge the significance of offering Illinois residents with schooling, sources and steerage from individuals they belief,” mentioned Dr. Tracey Smith, Director of Applications and Group Well being. “We’re proud to be main a community of Group Well being Staff which can be already making an influence by connecting susceptible populations with very important schooling and sources – like entry to meals and well being providers – which can be positioning these communities to maneuver ahead, stronger.”

In 2021, PHNP started efforts to equip community-based organizations (CBOs) and federally certified well being facilities (FQHCs) with funding, coaching and sources to supply native assist to Illinois residents.

So far, 65 CBOs and 23 FQHCs are collaborating in this system. These partnerships have helped rent greater than 400 Group Well being Staff and regional supervisors, with the purpose to rent a whole lot extra within the subsequent three months. This system has acquired greater than 1,270 requests for sources and has a 96 % completion price for useful resource requests inside 48 hours.

To higher perceive the views and wishes of Illinois communities through the pandemic, IPHA and IPHCA just lately carried out a survey of greater than 800 residents. The survey outcomes confirmed that Illinois residents are in want of steerage and underscored the significance of sharing correct info and dispelling frequent misconceptions. The survey revealed the next information:

1 in 5 indicated they weren’t ready or not sure of their potential to inform the distinction between scientific details and misinformation or false claims on the Web.
21 % mentioned they’d not get the COVID-19 vaccine, 71 % mentioned they have been keen to get the vaccine, and 7 % opted to not reply the query.
Greater than half (57%) of respondents acknowledged they’d be open to working with a Group Well being Employee.

“This program is a crucial useful resource to assist the healthcare wants of our communities, particularly various communities which have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” mentioned Cyrus Winnett, Interim President and CEO, IPHCA. “By leveraging native well being departments, group well being facilities and community-based organizations, we’re offering on-the-ground, trusted assist to make sure Illinoisans obtain the well being schooling, outreach, and sources they have to be wholesome and protected.”

“Healthcare suppliers have been on the entrance traces within the battle towards COVID-19 from day one,” mentioned Linnea Windel, President and CEO of VNA Well being Care. “The Pandemic Well being Navigator Program will present us with further instruments, sources and Group Well being Staff to assist our battle towards this virus and assist our sufferers and bigger group get via this collectively.”

The IPHA, in partnership with the IPHCA, was awarded a grant from the Illinois Division of Public Well being (IDPH) to function the Regional Coordinator for areas 2-9 of the PHNP to make sure protection for these actions via direct providers and/or sub-awarding to Federally Certified Well being Facilities (FQHCs) and different community-based companies.

IPHA and IPHCA will sub-contract with FQHCs and community-based companies in Illinois COVID-19 areas 2-9 to recruit the navigators for native COVID-19 schooling and outreach, to assist contact tracing as wanted, and to attach instances and contacts with essential providers and sources. This may occasionally embody sources for meals, medication, mobility assist, immigration issues, work and earnings sources, psychological well being assist, assist for unsafe dwelling situations (e.g. home abuse), and so on., throughout isolation and quarantine. As well as, the PHNP workforce will collaborate and coordinate throughout the assigned areas with the general public well being system, together with with native well being departments (LHDs), to assist contact tracing efforts and guarantee all communities obtain wanted help and to assist cut back disparities in well being outcomes.

For extra details about this system and to hook up with a local people well being employee, go to HelpGuideThrive.org.

Concerning the Illinois Public Well being Affiliation
The Illinois Public Well being Affiliation is the oldest and largest public well being affiliation within the state of Illinois. As one of many largest associates of the American Public Well being Associations, IPHA is widely known because the chief within the area of public well being advocacy, well being schooling and promotion. For extra info, go to https://www.ipha.com/.

Concerning the Illinois Major Well being Care Affiliation
IPHCA represents Federally Certified Well being Facilities (FQHCs) or group well being facilities—entities created by Congress to satisfy the well being care wants of underserved communities and high-risk sufferers. These facilities fill a void by offering look after these whom different suppliers usually don’t serve. Since FQHCs should, by regulation, serve the medically underserved no matter their potential to pay, CHCs are situated in geographic areas designated as having a scarcity of medical suppliers who serve this inhabitants. As well as, the medically underserved could also be low-income, uninsured, homeless, affected by HIV/AIDS, battling substance abuse and/or have particular wants. IPHCA is dedicated to fulfilling its mission of serving to communities assist themselves by advocating and increasing group major care providers throughout Illinois, and aiding member organizations in fulfilling their purpose of group empowerment via well being care alternative. By advocating on behalf of members’ pursuits, IPHCA additionally advocates for underserved residents and communities. For extra info go to https://www.iphca.org.