$6 million grant to aid covid fight in Northwest Arkansas

CDC funds for 50 bilingual community health workers

Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, State Epidemiologist with the Arkansas Department of Health, speaks Monday Feb. 22, 2021 in Little Rock during a press conference to announce a new initiative to educate Arkansans on the benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine. The initiative is led by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, Arkansas Minority Health Commission, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas Council, UAMS and Walmart. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, State Epidemiologist with the Arkansas Department of Health, speaks Monday Feb. 22, 2021 in Little Rock during a press conference to announce a new initiative to educate Arkansans on the benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine. The initiative is led by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, Arkansas Minority Health Commission, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas Council, UAMS and Walmart. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)

A $6 million grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will employ 50 bilingual community health workers in Northwest Arkansas to help combat covid-19 and other health issues.

Benton County and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences recently received the Reaching Everyone to Achieve Community Health award, which will provide approximately $2 million a year for three years, according to a news release.

The award is funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The money will provide training for the health workers and will pay 50% of their salaries, said Krista Langston, senior director of community programs for the university's Northwest Campus. The workers will be placed in nonprofit health care organizations and other community-based nonprofits in Benton and Washington counties.

The other 50% will be paid by the organizations where the health workers are placed, said Pearl McElfish, vice chancellor of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus.

"We are excited to partner with multiple health and social service providers to ensure highly trained community health workers are placed throughout Benton and Washington counties," McElfish said. "Community health workers are essential for addressing covid-19 and future public health issues."

Community health workers help patients, especially those who don't speak English, navigate and understand how to use resources in clinics and connect to health care, Langston said. For example, they may help patients book appointments, understand information from their doctor or educate them on when it's appropriate to go to an emergency department or urgent care clinic. The workers will be bilingual in Marshallese or Spanish, she said.

Workers will also benefit health care organizations by helping medical staff better understand patients' and clients' needs, Langston said.

Community health workers go through 80 hours of training, followed by two to three years of experience before they become certified, Langston said.

McElfish said they're confident they can recruit 50 community health workers for the program.

"We have already recruited more than 25 people who are interested in the program," she said.

The region needs hundreds of community health workers, McElfish said. The covid-19 pandemic made the need for such workers apparent, and they will be needed for chronic disease management and prevention after the pandemic, she said.

Public health crises, such as covid-19, worsen existing health disparities, according to the news release. Community health care workers reach communities hit hardest by the virus, to help stop the spread of covid-19 and move toward health equity.

"In the past 20 months, we've watched as our community health workers battled covid-19 on the front lines in Northwest Arkansas," said Benton County Judge Barry Moehring. "Benton County looks forward to supporting these trusted members of our community as we continue our best efforts to end the pandemic."

The covid-19 pandemic showed local health care officials that community health workers are essential for addressing public health issues, Langston said.

The university integrated Marshallese and Hispanic workers into contact tracing centers, Langston said. Once workers identified a family in need of assistance with quarantining, they could educate them on how to safely quarantine and help with tasks such as picking up and delivering prescriptions, sending a letter to their employers to notify them of the quarantine and delivering food boxes, she said.

The workers made a significant impact on the community and spread of covid-19, Langston said.

The university's North Street Clinic in Fayetteville, which primarily serves the Marshallese population, has two full-time community health care workers, a part-time worker and two more workers who will be starting soon, according to Dr. Tom Schulz.

Workers are embedded in the community and there is a high likelihood they know the patient and have their trust, Schulz said. Workers are able to help medical staff understand patients' culture and what they are thinking, he said.

The Marshallese and Hispanic populations were disproportionally affected during the first covid-19 surge, and the health care community lost a lot of trust, Schulz said. Community health care workers helped rebuild trust, assisted with telemedicine visits and helped reintroduce people to the clinic in a way they could feel safe and get needed medical care, he said.

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