Impacting Wellness through Community Health Workers

Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom of Henry Ford Health Systems has a clear notion about improving public health outcomes for marginalized communities in Michigan.
 
And isn’t all about medical care.
 
The concept uses an atypical provider called a community health worker, a trained community member who coordinates care for struggling individuals well beyond the medical care provided by doctors and nurses. Community health workers bridge individuals in the community to medical, mental health, government, and social service systems. Wisdom believes these providers are key to changing the public health landscape.
 
And when it comes to public health issues and trends, Wisdom knows her stuff. She was appointed in 2003 as Michigan’s – and the nation’s – first state-level Surgeon General to address Michigan’s less than stellar health status. She is the recipient of numerous awards, has authored several peer-reviewed publications, has appeared on national television, including ABC’s Nightline, and has presented to audiences across the country and internationally. She is currently senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness officer at Henry Ford Health Systems.
 
HFHS is using the community health worker model with women living in three Detroit neighborhoods through the Women-Inspired Neighborhood (WIN) Network. The program links underserved women, ages 18-34, that are pregnant or of reproductive age to various resources in an effort to decrease the likelihood of infant death within the first year.
 
For the women that aren’t pregnant, “We try to work with them to space pregnancies and to address other, what we call, social determinants of health,” says Wisdom. Education, safe housing, consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables are examples of determinants that a community health worker would address, so that when or if a woman becomes pregnant,

Education, safe housing, consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables are examples of determinants that a community health worker would address, so that when or if a woman becomes pregnant, she’s healthier – thus reducing the incidence of infant mortality.

she’s healthier – thus reducing the incidence of infant mortality.
 
Wisdom is measuring the success of the WIN Network by how many connections each woman makes that she wouldn’t have made without the community health worker and WIN.
 
“For instance, some of these women have been taken out of homeless shelters and placed in apartments. That’s a connection. We’ve taken women who are not in any kind of education program and helped them get into a GED program. That’s a connection. We help them gain access to Bridge Cards for obtaining food and help them understand the Double Up Food Bucks program. That’s a connection.”
 
The connections might be for the woman’s health or overall stability or for the baby’s health, with prenatal care, breastfeeding support, or access to car seats, infant bedding, or Pack ‘n Plays.
 
In other countries, community health workers have been effective in addressing the health and well-being of communities, while here we rely on licensed health care professionals, like physicians, nurse practitioners, and social workers. Yet in comparison to other countries, particularly developing countries, Wisdom says that oftentimes U.S. healthcare is worse.
 
Community health workers strip down the obvious barriers to someone living a healthy life and raising healthy kids. They not only help individuals navigate through the healthcare system, but help find other needed resources.
 

In other countries, community health workers have been effective in addressing the health and well-being of communities, while here we rely on licensed health care professionals, like physicians, nurse practitioners, and social workers.

If it’s a prescription for medicine, that’s one thing, says Wisdom. “But if the [medical] provider says, ‘I want you to have access to more fruits and vegetables, I want you to have a safer or a less toxic housing environment,’ the community health outreach
 worker is in a perfect position to help fill those ‘prescriptions’ that a provider may recommend.”
 
Community health workers are considered natural helpers, with shared roots and values in the community; they are able, willing and armed to help address social and medical conditions for those with limited resources.
 
“Health care providers are involved from a medical perspective, doing an excellent job in providing better and better quality, and with greater ability to conduct state of the art procedures… and I applaud those efforts,” says Wisdom. “But community health workers are going to be important in terms of really achieving overall health for our communities.”