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NHA Community
Health Workers Provide Invaluable Care
By Neighborhood Health Association Staff
The Truth Contributor
Community health workers are often the unsung heroes of the
medical field. At Neighborhood Health Association (NHA), we
are 10 community health workers strong and growing. It may
surprise you, but NHA has one of the longest-running,
established patient care coordination programs in the
region.
Our first community health care workers were hired in 1993
to help perinatal patients and their children successfully
navigate the healthcare system. This program is still in
existence today, and our
perinatal outreach workers are responsible for
everything from making home visits to ensuring mothers
attend their OB/GYN appointments, as well as connecting
families with additional care, including mental health
services and substance abuse recovery programs.
Every community health worker is trained and certified
through a college program where they learn the ins-and-outs
of their important role in healthcare. Community health
employees work tirelessly and behind-the-scenes to ensure
healthy outcomes for patients. They have a clear
understanding of the barriers—financial, social, and
cultural—that each individual faces when it comes to good
healthcare, and may have experienced these obstacles
firsthand. One of the greatest assets they bring to the job
is their sense of empathy and compassion.
Just ask Tamara Bumpus, FNP-C at
Mildred Bayer Clinic for the Homeless. Bumpus recalls a
time when a gentleman arrived with ill-fitting clothes, no
coat and shoes that were too small for his feet and full of
holes in the middle of winter. The Mildred Bayer clinic is
outfitted with a necessity item pantry full of clothes and
personal hygiene products for patients to take with them.
However, when our community health workers realized they
didn’t have shoes in his size, they immediately started a
collection for the patient, who had recently found himself
without a home.
“He was crying and had nowhere to go,” Bumpus recalls. “Our
staff contacted a shelter, collected a bag of toiletries,
and found a coat and clothes for him, but we didn’t have
shoes in his size. A collection was taken up to buy him a
pair of nice, warm snow boots. One of our nurses soaked and
washed his feet, and our care coordinator kept in contact
with him and helped him get back into a safe situation.”
It’s hard to put into words how these seemingly simple acts
impacted the patient, but if you can put yourself in his
place and imagine walking to a health center in the snow
without functional footwear, you can start to understand
just how important this work is. Of course, this is just one
of many examples of our staff going above and beyond to
provide care with dignity and respect to our patients.
Whether a person needs a new pair of boots or assistance
with applying for health insurance, community health workers
are there every step of the way. NHA employees are
well-connected to community resources too, such as job
training, nutritional help through the WIC program, and
financial counseling through a partner credit union. Many of
these services are now available at NHA’s newest facility,
Nexus Health Care, a new, patient-focused approach to
quality care.
“Our care coordination team members are truly patient
advocates,” says Audra Kurek, temporary lead for Care
Coordinators. “They don’t just listen to patients and their
needs, they understand them.”
It is our mission to ensure accessible healthcare and
related resources to everyone, regardless of their ability
to pay, which is why NHA believes community health workers
to be an essential component of the medical team. We’ve been
a proud Toledo-area staple for nearly 50 years, and look
forward to serving even more of our neighbors.
To learn more about care and community health workers at NHA,
please contact our Social Services Department at
419-720-7883.
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