CHAT was a community coalition powered by Buffalo County Community Partners that aimed to expand access to health care and community services by implementing a formalized pathway model that provided accountability and utilized community health workers as a part of the integrated care team.

Our mission is that everyone with a point of entry to service in Buffalo County will have access to, regularly use, and be satisfied with comprehensive, cost effective, high quality, health services that support optimal quality of life.

Our vision is that differences between people, such as culture, class, educational attainment, life experiences, employment status and ability to pay will no longer be associated with disparate health outcomes.

Our Work

Health HUB—Program ended June 30, 2014. The Community Health Access Team created a Health HUB program for people with diabetes. This program used Community Health Workers to do outreach work to gain program participants and then work with these participants to control and manage their diabetes. This program involved five different pathways: Medication Management, Diabetes Education, Safety Net, Payment Source and Social Needs.

Health HUB program’s outcomes

The Community Health Workers helped the participants in overall care for their life because, for many, putting food on their table comes before taking care of their health. This program showed dramatic savings to the hospital through decreased emergency room usage, increased number of participants who now have primary care providers, participants with better-controlled diabetes, as well as improvement in overall quality of life.

• Priority #1 – Community Health Worker Workforce.
• Priority #2 – A model in which community health workers provide direct services and consumer accountability with direct supervision of nurse or social worker. Evaluation and outcome tracking.
• Priority#3 – Expand model beyond Diabetes consumers.

Through the Health HUB program, a large population of under- and uninsured community members was found in Buffalo County. To work towards overcoming this barrier, the CAN Team was formed, which helped create the HelpCare Clinic.

 

View the official Health HUB Report.

Am I A Community Health Worker?

 

How Community Health Workers Help The Community

Our History

The Community Health Access Team (CHAT) worked throughout the years to promote and prevent health issues by addressing dental care, language related barriers to accessing health, and tracking the Adult Behavior Risk Factors Survey. In 2007, Community Partners collaborated with the Ronald McDonald dental bus and Karen’ Sorenson, DDS. At the same time, the need to provide qualified medical interpreters was an emerging issue. In this effort, Community Partners, along with the Spanish-speaking community, participated in “Hablamos Juntos”, a training for medical interpreters. Later, the CHAT members turned their attention towards developing and increasing access to care for at-risk populations. In 2009, CHAT approved a Pathways Health Hub model that supported the principals to “find-treat-measure” health outcomes. In a dual effort to increase health access and while addressing the socioeconomic barriers that put at risk populations for poor health outcomes.

Rationale

Access to quality care is important to eliminate health disparities and increase the quality and years of life of healthy life for all Americans. Major changes in the structure of the U.S. health care system, including the increasing influence of market forces, changes in payment and delivery systems, and welfare reform, have significant implication for vulnerable and at-risk populations. In light of these system changes, Federal, State and local public health agencies must redouble their efforts to address access barriers and reduce disparities for these populations. (Source: Healthy People 2010 page 1-3/1-5).

Buffalo County Health Care
Baseline: 91.4% of Buffalo County residents report having health care insurance. (ABRFS 00)
Target: 100%

Minority Health Care
Baseline: 51.4% of the surveyed minority population in Buffalo County have health insurance coverage. (Source: 2004 Minority Behavioral Risk Factor Survey MBRFS)
Target: 100%

Race as Barrier
Baseline: 39% of Hispanic Americans state that race/ethnic origin is a barrier to receiving health care in Nebraska. (Source: Buffalo County Health Profile 97)
New Target: Decrease Perceived Barriers to Health Care