Grant to allow bilingual health workers to focus on health equity in underserved communities

Home / Grant to allow bilingual health workers to focus on health equity in underserved communities

Health equity has been a key area of focus across the Novant Health system for a long time. Now, thanks to your generosity, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation has launched a pilot program to place community health workers in neighborhoods where they are needed most.

With a $150,000 grant, the community health worker program will fund salaries for three individuals for one year. Novant Health is currently recruiting to fill the positions with team members who are fluent in both English and Spanish.

Community health workers specialize in engaging with the community around the overall determinants of health. They help patients in at-risk populations with both health education and advocacy. After getting to know the patient, they then connect them with community resources when necessary. Once onboarded, the team members will work across east Charlotte and west Charlotte with the goal of serving additional communities in the future.

Tamara Smith, senior director of strategy, business performance and compliance at Novant Health, is the visionary behind the program, which embodies a “village mentality” and differs from other models organized around emergency rooms and clinics.

“Instead of expecting patients to come to us through one of our facilities, we now have the opportunity to send community health workers directly to our underserved patients where they live, work, play and pray,” Smith said.

The grant funds will soon be put to use as this program prepares to launch. Wendy Bilas, grants chairwoman of Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation, said she believes the program will make an overwhelmingly positive impact and will bring Novant Health one step closer to helping people lead healthier lives in the community.

“Community health workers improve lives and help patients navigate the healthcare system in ways that make sense,” Bilas said. “They provide crucial support to underserved populations and, at the same time, reduce the load on local emergency rooms and clinics. Having them as part of our team is a huge win for everyone involved, and, honestly, this was one of the easier grant decisions we’ve made. Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation is proud to help fund this pilot program, and we hope it sparks a movement toward more grassroots, common-sense healthcare delivery.”