Help us Celebrate 20 Years and Build a Healthier Community

Can you believe that it has been 20 years? Twenty years of diligent work and community partnerships to create a healthier Wyandotte County. More than 20 years of examining the root causes of inequity and disease in our communities, and the things we can do to challenge the historic legacies of redlining and racism. Twenty years of the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County.

 

With your donation, you help bring us one step closer to building a brighter future for Wyandotte County.

Please consider supporting the Community Health Council or one of our many initiatives with our Amazon Smile. Amazon will make a donation for EVERYTHING ordered, including office supplies, groceries, gift purchases, and more! There is no additional cost to you.

Donating to the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County or any of our programs provides us with a greater opportunity to support our community and create a healthier Wyandotte County. Your gift will maintain and improve CHC programs such as COVID-19 relief efforts, Cradle Kansas City and Every Baby to 1 (our maternal-infant health initiatives), health care navigation through our Community Health Workers and the Kansas Assistance Network, combatting legacies of racism and redlining through the Health Equity Action Transformation (HEAT), and assisting residents with vital needs such as food access through out Mutual Aid initiative, all while supporting CHC’s collaborations with partners and community leaders on countless community initiatives.

 

When you make a one-time donation to CHC, you will receive a letter to express our gratitude for your generosity and be added to our emailing list for regular updates of our work in the community and the impact we’re making thanks to your support.

Please consider supporting our continued work with a donation and help us build a brighter future for our community!

Join us in celebration of 20 years of serving Wyandotte County by becoming a Celebration Donor and supporting our continued efforts with a recurring donation of $20 per month. Your support, along with all of us working together, impacts more than 6,000 residents of Wyandotte County every year.

 

When you commit to becoming a Celebration Donor, you’ll receive special letters of gratitude and regular updates on the work we’re doing in the community.

Contribute $20 monthly to support our mission of enhancing health outcomes in Wyandotte County through informing, collaborating, aligning, mobilizing, and activating organizations, government entities, and community members.

Help us continue helping our community for another 20 years!

If you’d like to provide support to CHC and the work that we do in the community in a different way, there are various other options of support. Your support, along with all of us working together, impacts more than 6,000 residents of Wyandotte County every year.

 

Additional support options include, but are not limited to:

  • Volunteer and involvement opportunities
  • Making a Legacy Gift
  • Making a matching gift

If you would like to be contacted for any of these additional support options, please leave your contact information. We will have someone from our team contact you within the next 5-7 business days.

 

Help us continue helping our community for another 20 years!


    Learn About the Programs You Can Support

    Community Health Workers (CHWs) are members of the community who are trained to help families navigate and access health systems, chronic conditions, disease prevention, and community resources. CHWs help people access resources in multiple areas, advocate on the behalf of their community, set up doctor’s appointments, help people understand their diagnosis and treatment plan, and help people establish patterns and behaviors that will keep them healthy.

    The Kansas Assistance Network, LLC (KAN) is a health insurance agency and subsidiary of the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County (CHC). Previously made up of Marketplace assisters, KAN’s agents provide unbiased enrollment assistance and community outreach for health insurance including Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace. KAN offers health literacy education to help families know how and where to get healthcare, while providing additional social service resources.

    Cradle Kansas City is a collective impact initiative created to address infant mortality in the Kansas City region. This collective gathers partners who work in the family support sector, including maternal child health organizations, medical systems, education, housing, and transportation services. These organizations and individuals work to uplift the voice of the community and provide support to our local families. The goal of Cradle KC is to ensure all Kansas City babies are healthy babies.

    WyCo Mutual Aid is a grassroots community group formed by CHC volunteers to organize mutual aid efforts and engage community members to address gaps in equity which were amplified by the COVID health crisis. They work to identify gaps in the social safety net, provide rapid response assistance, and build a network of resources for residents experiencing barriers for accessing essential services and resources, including food, utility & rent assistance, financial support, and more.

    We Are Wyandotte is a social and health equity campaign, created to accompany and support the Health Equity Action Transformation report (released in 2016) and Community Action Board. This campaign aims to identify problems and needs in the community, target the opportunity areas to help, and work to repair decades of damage done to currently and historically oppressed populations due to redlining. The campaign brings these conversations forward to increase awareness of these issues.

    Every Baby to 1 (EB1) is a faith-based initiative that works with faith communities to implement educational and support programs to address infant morbidity and mortality. As a part of this work, EB1 promotes the “3 S” approach of Social Support, Safe Space, and Safe Sleep. This includes ameliorating the risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The EB1 team has maternal child health experts and consultants, with 50+ years of experience.

    Twenty Years of History

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    2002

    Just the Beginning

    The Community Health Council of Wyandotte County was formed in March of 2002 by executives from local hospitals, safety net clinics, and public health foundations. Committed to the foundational purpose of improving access to healthcare for the uninsured and medically underserved, CHC initially focused on issues related to inter0clinic communications and access to specialty care.
    2005

    Collaborating

    CHC co-created the WyJo Care network of specialty care physicians that would provide free, difficult-to-access care for the uninsured and medically underserved.
    2008

    Growing

    CHC’s Board of Directors pursues the expansion of federally qualified health services in Wyandotte County.
    2013

    Filling Gaps

    Launched Enroll Wyandotte to help local residents enroll in Marketplace insurance. The number of residents without health insurance reduced by over 40%.
    2014

    Chosen for Change

    CHC was chosen by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1422 grant program for the community to reduce obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke in Wyandotte County.
    2015

    Getting Students Involved

    Take Charge WyCo, a health literacy program with KU Medical Center, YMCA, etc. launched to help people understand their health insurance. A group of interns were recruited from the University of Missouri – Kansas City to help with the program by getting residents enrolled in health insurance and doing a needs assessment to determine other necessary resources to connect them with. The Take Charge Wyco program was condensed into the Enroll Wyandotte program.
    2016

    More Space for More Opportunities

    The CHC team moved into the current offices at 803 Armstrong Ave.

    Growing the Team

    Officially launched a Community Health Worker (CHW) program in Wyandotte County in partnership with KC Care Health Clinics and United Health Care.

    Exposing Decades of Inequities

    After three years of intensive study, CHC released the HEAT (Health Equity Action Transformation) Report, connecting health inequities with redlining.
    2017

    Getting the Community Involved

    The HEAT Community Action Board was developed. The purpose of the HEAT CAB is to take action to improve lived experiences, to build trust, and to develop a mutual understanding between residents and the institutions or organizations that provide or are seeking to provide services to the community.

    Improving Political Understanding

    The Servicing LIPPS (Legislative Interactions Producing Positive Solutions) project was created to provide education on those running for office to the community and empower people to become more involved in their local government. This project came out of the HEAT CAB (Health Equity Action Transformation Community Action Board).

    Expanding Services and Support

    Enroll Wyandotte became Kansas Assisters Network, establishing itself as an insurance resource for the community as well as assisting in navigating other healthcare needs.
    2018

    Expanding Focuses

    Cradle Kansas City and the Cradle Community Action Board were created in response to the increasing infant mortality rate and widened gap of infant/maternal death rates between Black and White babies and mothers across the country and in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

    Connecting with Various Community Groups

    The Every Baby To 1 program was initially launched under the Cradle KC program. This program engages the faith community to develop education materials, efforts, and initiatives that address Black infant mortality.
    2019

    Growing to Further Support

    CHC partnered with Health Forward Foundation to strengthen the CHW program, allowing CHC to hire more Community Health Workers and service a wider community.
    2020

    Changing and Expanding

    Kansas Assisters Network changed to Kansas Assistance Network, LLC, and became a licensed, non-profit insurance agency.

    Recognizing a Gap in the Community

    WyCo Mutual Aid was formed to facilitate aid and support between members of the community and got right to work in June of 2020.
    2021

    Increasing Access and Equity

    The WyCo Connect initiative launched in partnership with Unified Government of Wyandotte Public Health Department (UGPHD) to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community. This initiative dispersed over a dozen CHWs into the community to connect people to COVID-19 related education, support, and resources.
    2022

    Creating Additional Focus and Support

    The Universal Maternal Community Health Worker pilot project was officially launched to address gaps in maternal-infant resources and care in Leavenworth, Miami, Johnson, and Wyandotte Counties.

    Twenty Impactful People to the History of CHC

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    Donna Young

    Current Executive Director

    Molly Gotobed 4x5-1

    Molly Gotobed

    Program Director of KAN

    Mariah Chrans 4x5-2

    Dr. Mariah Chrans, Ph.D

    Project Director of Cradle KC

    WyCoCHC149

    Lucia Jones Herrera

    Former Project Manager

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    Jerry Jones

    Former Executive Director

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    Dr. Manuel Solano

    Former Program Director

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    Broderick Crawford

    Contributor to Multiple Programs and Projects

    Carla Moralez Update-3

    Carla Moralez

    CHW Team Lead

    Ricardo Ortiz 4x6-1 (1)

    Ricardo Ortiz

    Community Health Specialist

    Carolina Biagi smiling in brown top

    Carolina Biagi

    Program Manager of KAN

    Shalese Clay 4x5-1

    Shalese Clay

    Program Manager of EB1

    Kimberly

    Kimberly Weaver

    Community Organizer for WyCo Mutual Aid

    Ken Davis - Headshot

    Ken Davis

    Founding Executive Director

    Vanessa Camacho 4x6-1

    Vanessa Camacho

    CHW Program Coordinator

    Dustin Hare 4x6-1

    Dustin Hare

    Community Organizer for WyCo Mutual Aid

    Michael Mayberry - Former ED Headshot

    Michael Mayberry

    Former Executive Director

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    Dr. Mary Redmon

    CHC Board Member

    Cathy Harding Update 4x5-1

    Cathy Harding

    CHC Board Secretary/Treasurer

    Angela McCall smiling with grey top

    Angela McCall

    Community Health Worker

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    Guadalupe Tredway

    CHW Supervisor