Thanks to a generous grant from United Health Foundation and partnerships with Mid-America Regional Council and KC Care Clinic, we’re able to provide the robust services of our community health worker program. From time to time, we like to share success stories. Here’s CHW Carissa, talking about an experience from earlier this year.

A client was referred to me with a need to have their own primary care physician. This client is from Africa and had just moved to the U.S. around the beginning of this year. The client told me that it had been around ten years since they’d visited a doctor due to finances. After I explained the program and enrolled them in the program with the help of CyraCom interpreter services, I gave a brochure with the list of safety net clinics they could choose from to register and begin regular medical care.

Since language is a barrier, even with using the phone interpreter services, my client did not always understand exactly what I was explaining. We went together to the clinic twice because of forgotten paperwork or missing information that was required. After three attempts, my client was finally able to register and receive their first doctor’s appointment within a week. The patient was very thankful that I was able to assist them.