Community health workers provide critical services during pandemic

Physicians may find some relief from administrative burdens by utilizing community health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, a speaker at the virtual North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Rural Primary Care Conference said.

“A community health worker (CHW) is a trusted member of the community trained to support disadvantaged individuals,” John Resendes, MA, LPA, HSP-PA, LCAS-A, an analytics and innovations manager at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, told attendees. “They help patients navigate the health care field and resources available.”

Resendes said that often, contract tracers or health department workers will refer patients who test positive for COVID-19 to a CHW. The CHW then refers the patient to primary care, case management, nutrition assistance and behavioral health services; provides rides to appointments; and facilitates home delivery of medications. Perhaps just as importantly, the CHW stays in touch with the patient, he said.

“They're going to follow up to make sure the individual receives those services and that the individual has everything they need to quarantine and isolate,” Resendes said. “They're going to look for solutions so when barriers appear and deficits are discovered, they try to bridge the gaps and help these folks connect the dots and get what they need.”

According to Resendes, CHWs frequently use their experiences to steer advocacy efforts and policy changes, and they often share their experiences with other CHWs as part of quality improvement efforts. However, CHWs cannot provide long-term case management “beyond the scope of COVID-19,” complete benefit applications for patients or offer medical advice, he said.

COVID-19 has spurred “a lot of bidirectional communication and process flows from the health care and support services sectors,” Resendes said. “As these referrals come through, community health workers act as the middle hub of the spokes on the wheel, connecting and navigating for these individuals so that they can have the resources to help quarantine and isolate.”