Kentucky CHW Stories
Kentucky CHW Ally
Dr. Frances Feltner describes just one of the many instances she has witnessed in which a Community Health Worker with Kentucky Homeplace was able to save a life. Dr. Feltner is the director of the UK Center for Rural Excellence in Hazard, KY, and has been involved with Kentucky Homeplace since its beginning over 30 years ago. Kentucky Homeplace was the first organization to deploy Community Health Workers in the state and now has 32 people assisting clients primarily in eastern Kentucky.
Community Health Workers come from many backgrounds and usually work within the health care system or other nonprofit organizations. CHWs typically reside in the community they serve and can reach residents where they live, eat, play, work, and worship. CHWs are frontline agents of change, helping to reduce health disparities in underserved communities.
Created by Appalshop
Kentucky CHW
The job of a Community Health Worker (or CHW for short) is often about so much more than just helping clients address particular health issues.
For instance, it's hard to keep healthy if you don't have someplace to stay. And in this clip, CHW Debra Moss, of Community Medical Clinic, in Oak Grove, Ky., explains how she was able to keep one of her clients from getting evicted from her home. This particular client was caring for a grandparent with dementia, which would have made eviction all the more traumatic, and difficult, for the family.
Debra, or "Ms. D," as she is known to her clients, is one of more than 200 CHWs across Kentucky who provide the vital service of helping connect local people with care who might not receive it otherwise—those untold thousands of our neighbors who fall through the cracks in the healthcare system.
