The Lennox Area Ambulance has been awarded a $50,000 grant through a partnership with the SD Department of Health and the Community Health Worker Coalition of South Dakota. The purpose of the grant is to send students to Community Health Worker class and start a Community Health Worker program within the communities they work.
A Community Health Worker helps bridge gaps between the community and the health/social services system. Currently this is areimbursable service through Medicaid and hopefully soon through Medicare. Three students from Lennox - Amy Roseland, Brenda Sinning, and Alan Perry - started classes in late August and will complete the course through Lake Area Technical Institute in December. After completion, a Community Health Worker program will be starting in the Lennox Area Ambulance’s territory.
The ultimate goal of a Community Health Worker is collaborating with our at-risk populations to connect them with resources to improve their health and quality of life. Some tasks that would fall in the purview of the Community Health Worker program would be assisting with finding housing or medical equipment for someone following a hip replacement or an injury, connecting someone with resources to help create food stability, educating clients with a new medical diagnosis and how to manage that diagnosis, or transportation resources for medical appointments. Stay tuned after the first of the year for more exciting updates and information as we look to implement this program in our community.