Community HealthWorks

Reviewed by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation

Community HealthWorks (formerly Sacramento Covered) has been connecting the greater Sacramento community to health and supportive services since 1998.  We offer our free services in hospital emergency rooms, community clinics, shelters, homeless encampments, our main office, schools, and additional sites throughout the community.  Our work to achieve and expand healthcare access and care coordination for all, spans numerous projects to ensure people not only receive a complete scope of services, but also are fully prepared to navigate the healthcare system once they access it. Our key programs and initiatives include our Health Navigator Program, Patient Navigator Program, and Field-Based Outreach & Engagement.

Our innovative programs are the cornerstone of our work.  In 2021 alone, we provided over 173,000 services to connect people to the care they need to stay healthy and safe.  Our team represents the remarkable diversity of the communities we serve and supports residents with mitigating specific barriers to care through a one-on-one, peer-driven approach.  They are responsive to the ever-changing healthcare environment and knowledgeable about available resources to address various social determinants of health, including the lack of health coverage and access to doctors, language differences, low literacy levels, lack of transportation, food insecurity, and housing insecurity.  Our service model involves directly enrolling people in affordable health, dental and nutrition programs, as well as providing education about health plans and healthcare utilization, helping people get established with a doctor by scheduling their health appointments, transportation and language interpretation, coordinating housing needs, providing advocacy, and linking people to the right resources.

More recently, we expanded our services to best respond to the impact of COVID-19.  We are now providing contact tracing, case investigation and resource coordination.  At the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, we delivered over 21,000 fresh meals over a 10-week period to vulnerable and medically fragile clients.  We distributed PPE and emergency supplies to homeless providers and encampments, implemented medical e-consult in the field for the unsheltered community, assisted with SSI claims and coordinated rapid housing for those most vulnerable.  We also facilitated 278 room and board placement as part of the Governor's housing subsidy program, Project Roomkey.

We work closely with healthcare providers, physicians, housing agencies, hospitals, law enforcement, and other health and social services to improve care coordination and wraparound services for clients.

In addition to our work, we host an annual free community health event called Healthy Community Day (formerly Healthy Kids Day) to provide the public with free on-site health screenings, flu vaccinations, fresh produce, enrollment into health and nutrition programs, and other important resources. Our October 2020 drive-through event administered over 500 flu vaccinations and gave away more than 2,000 bags of fresh fruits and vegetables for people to take home.

Mission

Community HealthWorks is dedicated to advancing community, social, and economic health one person at a time.

Needs

Support for covering costs of unmet needs for families and individuals: Many of our clients often struggle with barriers that make accessing care and staying healthy difficult. Donations will go toward providing families and individuals with additional financial assistance for services beyond restricted grants and program dollars. Some examples of how this fund has helped cover unmet needs include, but are not limited to, bridge funding for rent to keep a person housed, out-of-pocket expenses for medication, eyeglasses, dental surgery, infant car seats, legal assistance fees, food, and other expenses incurred when trying to access health services.

General staffing support: Continued employment of our culturally competent, multilingual team is often at the forefront of our budget considerations. Any additional funding, we can secure for staffing will go directly toward fostering an efficient, well-trained employment system to meet the health needs of the diverse Sacramento community.

Outreach and service support: The cost of off-hours staffing and hosting community events, such as our annual "Saturday Enrollment Days" and "Healthy Community Day" would benefit from increased funding.

Office space: Additional office space is needed throughout the Sacramento region for face-to-face interactions so people can meet with Community HealthWorks' staff in a private, comfortable atmosphere.

Equity Statement

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Community HealthWorks

other names

CoHeWo

Year Established

1998

Tax id (EIN)

68-0377256

Mission Category

Health Care

Operating Budget

$10,000,001-$100 million

Organization Need

Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Other, Funding: Program, Space: Office or Other

Demographics Served

Veterans, Youth & Children

Local Counties Served

Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo

Address

819 19th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

Service areas

Sacramento, CA, US

Phone

916-414-8333

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