FRESNO COUNTY'S INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS COVID-19 RELATED HEALTH DISPARITIES - PROJECT ABSTRACT SUMMARY ? FRESNO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTHFUNDING FROM CDC-RFA-OT21-2103 RECEIVED BY THE FRESNO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH (FCDPH) WILL BE USED TO ADDRESS COVID-19 RELATED HEALTH DISPARITIES AND ADVANCE HEALTH EQUITY IN UNDERSERVED AND DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED POPULATIONS. DURING THE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 IN FRESNO COUNTY, THE COVID EQUITY PROJECT WAS CREATED. THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SEVERAL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. THE GOAL WAS TO PROVIDE OUTREACH TO HARD-TO-REACH POPULATIONS FOR TESTING, EDUCATION, AND EVENTUALLY VACCINATION USING A COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER MODEL. BUILDING UPON THESE RELATIONSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES, FCDPH WOULD LIKE TO FURTHER TO DEVELOP THIS MODEL TO EXPAND OUTREACH TO ADDRESS OTHER SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND OTHER UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT MAY BE EXACERBATED BY COVID-19. FCDPH WILL FOCUS ON STRATEGIES 1, 3 AND 4. SOME OF THE KEY ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE:?CREATING AND RECRUITING A HEALTH EQUITY OFFICER POSITION. THIS POSITION WILL ALIGN ACTIVITIES WITH THE REGION AND THE STATE AND WILL EVENTUALLY SERVE OTHER COUNTY OF FRESNO DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS THE DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO BETTER ALIGN RESOURCES AND INFORMATION RELATED TO HEALTH EQUITY IN THE COUNTY. ?ALGIN COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER (CHW) ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY SO REFERRALS TO RESOURCES ARE MORE EFFICIENT AND SERVICES PROVIDED ARE MORE COMPREHENSIVE. FCDPH WILL WORK WITH LOCAL CBOS TO ENSURE THAT MOST CHWS RECEIVE COMMON TRAINING AND USE THE SAME TOOLS SO THAT SERVICES ARE MORE CONSISTENT IN THE COMMUNITY. PART OF THIS ALIGNMENT WILL INCLUDE THE IDENTIFICATION OR A COMMON SCREENING TOOL AS WELL AS A COMMON DATA INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM. ?EVALUATING, IDENTIFYING, AND IMPLANTING A COMMON HEALTH DATA SYSTEM FOR ALL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOS) TO USE IN ORDER TO INTERFACE WITH ALL COUNTY DEPARTMENTS. THIS COMMON S YSTEM WILL ALLOW CHWS WITH VARIOUS CBOS TO MORE EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY REFER CLIENTS TO RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY WRAP-AROUND SERVICES RELATED TO COVID-19. CHWS WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT CLIENTS FOLLOW THROUGH WITH ANY REFERRALS ?EVALUATE AND IDENTIFY A COMMON SOCIAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT CHWS CAN USE TO ENSURE THAT THEY CAN IDENTIFY ALL BARRIERS THAT A CLIENT MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. ALL CHWS WILL BE TRAINED IN THE USE OF THE TOOL AND BE FAMILIARIZED WITH THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ADDRESS THESE BARRIERS.