Project Grant NH75OT000048

DOUGLAS COUNTY (NE) ADDRESSING COVID-19 HEALTH DISPARITIES - DOUGLAS COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT?S (DCHD) APPLICATION TO CDC FOR ?NATIONAL INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS COVID-19 HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG POPULATIONS AT HIGH-RISK AND UNDERSERVED, INCLUDING RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES WILL WORK TO ADDRESS NOT ONLY HEALTH DISPARITIES HIGHLIGHTED BY COVID-19 BUT WILL WORK TO BEGIN TO ADDRESS ?RACISM AS PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS?, A RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH IN JUNE 2020. THE GOAL OF THIS GRANT WILL BE TO REDUCE COVID-19 RELATED HEALTH DISPARITIES IN ADDITION TO IMPROVING AND INCREASING TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING AMONG POPULATIONS AT HIGHER RISK AND IMPROVING THE CAPACITY OF DCHD TO PREVENT AND CONTROL COVID-19 INFECTION AND TRANSMISSION AMONG POPULATIONS AT HIGHER RISK AND THAT ARE UNDERSERVED, INCLUDING RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS. DURING THE PAST 18 MONTHS DCHD HAS RESPONDED TO COVID-19 IN SEVERAL WAYS, NOT ONLY THROUGH TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING BUT WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COVID-19 INFORMATION LINE/CALL CENTER AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND INITIATION OF A HEALTH DEPARTMENT NAVIGATION (HDN) TEAM WHICH WORKS TO ASSIST THOSE WHO TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, WITH IDENTIFIED SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH (SDOH) NEEDS, WHILE THEY ARE BEING INSTRUCTED TO ISOLATE AND QUARANTINE AT HOME. THIS TEAM ASSISTS WITH SDOH NEEDS SUCH AS FOOD ASSISTANCE, RENT/MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE, UTILITY ASSISTANCE, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE (INCLUDING MENTAL HEALTH), TRANSPORTATION, ETC. SO THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN COMPLETE THE FULL TIMELINE FOR ISOLATION/QUARANTINE AND REDUCE RISK OF CONTINUED VIRUS TRANSMISSION. THE CHALLENGE IS THAT MANY OF THESE INDIVIDUALS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH SDOH NEEDS LONG AFTER THE ISOLATION/QUARANTINE PERIOD WHICH PUTS THEM AT CONTINUED RISK FOR HEALTH CONCERNS AND HEALTH DISPARITIES.THIS APPLICATION WILL BUILD THE WORKFORCE CAPACITY OF DCHD BY ESTABLISHING THE OFFICE OF HEALTH EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. THIS WILL INVOLVE HIRING A SUPERVISOR FOR THIS OFFICE IN ADDI TION TO A DESIGNATED EPIDEMIOLOGIST THAT WILL FOCUS ON COVID-19 SPECIFIC HEALTH DISPARITIES AND A COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATOR WHO WILL ASSIST WITH HEALTH EDUCATION/INFORMATION (WITH TRANSLATION OF ALL DOCUMENTS IN DESIGNATED LANGUAGES) AND HELPING TO ?TELL THE STORY? SPECIFIC TO THE HEALTH DISPARITY DATA. ADDITIONALLY, DCHD WILL HIRE SEVEN (7) COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS WHO WILL BE CROSS TRAINED TO FILL MULTIPLE ROLES. TWO CHWS WILL LEAD AND SUPPORT THE HDN TEAM, TWO CHWS WILL LEAD AND SUPPORT THE DCHD COVID INFORMATION LINE/CALL CENTER (PROCESSING SDOH NEEDS) AND THREE CHWS WILL BE EMBEDDED INTO THE DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMUNITY WITH ONE LOCATED IN THE NORTH OMAHA AREA, ONE LOCATED IN THE SOUTH OMAHA AND ONE LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED AS THEY WORK WITH AND REPRESENT THE REFUGEE POPULATION. THE FOCUS OF THE CHW WORKFORCE WILL BE TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS AS THEY IDENTIFY SDOH NEEDS AS IMPACTED BY COVID-19. THIS WILL INCLUDE ACCESS TO TESTING (PILOT FOR BINAXNOW TAKE HOME TEST), CONNECTION TO CONTACT TRACERS, SUPPORT TO MEET SDOH IF INSTRUCTED TO ISOLATE/QUARANTINE AT HOME, ACCESS TO COVID VACCINE, ETC.DCHD WILL ALSO REACTIVATE THE MONTHLY COVID-19 COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES WITH ONE GROUP FROM NORTH OMAHA, ONE FROM SOUTH OMAHA AND ONE REPRESENTING THE REFUGEE POPULATIONS. WHILE THERE ARE REPRESENTATIVES FROM COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN THESE ADVISORY MEETINGS THE FOCUS IS TO HEAR THE VOICES (CONCERNS, IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS) FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM THESE GEOGRAPHIC AND POPULATION AREAS. STIPENDS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS THEY ATTEND THESE MEETINGS AND PROVIDE THEIR TIME AND IDEAS TO ADDRESS HEALTH DISPARITY CONCERNS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. DCHD WILL WORK DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO BRING FORTH COVID -19 RELATED HEALTH DISPARITY DATA AND TO BEGIN TO HAVE IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONS ON HOW RACISM IS IMPACTING OUR ABILITY TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY THAT WILL IMPACT CHANGE FOR