Wyoming initiative to address covid-19 health disparities among populations at high-risk and underserved, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities - the wyoming…

Wyoming initiative to address covid-19 health disparities among populations at high-risk and underserved, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities - the wyoming department of health (WDH), through the public health division (PHD), will address covid-19-related health disparities and advance health equity by expanding the state health department?s capacity and services. Our intended outcomes align with that of the grant: 1) reduced covid-19-related health disparities; 2) improve and increase testing and contact tracing among populations at higher risk and that are underserved; and 3) improve state health department capacity and services to prevent and control covid-19 infection (or transmission) among populations at higher risk and that are underserved. In support of these outcomes, wyoming has identified an approach that meets the current needs and priorities of the state, while also accounting for related activities occurring under other covid-19 relief funding or within other state agencies. Wyoming?s application includes activities in all four strategies; however, most of activities are housed within strategies three and four, emphasizing infrastructure, partnerships, and social determinants of health. We recognize that several proposed activities may intersect with more than one strategy. We have only listed the activity under the strategy IT has the strongest alignment with. Wyoming's overall approach is summarized in the following paragraphs.healthcare systems infrastructurewyoming?s healthcare systems, especially those in rural and frontier communities, are critical to our response and recovery. As such, we propose expanding and supporting vital elements of our healthcare system to increase access to covid-19 testing and vaccination, as well as supporting management and control of comorbid conditions. This will include healthcare system infrastructure improvements, healthcare preparedness and planning, and improved access to testing, vaccination, and other necessary healthcare services intended to reduce covid-19 health disparities in communities of color, among people with higher risk or who are underserved, and rural communities. Sample activities include expansion of community EMS, community health worker programs, provider education, and vaccination site accessibility and availability improvements.language accessthe pandemic has illustrated gaps in language access for communities across the state. We propose improving culturally and linguistically responsive communication, outreach, and diversity of message delivery. Sample activities include interpreter training and support, improving access to interpreter and translation services, targeted outreach to individuals who are limited english proficiency (LEP) or who have other accessibility needs (e.g., visual or hearing impairments), and assessing language access needs and implementing subsequent recommendations.social determinants of health social determinants of health (sdoh) influence a range of outcomes. Covid-19 mitigation strategies have had a range of social and economic outcomes, including job loss, challenges meeting basic needs, and loss of connection to many social systems people rely on to meet a range of health and social needs. Sample activities include addressing the sdoh needs of communities, improving infrastructure and built environments in cross-sector settings, and improving access to public health information, testing, and vaccination. Partnerships and planningpartnerships and planning efforts are vital to our recovery and ability to move into a thriving future. We propose supporting future preparedness planning initiatives, identifying and implementing state health improvement planning (ship)-related activities as related to covid-19 impacts on ship priorities, supporting the public health division with ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce that is developed and supp