Avera Community Health Care Workers Create Connections for Diverse Population
Imagine spraining your ankle. No big deal, right? But if you were in another country alone, had limited skills with the language there and were clueless about where a clinic was located, a small problem could overwhelm you.
As more refugees and immigrants come to the Midwest, Avera is living its mission with the help of community health workers (CHWs). These professionals aren’t doctors and nurses – but they make huge differences in a wide range of groups who are considered underserved in the health care reality of the U.S.
“Our CHWs have lived experiences, and they understand realities others might overlook,” said Angela Schoffelman, Community Program Manager with Avera Medical Group Clinic Quality. “They serve to create connections and build trust.”
Schoffelman said CHWs are frontline staff members whom with communities can bond. They link services to the communities they serve; they can also improve service quality and cultural competence. CHWs also teach health knowledge and self-sufficiency through outreach and advocacy.
The Avera Community Health Resource Center opened near the Empower Campus in eastern Sioux Falls. The location was intentional: refugees and immigrants know the space as a place to find helpful support.
Avera uses the special talents of community health workers (CHWs) in many facilities, clinics and cities. Pictured here are Sioux Falls-based CHWs, who include, from left, Adane Redda, Tabitha Mathiang, Kendra Jasso-Chukwuyem, Moses Idris, Aluda Sisto and Nyareik Choul.
“Avera’s medical care teams do amazing things, yet there are spaces our CHWs can step into to forge ties and answer questions,” Schoffelman said. “We are an entry point for people who might not know how a clinic differs from a hospital or emergency room.”
Schoffelman also said the creation of safe spaces for individuals can help them make connections to health care. “Many people aren’t appropriately aware of care services,” she said.
Where Avera’s Community Health Workers Serve
Avera CHWs serve in many roles, including at:
“South Dakota Department of Health grant-funding provided the start of Avera’s CHW services,” said Colette Johnson, Community Health Worker Program Manager with Avera@Home.
“We’re just beginning to see what our CHWs can do to help augment clinical care,” Johnson said.
Avera CHW services help clinical teams in many small Midwestern cities. At Avera Marshall, a community health worker often helps members of the Karen community, a group from southern Myanmar, a nation near Thailand and China. Avera CHWs help them understand American health care resources near their homes.
Small Wins Can Lead to Big Successes
With team members from Mexico, South Sudan, Eritrea and other locations globally, the Sioux Falls-based Avera CHW crew is excited to identify issues, remove barriers and build bridges. There are four full-time workers, along with a growing group of part-time CHWs.
“Students attending Sioux Falls schools speak more than 100 languages,” Schoffelman said. “That’s just one city – so language is just one part of the challenge.”
Their focus on small successes – “singles instead of home runs” – works for them.
“A good example might be just explaining how daycare works, and how the application schedule works,” Schoffelman said. “Small groups, tiny meetings with one or two people – a few flyers and posters – they can add up over a longer duration.”
They might help a family with a housing application one day, then explain how to get a mammogram appointment set up later that afternoon.
Another example is reading and understanding food labels. “We had a situation where a woman realized the idea of ‘servings per container’ and she was so excited to tell others what she figured out,” said Schoffelman. “Tiny things can really click in a way that we might overlook.”
Read More: Sioux Falls Community Health Worker Finds Joy in Serving Those Who Need Help
Addressing Many Challenges, One at a Time
Julie Ward, Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, said community health workers are stepping up in the face of many difficult challenges.
“There are many crises in our part of the country, from mental health to childcare to COVID-19,” Ward said. “We know we can’t fix it all, all at once. Yet we understand there are times when we can make personal differences that make big, positive changes in people’s lives.”
Complicated problems require complex people who can learn, identify and empathize whenever a need rises.
“Avera’s mission is a real thing, something that links the newest member of a community to the most experienced physician in the system,” Schoffelman said. “Our team members create connections, so that it’s easier for people who need help to get just that.”
Learn more about how Avera is helping communities.
