Healthy Community Forum For The Greater Sacramento Region

Health Navigation Program: Community HealthWorks (CoHeWo) is the Sacramento regions leading health access and enrollment assistance organization dedicated to achieving health care access and coordination for all area residents. CoHeWos diverse team of Community Health Workers on the Health Navigation team are embedded in community settings throughout the Greater Sacramento Region and provide health sustaining supportive services to address social determinants of health which include, but not limited to: health coverage enrollment (new applications renewals, reporting changes); Medi-Cal intercounty transfers, plan selection or changes to assigned provider/health plan; CalFresh application; primary, dental or vision care appointments; transportation services; interpreting services; education on health coverage and nutrition programs; cell phone and identification provision; as well as facilitating referrals to other critical resources such as WIC, legal services, in-home supportive services (IHSS) and child care. In 2019, Community HealthWorks expanded its navigation program to add a pediatric navigator program at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. In 2024, the Pediatric Navigation program served 2,835 newborn babies connecting their families to critical coverage and medical homes and scheduled their 2-day follow-up appointments. During 2024, Community HealthWorks CHWs on the health navigation team provided about 93,537 navigation services to approximately 18,289 individuals, including in-person health coverage enrollment assistance, renewal/re-determination assistance, and retention of health coverage. They also offered health care education, outreach, troubleshooting assistance, and care coordination related to finding or changing a doctor, scheduling doctor appointments, and arranging transportation, language interpretation, and other requested services. 4,439 individuals were provided CalFresh services which include screening, education, enrollment and retention support.

Patient Navigation Program: The Patient Navigation program is a unique partnership with local hospital systems (Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis) to connect with patients visiting the Emergency Departments (ED) with Community Health Workers (CHWs) to address social determinants of health and navigate their healthcare system to achieve better health outcomes. Community HealthWorks manages a team of CHWs stationed in six local Emergency Departments (ED) throughout Sacramento County. ED CHWs are proven to be effective for ensuring lower-income, uninsured individuals are receiving Medi-Cal enrollment supports, navigation services for primary care, and long-term linkages to a health home. In 2024, CoHeWos Patient Navigation program provided over 65,900 services to 11,403 patients, who were seen in emergency departments for non-urgent, primary care reasons.