VANCOUVER, Wash., June 15, 2017 -Â The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington has received a $6,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation. The grant will help fund a part-time community health worker position on the clinic's diabetes program team. Community health workers serve as the "voice of the patient" regarding non-medical needs like transportation and education.
The Free Clinic provides a transitional program to serve patients with diabetes. The goal is to stabilize the patient's condition and help patients transfer to a primary care medical home that serves the uninsured. The process often requires a year but may require less time with the contributions of a community health worker, or CHW. CHWs help patients overcome non-medical barriers that can aggravate diabetes, including a lack of healthy food, affordable housing or employment.
"We're grateful to Wells Fargo for their help in funding our CHW position," says Free Clinic Executive Director Barbe West. "Many of our diabetic patients face barriers so substantial that the patients can't attend to their diabetes. The CHW will join our clinical diabetes care team and address these social support issues."
About the Free Clinic:
The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington provides free, compassionate, quality health care to children and adults who are otherwise unable to obtain such services. The Free Clinic offers medical, dental, vision and specialty care services from 500 volunteer professionals. The Free Clinic is funded by the local community, and all donations stay in Southwest Washington. For more information about the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington, visit our website: freeclinics.org.
Wells Fargo Awards $6,000 Grant to the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington for "Voice of the Patient" Position
June 16, 2017
