Population: 131,730
Project focus: Access to foods that support healthy eating patterns, access to health services
Goals:
- Strengthen collaborative relationships between local social service providers, healthcare providers, and the community
- Increase access to food security services and health care through the mobilization of Community Health Workers who will work with at-risk residents to connect them to available resources
- Collaborate with partners to inform and create a community-wide food security approach
- Expand at-risk population to be served by Community Care HUB
- Support the development of a CHW workforce in our region and impact systems-level policy change for the CHW workforce in PA
Approaches and Partners
1889 Foundation, Inc., with 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health, Community Action Partnership of Cambria County, Beginnings, Inc., Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy and Greater Johnstown School District, organized together to use their community’s strong voice to improve health outcomes in their county. The project team implemented a Pathways Community HUB model to improve care coordination within their county. A community advisory council also guided the HUB to make sure that community voice was central to the planning and implementation of their work and that they actively met their community’s priorities.
Successes (as of September 2022)
The project team deployed and trained community health workers to comprehensively address both access to foods that support healthy eating patterns and access to health services by connecting residents to community resources. One 1889 JCPH staff member and two community members even became fully certified to train community health workers locally and nationally. This new capacity allows 1889 JCPH to be the first local community health worker trainer and expands the opportunity to grow the community health workforce in Cambria and Somerset counties.
The project team also finalized and widely disseminated its first-ever annual report in February 2022 to share HUB data related to closed pathways and participants served, as well as progress towards community initiatives related to food access and housing. As a new organization in their community, this action is crucial to building credibility and transparency with the community in Cambria county!
Snapshot 1 (July - December 2020) | Snapshot 2 (January - June 2021) | Snapshot 3 (July - December 2021)
Resources:
Check out NACo's interviews with each of the the 10 county-based teams, including Cambria County.