Access to nutritious and affordable food plays a critical role in people’s overall health. To address this, Saint Francis Hospital is testing a model that integrates community health workers (CHWs) into patients’ care teams within its Food as Medicine program, and funding from the Connecticut Health Foundation will support data collection and information gathering to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach.
The Food as Medicine program aims to address the lack of access to healthy food and care coordination in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods in Hartford, and the higher rates of chronic conditions and mortality associated with that lack of access. Patients with uncontrolled hypertension will be referred to the program, where they will receive nutrition education, behavioral interventions, and wrap-around social care. Dieticians, pharmacists, and CHWs will be part of their care teams.
Through this program, Saint Francis Hospital will pilot a more intensive use of CHW services by expanding their capacity to help patients manage their disease on their own. The workers are trained in chronic disease management and will be coaching patients on how to monitor, record, and manage their blood pressure. An extensive evaluation of this intervention will be completed, and the $50,000 grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation will be used to specifically evaluate the role of CHWs in improving health outcomes for participants, as well as health care cost savings.
“We know how valuable community health workers are in improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities,” said Tiffany Donelson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation. “This evaluation will help to show the impact of having community health workers be fully integrated into a primary care team that addresses patients’ needs in a holistic way. We hope the findings will help other organizations better understand how to incorporate community health workers into their care teams for improved health outcomes.”
“At Trinity Health of New England, we are redefining the role of community health workers to meet the evolving needs of our patients and communities,” said Carolyn Alessi, regional director of community health and well being and the Curtis D. Robinson Center for Health Equity at Trinity Health of New England, the parent company of Saint Francis Hospital. “By expanding their focus beyond social needs screenings to include chronic disease management and care coordination, we’re not only enhancing the value they bring to the health care team, but also advancing our commitment to whole-person care. This evaluation is a critical step in demonstrating the impact CHWs can have as trusted, high-value members of our clinical care teams.”
Other Grants: