Need someone to help people navigate county's health system?

By MEGAN COOPER

Mt. Pleasant News

A health navigator is what Henry County needs.

Henry County Board of Health chairman Robert Welander informed the board during Thursday?s meeting that having a health navigator would be a fascinating idea.

?A health navigator is a point of contact for people within the county who need help,? Welander said. ?It?s not an emergency service, not a primary care provider, not a case manager; it?s a person who has all the information and contacts available to help those in need and can direct them to the right service or place.?

Welander saw a presentation that shows what Dallas County does with a health navigator. As of right now, Dallas County has a health navigator and has the tools to set other counties up if so desired.

?They (Dallas County) operate on a donation basis right now from local entities,? explained Welander. ?They were the first to see if it would work, now they can go after grants if they want to.?

According to what Welander told the board, the health navigator can help with medical issues and non-medical issues, like housing needs, health coverage, food assistance, heat assistance, substance abuse, childcare, clothing, legal help, transportation, meals, dental and interpreters.

?Having something like this in the county helps to answer those questions that people have like: Who do you call? How do you know what to do? The navigator will help direct people to services they need,? Welander told the board. ?It?s a great service and the people who need help would finally have the answers they need.

?I don?t know how it will develop, but it?s kind of cutting edge. I don?t know if we have a specific program in place now, but I would like to see something like this or at least talk about it,? Welander expressed to the board.

Henry County Health Center CEO Robb Gardner added, ?It?s a very popular topic right now and I could see this happening in the next two to three years. But, we have to see who would be accountable and where the revenue would be. We also have to see how we would work with the public health offices.?

?I think this sounds amazing,? said vice-chairman Rose Lauer. ?It?s such a good idea.?

?I agree, the need is there. The people need something like this in the county because it would help answer questions that need to be answered. As I said before, people don?t know where to go. Right now, there could be six different people the person would have to go through. A health navigator would end that,? Welander finished.

During the meeting, the board listened to a presentation by Melissa Foster, who was from the Alcohol and Drug Dependency agency (ADDS) in Burlington. She told the board about the services they offer in Henry County and also how they work with the Henry County Substance Abuse Coalition.

?We do health fairs, we have booths with information, we got to schools, we present at driver?s education classes and we give out handouts,? said Foster. ?We do what we can to let our presence be known. Our staff is trained to present evidence-based curriculum.?

According to Foster, ADDs offers the same thing that the Henry County Substance Abuse Coalition does.

?We will work with them. We understand how hard it is to get a coalition together. Substance abuse is hard and it?s not a Monday through Friday job. We work before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. We work weekends. We understand how hard it is, but we need to offer the services we do and we love our job,? said Foster.

Lauer told Foster that they did a good job and thanked them for what they do in the county and around the area.

The board approved during the meeting:

? The Community Transformation Grant amendment.

? PHEP amendment.

? CFY amendment.

? FY15 lead grant application.

The Henry County Board of Health will meet again on Tuesday March 25, at 12:30 p.m., in the Health Education Center at HCHC.