Did you know that more than 300,000 preventable emergency room visits occur in our 13-county region each year? Through our Choose HEALTH program, United Way seeks to improve the health status of the working poor and other uninsured residents by reducing the number of ER visits and connecting individuals to a health care provider.
The Choose HEALTH program utilizes community health workers (CHW) to provide home visitation, health education and care coordination services to individuals who have been identified as frequent users of the hospital ER. Partners in this initiative include Grady Memorial Hospital, Saint Joseph’s Mercy Care, Family Health Centers of Georgia, Southside Medical Center and Oakhurst Medical Center.
The goal of Choose HEALTH is to place individuals on a path toward overall health and independence. In addition, CHWs may accompany participants to their medical appointments and assist them with asking questions about their health so they can be better advocates for themselves and work with their provider to improve their health.
The CHWs are trained professionals that can visit program participants in their homes to provide health education and share disease management techniques for those who suffer from common diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma. The pilot group of 20 patients visited the ER 136 times during the first six months of the program. In the last 90 days – with the support of the CHWs – ER visits have decreased to 13.
