Accepting the grant award from CareSource Foundation are members of Access Tusc and Bridges to Wellness HUB: Paula Lancaster, Lynn Angelozzi, Sarah Endlich, Yvette Schupbach, Danielle Thompson of CareSource Foundation, Jessica Kinsey, Maegan Cummings and Jennifer Sheets. (Access Tuscarawas) 

DOVER - The non-profit Access Tuscarawas is using a $5,000 grant from the CareSource Foundation to expand its Bridges to Wellness HUB program.

The HUB program connects area residents to identified health and social services in Tuscarawas County. It involves Community Health Workers making in-home visits to area families, reviewing and assessing their current needs for healthcare and social services, and assisting with scheduling appointments, completing required documents and forms, and other tasks.

Program Director Sarah Endlich says the grant money will be used to train a new Community Health Worker, purchase the software and equipment, and provide a $500 incentive to any agency in Tuscarawas County that will employ that worker. 

“By utilizing Community Health Workers in the HUB, new local employment positions are created, existing community resources are used efficiently and effectively and the potential to maximize community partnerships by entering into a relationship with Bridges to Wellness is positive,” she explains.

Bridges to Wellness HUB connects individuals to the services in the county to remove social and medical barriers and create positive outcomes for each family. A Community Health Worker provides community-based services to the families within their homes to increases family participation and allow the CHW to build a rapport with clients in a familiar setting.

“Throughout Tuscarawas County, many individuals are suffering because they are unable to access healthcare,” Endlich says.” Through our secure communication and accountability and with continued support from the agencies in our community, the impact that Bridges to Wellness HUB could have is limitless.”

Endlich says working to improve health outcomes requires more than access to medical care. It also encompasses behavioral health, as well as social, environmental and educational factors. She says all of these factors must be addressed holistically and comprehensively to improve health for an individual or a population. 

Risk factors addressed at the individual level include housing, pregnancy assistance, smoking cessation, insurance, medical home, family planning, access to medication, transportation, dental, employment, adult education, and evidence-based parenting instruction. Endlich says there are specific evidence-based and best practice interventions available to address each of these factors.  

The Bridges to Wellness HUB pilot program focuses on pregnant women with Medicaid insurance who have barriers in their lives and women of child-bearing age struggling with recent or current opiate addiction. In its first 13 months, the program has served 62 families.

Endlich says the program is accepting referrals from anyone in Tuscarawas County, with plans developing to expand the program into Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey and Muskingum counties.

Access Tuscarawas involves a voluntary collaborative of 23 area healthcare, education and social services agencies to provide a common resource for area residents seeking services.

For more information about the organization or the HUB program, visit www.accesstusc.org/bridges-to-wellness or call 330-308-3591. 

ACCESS TUSCARAWAS