Community Health Workers

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Community Health Workers are frontline public health workers that educate, advocate and empower community members on a verity of health issues and link them to available community resources and programs.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) tasks include:

  • Act as a liaisons between health organizations and the community they serve.
  •  Providing resources and support needed to cope with chronic, acute, and terminal illnesses.
  •  Advocate for and connect client to vital resources such as financial assistance, legal aid, housing, job placement, education, and/or social/peer support.

Healthcare.gov

Our community health workers are trained to provide a range of health services, including the promotion of a tobacco-free lifestyle, nutrition education, prevention and management of chronic diseases, education, promotion of healthy lifestyles among youth, and skills for immigrants/refugees to navigate the U.S. health system.

In building this culture of health awareness, our Community Health Workers provide advocacy and support in coordinating referrals to health care and community services.

NMPHI’S Community Health Workers help immigrants and refugees learn about the Affordable Care Act and assist them with their health insurance enrollment. Our Community Health Workers meet with community members individually and in groups to provide education and awareness of the new health care law and the importance of preventative health care for individuals and families in our community.

Please fill out the form below to request a community health worker:

Health Literacy

Health literacy is the “degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make proper health decisions.” Health literacy is not only the ability to read information, but also the ability to understand oral communication, terminologies, understand how to navigate the health system on a basic level, as well as the capacity to communicate with health care providers and their staff. A large portion of members of the immigrant and refugee community that NMPHI serves are socio-economically disadvantaged, medically underserved with low literacy rates, particularly with the older demographics.

These communities need assistance in understanding and navigating through the complex U.S. health care system. The following are skills are essential for patients to be health literate:
• Communicate health problems to providers and understand health information being  conveyed

• Read prescription instructions, understand and follow treatment regimens
• Read and understand warning labels to recognize potentially life-threatening complications and side effects of medication being prescribed
• Device self-care strategies and manage their health independently
• Read and understand necessary documents such as health insurance forms, informed consent, and treatment plans.


Limited health literacy result in poor health outcomes and higher health costs. Large number of immigrant and refugee communities have difficulties understanding complex medical terminologies, have hard time understanding the English language, struggle with filling out medical forms, or have limited access or knowledge of healthcare providers in Androscoggin County.

Thus, health care literacy is a vital component in the effort to decrease barriers to healthcare access and disparities. With proper training of health care professionals, the staff at NMPHI we can identify the client’s specific health need and provide assistance or refer them to the appropriate resource/providers.

Rehabilitative community Support Services

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Maine Section 28 Rehabilitative community Support Services

Rehabilitative and community service (RCS) is designed to meet the needs of children and young adults with cognitive impairments.

The program focus on behavioral management, social skills development, daily living goals and community integration. By build on family strength and available community resources, the service empower family to work toward self-sufficiency.

NMPHI’s RCS works to:

  • Mastering daily living skills
  • Decreasing unsafe behaviors
  • Empowering and connecting family to resources

Eligibility Criteria

  • Under 21 years of age
  • Current mental health or intellectual disability diagnosis
  • Active Mainecare

Targeted Case Management (TCM)

Meeting with Case Manager

Targeted Case Management (TCM) – Section 13

Targeted case management is a child centered, family driven, and community based program. This service supports families with children who have behavioral issues, intellectual disability, and several medical conditions.

Case Managers will:

  • Identify and link client to appropriate resources.
  • Assess consumer and family needs by making home visits, collecting records and interviewing consumers, family/caregivers.
public health week

NMPHI Objectives

NMPHI is committed to empower, inform, and educate New Mainers on health-related information. It is also committed to developing the capacity of the communities by mobilizing the communities’ partnerships through assessment, to solve health problems, thereby, bridging the gap of healthcare service.

Objectives

  • To educate New Mainers to overcome healthcare barriers,
  • To empower New Mainers to actively participate in their diagnoses by learning about the disease,
  • To promote preventive measures through dietary changes,
  • To increase the level of knowledge and awareness of certain diseases,
  • To increase the cultural competence of healthcare providers with an emphasis on refugees and immigrants’ traditions, religion, and cultural beliefs and how these affect perceptions and expectations,
  • To develop culturally appropriate health education materials to effectively communicate preventive health messages to the New Mainers,
  • And to share resources and materials with New Mainers and healthcare providers, and other agencies throughout Maine to increase overall awareness of refugee health needs.

NMPHI Programs, in Brief

Below are the programs currently being offered by NMPHI

  • Rehabilitations Community Services (RCS)
  • Behavioral Health Professional (BHP)
  • Target Case Manager for developmental children (TCM)
  • Health Literacy (HL) – Women’s Health
  • Community Health Worker (CHWs)
  • Navigating Healthcare Field for New Mainers Youth
  • New Mainers Autism Awareness Initiative

NMPHI is committed to empower, inform, and educate New Mainers on health-related information. It is also committed to developing the capacity of the communities by mobilizing the communities’ partnerships through assessment, to solve health problems, thereby, bridging the gap of healthcare service.

Activities & Updates October ’19

Programs Activities and Updates:

  • Rehabilitations Community Services (RCS) Work with children who have developmental delays, some autistic children in Lewiston/Auburn Area.
  • Behavioral Health Professional (BHP) we now have employed eleven BHPs and two office employees. Referrals are mostly through friends and self-referrals.
  • Target Case Management for developmental delay children (TCM)
  • Health Literacy (HL) – a once a month educational and informative section that is held at B Street in Lewiston to females to learn how to care for of their health and learn about disease and other health information.

Women’s Health update

Women’s Health focuses on women and young girls on how they can take care of themselves and their bodies. Through education forum and platform women and young girls will hold discussions and have dialogue with providers and the community. Members will be afforded opportunity to learn diseases and will allow both sides to focus on the importance of self-care. NMPHI will be targeting women and young girls. NMPHI will reach out to local communities, offer adult education in Lewiston and Auburn to increase awareness of women’s health. This will help promote health among women and young girls. It will also lead to increased awareness and involvement via community participation in health-related matters not only of women and young girls but all the community.

Community Health Workers (CHWs)

Community Health Workers (CHWs) – connection and working with providers who have complicated cases that require a smooth transition and continuity of care for the patients.

Navigating Healthcare Field for New Mainers

A youth program involved in taking youths out on trips. Increased participation is leading to many youths being left behind because of transportation issues. Maximum students taken are 25 kids. Parents and children have to go through several orientations and information about the trip and program is provided to families, program what is needed, application, shot record and consent form. Second orientation advises children about the rules and regulation on the bus and parents sign.

New Mainers Autism Awareness Initiative

New Mainers Autism Awareness Initiative is a workshop to increase awareness about developmental delays and autism, to increase awareness in the community since little is known in the New Mainers community.

Field trip for youth: UMass in Boston and UNE in Sanford

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the newest NMPHI newsletter.

Who are the New Mainers Public Health Initiative?

Get to know NMPHI…

Who are New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI)? NMPHI are made up of few students in the local colleges and universities who wanted to give back to their community. These ambitious students created MIPHI to promote health issues and bring about awareness on many health issues that affect their community. NMPHI employees work closely with their community to empower them with good healthcare- related habits. It is also there to educate the community them on various illnesses and how they can be engaged in carrying out both primary and secondary prevention of these diseases. As members of the community, we have a strong relationship with our community and can act as a buffering agent to the providers as well as other healthcare personnel. Our organization actively works with other agencies who closely work with the New Mainers in Lewiston and Auburn area. NMPHI members also participate in the New Mainers Community Collaborative meetings.