Ebony Curry is beaming.
With temperatures dropping quickly, she’s been worried about one of her clients–someone who’s been in and out of the ER a lot lately–who can no longer fit into his winter coat. After a series of calls, she’s found one that will fit and clearly can’t wait to get it to him.
As a community health worker with the Livingston-Washtenaw Community Health Innovation Region (CHIR), Ebony is part of a diverse coalition of caregivers at 11 local organizations that are working together to serve hundreds of residents who are struggling with the kind of complex health and social issues that can land them in the ER repeatedly.
On the health side, many of their clients have multiple chronic medical conditions–things like heart problems, breathing disorders, diabetes, chronic pain, mental health challenges, substance use addictions, and more. On the social side, their clients have housing challenges, food shortages, transportation needs, financial concerns–the list goes on.
“Usually you go to them and they tell you one problem and you help them with that,” says Ebony, who works at the Washtenaw Health Plan. “You keep going to them and you find out there’s more, much more, like layers of an onion.”
Read the February/March newsletter online for this story, and more, including:
- February stakeholders meeting focuses on strategic priorities: 2019 – 2022
- Five-dozen collaborate on action plan to improve community wellbeing, reduce harm from substance use
- WHI Medicaid and Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment work group organizations enroll thousands
- Welcome new Steering Committee members
- Mental Health and Public Safety Millage update
- Projected impacts of Medicaid work requirements: An overview of current state proposals
- Upcoming meetings
- Voices of the WHI: Dale Berry, retired president, Huron Valley Ambulance
- News of note
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