There have been many stories shared by community partners on the issue of accessible health care in Orange County along with numerous brainstorming sessions with community partners on how to address the issue and by asking “why?” multiple times to better understand the issue or concern. Although we are promoting the Medicaid expansion, there are still people in our community who make too much to qualify for assistance, yet they are still struggling. Part of this priority is to also ensure those people are receiving accessible health services. The cost of health services is too high for a majority of the population, especially when factors such as copays and transportation to appointments are included. The CHW coalition goal is to ensure that people can make an appointment, get to an appointment, have the ability to make follow-up appointments, and have the support needed to get to/from these steps. One important piece of the CHW coalition goal is assistance for the non-English speaking population, as translation and lack of assistance often results in incorrect information being provided on forms, which can affect their appointment times/services.

• Piedmont Health Services
• UNC – ex. Financial services/charity care handout
• Duke 
• Alliance
• DSS
• BOH
• Local politics
• Orange County and Chapel Hill libraries
• Orange County Department on Aging
• UNC Health System, including SHAC
• AKA Chapel Hill and Hillsborough graduate chapters
• Sigma Gamma Rho sorority graduate chapter
• Other fraternities/sororities
• NCDHHS
• Schley Grange
• Ruritan clubs
• Residents
• Court system
• Compass Center
• Rape Crisis Center
• Planned Parenthood
• Churches/faith organizations
• Recreation facilities
• Orange County Criminal Justice
• NC SECU
• WIC
• Jackson Center
• Veterans groups
• Diaper Bank of NC
• El Futuro
• El Centro
• OCIM
• Piedmont AHEC
• Regional Council
• Community centers
• NAACP
• RENA
• Orange County Sports Complex
• Orange County Crisis Unit
• NCIPH
• WCHL/Chapelboro
• Media partners
• Pharmacies
• Home health agencies
• Insight Human Services
• Childcare facilities
• Apartments/Neighborhoods
• Refugee Community Partnership
• Orange Literacy
• Meals on Wheels
• Vocational rehabilitation
• IFC
• LGBTQ center Durham

• Expanding Medicaid and connecting people to Medicaid enrollment information and services.
• Connecting people to other health insurance, like Affordable Care Act coverage, and safety net providers and other financial assistance
• Information and education on healthcare system navigation, including information about having a medical home
• Providing information in multiple formats—online, phone, paper, etc. in languages of the community and with graphics if applicable to help with language and literacy barriers. Multiple formats also help with people who may have personal preference for one format over the other, or who have language, literacy, vision, hearing, or other concerns.
• Connection with a wide variety of community partners who may be able to better reach varied populations due to relationships, language, culture, comfort, etc.
• Coalition of local community health workers to improve collaboration and engagement with the public and area services
• Working across community agencies and systems to reduce silos and confusion
• Meeting the people where they are
• Sharing information on social media, website, and at community events or through community displays or message boards
• Sharing information with formal and informal community leaders
• Education between CHWs and health care organizations in the community to ensure that the referral process is completed, that information on forms are correct (there is a non-English native speaker population which can sometimes translate into incorrect information being provided), and that people are able to obtain appointments.
• Messaging and education to those seeking health care that certain providers may have wait lists, there may be additional screenings needed, etc. to prepare them for the experience.
• A resource document for CHWs and others to reference about safety net providers.
• Ensuring that those seeking health care have the appropriate translation services.
• Multiple partners are in the process of training group members on how to assist with Medicaid enrollment.
• There are plans to merge some coalitions/committees that are working on the same topics so that there are less siloes and that we are all better educated on services in the community.
• The county library has plans to turn into a community hub where information on services and assistance connecting to those services will be provided.