St. Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO) has launched a Community Health Ambassadors (CHA) program to promote healthy living, screen for and prevent chronic disease and engage citizens to be active in their health care.
The goal of the program is to extend SJMO’s community outreach efforts in the greater-Pontiac area. Working with the hospital’s Community Programs Department, the CHAs will build new and strengthen existing relationships at community “gathering places” in their assigned territories—churches, schools, community centers, grocery/convenience stores, salons/barbershops, block clubs, housing developments and more.
The CHAs will arrange outreach and health education opportunities, which include screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol in addition to Body Mass Index measurements. They will be responsible for the planning and implementation of the events, coordinating them with the SJMO Community Programs Department, conducting the screenings and promoting the department’s other events and classes.
Each CHA is required to have 16 hours of training before being assigned a territory. To earn the $2,250 stipend, each CHA must engage 150 different participants in health promotion/screening events during the course of the program year.
The goal of the program is to extend SJMO’s community outreach efforts in the greater-Pontiac area. Working with the hospital’s Community Programs Department, the CHAs will build new and strengthen existing relationships at community “gathering places” in their assigned territories—churches, schools, community centers, grocery/convenience stores, salons/barbershops, block clubs, housing developments and more.
The CHAs will arrange outreach and health education opportunities, which include screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol in addition to Body Mass Index measurements. They will be responsible for the planning and implementation of the events, coordinating them with the SJMO Community Programs Department, conducting the screenings and promoting the department’s other events and classes.
Each CHA is required to have 16 hours of training before being assigned a territory. To earn the $2,250 stipend, each CHA must engage 150 different participants in health promotion/screening events during the course of the program year.
The first group of CHAs comes from a variety of professional backgrounds: nursing accounting, home health, community activism, entrepreneurship and social services. Initially, the CHAs will serve the city of Pontiac, but as other pockets of need in northern Oakland County are identified, current or future CHAs will be assigned to those areas.
The CHA program was begun because of “the need for well-trained lay health educators in the community,” said Joy Calloway, SJMO Director of Community Programs. “The community needs a strong connection with its health provider, and the CHAs provide that at the grassroots level. The CHAs are well-connected in the community, dedicated to health promotion and disease prevention and uniquely suited for these roles, structured specifically for community outreach work.”
According to Calloway, the initiative was in the planning stages for more than a year. “I am thankful that our CEO (SJMO President and CEO Jack Weiner) has approved this concept and undertaken this endeavor,” she added. “Intensive community engagement is a proven strategy for promoting health and reducing disease. We have a model group of individuals for this first group; they will surely set the standard for an SJMO Community Health Ambassador.”
The CHAs first combined event is Healthy Affair IX, a community health fair, scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at Welcome Baptist Church, 143 Oneida, Pontiac. The health fair is free of charge, and the public is invited. Free parking is available.
For more information about the Community Programs Department or becoming a Community Health Ambassador, call Calloway at 248-858-3760.
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