PARLIER, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Many schools are working to not only meet the academic needs of students but also their social needs.“When a parent needs food or they need immediate assistance or they need their vaccines, they don’t know where to start, we help them, we connect them,” said Community Health Worker Erica Basurto. “I’m pretty much the bridge connecting them to insurance enrollment, food, hygiene products, cl...
PARLIER, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Many schools are working to not only meet the academic needs of students but also their social needs.
“When a parent needs food or they need immediate assistance or they need their vaccines, they don’t know where to start, we help them, we connect them,” said Community Health Worker Erica Basurto. “I’m pretty much the bridge connecting them to insurance enrollment, food, hygiene products, clothing.”
Community Health Worker Elma Vargas oversees middle and high school. She remembers how she met Gabby Perez and her family.
“Gabby has a sibling in the high school, and mom needed assistance with her PG&E and groceries,” Vargas said.
During home visits, Vargas met Gabby and learned of her plight. She was diagnosed with tumors around her spine, the tumors so rare that her condition was featured in a hospital publication. Due to her illness, Gabby missed a lot of school and was not able to earn her high school diploma.
“You’re only going to get your certificate of completion, and I told her what is that. It just means that you’re done from school but you don’t get your diploma,” Gabby said.
Although Gabby was able to enroll at Reedley College, she wanted her diploma. Vargas was able to connect her to an adult school where she could earn her GED and graduate.
“She is a survivor, she’s a go getter, for her getting that high school diploma was very important, so I felt that if it was important to her, it’s important to me to help her get that,” Vargas said.
A state initiative called Cal Aims, California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, is opening up new services, including Community Health Workers, to its members.
“A lot of health depends on things outside of the healthcare system, and the goal of CALAIM is really to identify those needs and address those needs,” said CalViva Health Program Manager Elizabeth Campos.
Cal Viva Health sees Community Health Workers as partners to help educate families about all that’s available through their managed care plan, from transportation to special meal plans for sick kids.
“It really puts the person at the center of healthcare and ensures that we are identifying physical health needs but also social needs,” Campos said.
It’s the kind of personal care that can connect a young woman to the right services to help her accomplish a lifelong dream.