HJNO Nov/Dec 2022

38 NOV / DEC 2022  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs barriers and setbacks to our data collection, the LTR staff is still committed to the mission of providing complete, high-quality, and timely data. Without their dedicated effort, we would not be able to collect the data and publish this monograph on time. We offer a shout-out to the LTR central and regional staff, as well as hospital registrars who made this monograph possible.” The Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health is one of only 21 cancer registries in the nation comprising the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. It is considered one of the leading cancer registries in the U.S. It has received first-place awards for the quality and completeness of its data from the National Cancer Institute for the past 13 consecutive years. VA Delivers Healthcare, Claims, Benefits Assistance fromCanal Street Location VA now offers all of its most frequently accessed services, including healthcare, benefits claims assistance, claims updates, and verification letters, at the New Orleans Veterans Medical Center at 2400 Canal Street. The services are available in one location due to an enhanced partnership between the Veterans Benefits Administration New Orleans Regional Office and the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System. “This move will improve the veteran experience with a more convenient location and parking,” said Medical Center Director Fernando Rivera. “Our team at the New Orleans Veterans Medical Center and the New Orleans Regional Office is proud to offer one-stop access to healthcare, claims, and benefits for veterans.” Healthcare services are available by appointment or in the medical center’s emergency department. The medical center can be reached at (800) 935-8387 for appointments or health-related questions. Benefits services are available by walking in Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Appointments for benefits-related services are available at (800) 827-1000 or by visiting https://vets.force.com/VAVERA/s/. Previously, veterans who needed assistance with benefits would visit the regional office at 1250 Poydras Street. However, after the opening of the newly constructed veteran’s hospital in 2018, some benefits-related services were offered at the Canal Street location. Now, veterans can access nearly all VA services at the medical center. Free parking is available in the patient and visitor parking deck on Galvez Street between Canal and Tulane. For more information about the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, clinic locations, and other services available to veterans in southeast Louisiana, visit www.neworleans. va.gov, or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, keyword: VANewOrleans. DCHC Receives $3M for Community HealthWorker Training Program The U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser- vices Health Resources and Services Administra- tion (HRSA) recently awarded a $3 million grant to DePaul Community Health Centers (DCHC) to establish a community health worker (CHW) train- ing program. DCHC will use the funds to assist the Louisiana Primary Care Association (LPCA) with employing CHWs for all 39 federally qualified health centers and look-alikes across Louisiana. “Community health workers and navigators, for the past five years, have played a key role in helping our patients — many of whom are from underserved populations — with improv- ing their overall health status by assisting them with addressing various social determinants of health,” said Michael Griffin, PhD, president and CEO of DCHC. “LPCA recognized the invaluable contributions of our program and is to be com- mended for its foresight to assist other associa- tion members with establishing their own pro- grams designed to enhance the services they provide to patients.” The LPCA represents 39 federally funded, pri- vate, nonprofit, and public community health cen- ters across Louisiana that serve more than 465,000 patients annually. LPCA promotes community- based health services through advocacy, educa- tion, and collaboration with community partners. Their goal is to ensure that every Louisianan has access to affordable, quality primary care services. “Community health workers are at the frontlines of bringing health care to those who may not seek it out themselves,” said LPCA’s Executive Direc- tor Gerrelda Davis. “Their work brings them into communities, meeting people where they are and closing gaps in care by providing connections to community health centers and accessible, local services. We are looking forward to this partner- ship in expanding that work across Louisiana.” DCHC’s community health navigators/workers (CHNs/CHWs) assist individuals with overcom- ing various social determinants of health, which include several nonmedical factors (i.e., food and housing insecurity, unemployment, and a lack of finances) that may adversely impact a person’s access to healthcare. Services CHNs provide for clients include health screenings, scheduling pre- ventive care services, and working with commu- nity partners to ensure people have access to the critical resources they need. These resources include assistance in finding affordable hous- ing, applying for SNAP food stamp benefits, accessing substance abuse treatment, primary care, financial education and counseling, and job training. DCHC partners with various community entities such as Second Harvest Food Bank, Total Community Action, and DePaul USA to assist with servicing clients. DCHC revived its community health worker pro- gram in 2019 thanks to a $1.5 million grant from UnitedHealthcare to enable a full-time team of 15 CHWs/CHNs to connect more than 11,000 under- served and uninsured people across New Orleans with vital community health and social services. DCHC has garnered much success with its CHN program. For example, Healthy Blue and Anthem Medicaid partnered with DCHC to launch an SDOH incentive program on April 1, 2020 with two CHNs to serve the health plan’s members and connect them to care, thus improving their health outcomes. During the initial year (2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CHNs conducted more than 400 member assessments and made more than 500 referrals to the right places for help. As a result, in 2021, Healthy Blue Louisiana and Anthem Medicaid awarded the inaugural Bona Fide Blue Social Determinant Champion Award to DCHC’s Community Health Navigators (CHNs). The award recognized the program as being a consistent leader in addressing SDOH. n