Building Bridges to Better Health

Row 1 (seated) left to right: Charles Ortmeyer, Board President, Center for Human Development; Tumoni Williams, Resident Leader, holding Kai´la Barnes; Le´Andra Turner, African American Health Conductor; Evelyn Dodson, African American Health Conductor; Kareem Bennett, African American Health Conductor; Renee Day-Roa, East County Kids N Motion; Suzanne Kelly, Resident Leader; Evelyn Warren, Resident Leader.

Row 2 (standing) left to right: Donna Maxwell, Board Member, Center for Human Development; Elaine Prendergast, Executive Director, Center for Human Development; Marion DePuit, Faith and Health Partnership Program Manager, John Muir Community Health Alliance; Roxanne Carrillo, Healthy Neighbhoods Project Manager, Contra Costa Health Services; Arturo Castillo, Health Education Manager, La Clínica de La Raza, Inc.; Robin Poppino-Kuntz, Regional Director, Planned Parenthood: Shasta-Diablo; Tiombe Mashama, Lead Mentor, Mentors Council for Health Conductors Project; Concepcion James, Manager, Reducing Health Disparities, Contra Costa Health Services; Jean Racy, Resident Leader; Ethel Powell, Resident Leader.

Bay Point/Pittsburg African American Health Initiative

"I love working with the whole family - not just with the kids. The Health Conductor Program makes a huge difference for how everyone gets healthy." - Le´Andra Turner, African American Health Conductor

In Brief: To address documented health disparities affecting African Americans in Bay Point and Pittsburg, this grant supports a collaborative planning process among community-based organizations, clinics, the county, and resident leaders. Due to conclude in June 2009, the process is exploring the best ways to build on an existing effort - African American health conductors - to increase and diversify the access points to high quality, culturally sensitive health care.

The Health Issue: According to the 2007 county health indicators report, in Contra Costa County African Americans have the highest death rates from heart disease, cancer, stroke, homicide, and unintentional injuries. Reducing these health disparities depends in part on improving African Americans' access to care.

The Health Improvement Strategy: This planning grant brings together Center for Human Development with La Clínica de La Raza, Planned Parenthood: Shasta-Diablo, Contra Costa Health Services, and local resident leaders to create a plan of action for a multi-year health initiative aimed at reducing health disparities for African Americans in Bay Point and Pittsburg - two communities with a high percentage of underserved African Americans. In the planning process, which a neutral party facilitates, the partners are seeking new ways to work together to create an expanded system of high quality, culturally sensitive health care.

The proven effectiveness of the African American health conductor program provided an important starting point for the planning partners to begin working together. The conductors are community members trained and employed by the Center for Human Development. They have been gradually earning trust within the community by increasing outreach at community events, conducting health education workshops and facilitating health-focused support groups, resulting in a trusted point of entry for African American residents to participate in the planning process as equal partners and make more effective use of available health services.

The partners are striving to create an expanded, culturally sensitive, and accessible system of care than the current one. They are using the planning process to identify the roles each partner should play in this initiative, assess the best ways to achieve their goals, create a budget, and devise an evaluation plan that will hold themselves accountable for improving health access for African Americans. Their work to date was highlighted in the February 2009 Contra Costa Health Services Director's Report.

"We want to find a way to level the playing field and create a range of good choices for health care access. The key is a strong voice from residents of Bay Point and Pittsburg." - Elaine Prendergast, Executive Director, Center for Human Development