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Health – Community Health Awareness Program <br /> Request: To extend the time-limit until June 30, 2003 for the Senior Public <br /> Health Educator position which administers the Community Health Awareness <br /> Program. <br /> Needs Addressed: <br /> • This position is grant-funded through the Smart-Start Program. The <br /> Health Department has received preliminary funding approval from the <br /> Orange County Partnership for Young Children to continue the program <br /> for fiscal year 2002-03. <br /> • A current Orange County employee has filled the position for the past <br /> three years. <br /> • The Community Health Awareness Program utilizes the lay health advisor <br /> model to empower and train people to help their fellow neighbors. Lay <br /> Health Advisors encourage families to get the help they need and to <br /> interact with agencies and organizations that do not know how (or have <br /> limited resources)to access those services. <br /> Community Health Awareness Program Objectives: <br /> • Education and awareness of health and human services for populations <br /> disconnected by poor language skills, education, geography, etc. <br /> • Community capacity building—indigenous citizens trained on health and <br /> human resources available to all families. <br /> • Customer Service—improving access to health information and <br /> connecting people to needed services. <br /> ❑ Building social capital—train lay health advisors advocate for agencies as <br /> well as the needs of the citizens they serve. Lay health advisors are <br /> unpaid volunteers and can leverage the limited personnel and resources <br /> of the county. <br /> ❑ At least 150 families referred to needed resources throughout the county <br /> each year. <br /> ❑ 80% of tracked referrals receive follow-up to identify access to and <br /> utilization of desired child health information and/or services. <br /> Community Health Awareness Selected Accomplishments <br /> • In the 2000-2001, 12 Latina Child Health Promoters were trained in the <br /> Chapel Hill and Carrboro area and made more than 200 community <br /> contacts in the first six months after they graduated. <br /> • In 2001-2002, 10 Latina Child Health Promoters were trained in the <br /> northern part of Orange County at the Northern Human Resource Center <br /> in Cedar Grove and graduated in December 2001. <br /> 12 <br />