Since the pandemic, the health care industry has been rapidly evolving to address new challenges, staffing shortages, and high rates of burnout. As part of its effort to support local health care workers, the Blue Ridge Health District is launching the Outreach Network on October 18 to boost some of its most vital members: outreach professionals.
Encompassing a broad swath of roles, outreach professionals are health care workers who work closely with the community to improve outcomes and help people access resources. “There are many types of outreach professionals that play important roles in our local health care system,” says Jennifer Reilly, BRHD’s outreach network coordinator. “Here at BRHD, for example, we have an amazing team of community health workers who do a wide range of work.”
From immunization clinics to STI testing to free car seat and crib distribution events, CHWs work to connect community members with resources and promote public health efforts. “Community health workers are the embodiment of public health. When people cannot get to health services, CHWs make sure the health services get to them,” says Reilly. “[They] know the community in and out and really represent the bridge to becoming healthier and more able to access care and services.”
Though burnout levels are high among all health care workers post-pandemic, outreach professionals have experienced especially high levels of physical and emotional exhaustion, according to research published in the National Institute for Health’s Library of Medicine. In addition to hiring additional community health workers, the BRHD hopes to support its outreach professionals by connecting them with resources through the Outreach Network.
“We are very fortunate that we have so many organizations in the area doing wonderful things, but it can be challenging to keep abreast of all of these great resources. One goal of the BRHD Outreach Network
is to help outreach workers become more familiar with all of these fantastic community assets,” says Reilly. “The more we know about what is happening, the better we can be sure those services, events, and organizations are more readily accessible to the communities who need them.”
Beyond fostering connections with community resources, the BRHD’s new network will connect outreach professionals with career resources.
“The BRHD Outreach Network will support current and future outreach workers by offering opportunities for numerous trainings at no cost, networking and collaborating with outreach workers from other organizations, and exploring invaluable resources within our communities that can be utilized to support those we serve,” says Reilly. “We will look closer at the needs assessment that was completed, giving us an even better lens as to how the BRHD Outreach Network can help community health workers and similar positions in the weeks, months, and years to come.”
