CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The State of Illinois is trying to direct new resources toward helping communities better recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Building on existing efforts to provide pandemic resources and administer the COVID-19 vaccine as equitably and efficiently as possible, Governor Pritzker announced Monday a new Pandemic Health Navigator Program (PHNP) launched in partnership with the Illinois Public Health Association, the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, and OSF Healthcare System.
According to the Governor's Office, the program, already in operation in communities around the state, integrates community health centers, community-based organizations, and public health partners to coordinate available resources for Illinois regions that have been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This program is about one-on-one connections involving established, trusted members of the community, whether that’s a federally qualified health center, a church, an LGBTQ+ center, a senior center, or a local branch of the NAACP. These are local community organizations who know their peers, their students, their colleagues – people who speak their languages and know their neighborhoods,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “When someone tests positive for COVID-19, or comes in contact with someone else who has, Pandemic Health Navigators are there, ready to assist with social service supports, personal care education, vaccine access, and even critical logistics like ensuring access to groceries and food when a person has to isolate. In short, our Pandemic Health Navigators are a crucial part of keeping our most vulnerable residents safe, and I’m so grateful to all of them.”
Dr. Tracey Smith, with the Illinois Public Health Association, said her organization and others are helping inaugurate a Pandemic Health Navigator Program around Illinois.
"These workers have helped individuals who have tested positive for COVID and their families by connecting them to services for food, rental assistance, utilities, educational resources, and so much more," she said.
Elisa Lara, a VNA Health worker in Aurora, said people from her agency helped an entire family diagnosed with the coronavirus. She said the family had doctors, but not food and supplies.
"By addressing these needs for this family, the Pandemic Health Navigator program was able to free them for worrying about putting food on the table and allow them to focus on recovering," she said.
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VNA hopes to help 70,000 people this year, said Linnea Windell, President and CEO of Aurora-based VNA Health.
"By the end of 2021, 48 VNA community health workers are expected to have coordinated services for over 70,000 community members who have been impacted by COVID-19," Windell said.
Governor Pritzker said some people might need help getting vaccinated. Others, he said, might be seeking mental health counseling, and just might need the truth about the disease and the vaccine.
"A critical component of getting Illinois out of this pandemic and keeping people safe and healthy is breaking down those barriers," he said.
Pritzker said the operations are already getting results.
“While we are on the backside of the pandemic, we are still seeing more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 each day in Illinois,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “We want to continue to support people who are sickened by the virus to make sure they have the resources they need to overcome their illness. We especially want to make sure they have access to COVID-19 vaccines, as well as others in the communities in which they live.”
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