Using Health Navigators to Connect At-Risk Clients to Community Resources

Authors: Telma Menendez, Noel C Barragan, Tony Kuo, Janina L Morrison

The purpose of this paper was to review the effectiveness of the Wellness Center at the Historic General Hospital in East Los Angeles in utilizing CHWs as a link to connect low-income clients with required health resources and services. The Wellness Center employs CHWs, referred to as Health Navigators, who are trained to connect low-income clients to resources including, but not limited to, chronic disease management programs, food pantries, free or low-cost legal aid, and health insurance. This review demonstrated that Health Navigators serve as a critical bridge for clients navigating a complex network of health and social services. Since 2014, the Health Navigator team has actively engaged, recruited, and delivered services to more than 28,000 unique clients. This approach reflects an effective strategy to complement clinical care and strengthening the community-clinical linkage, while providing further career training and opportunities for CHWs.