Community Health Connections

September 2022 - Vol.3, Issue 9

Community Care HUB celebrates 2 years

We are excited to share that the Community Care HUB (HUB) marked its two-year anniversary on September 1, 2022! We are grateful to the HUB Care Coordination Agencies (CCAs) - Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy Palsy, Beginnings, Inc., & Community Action Partnership of Cambria County, who partner with the CPH on this important initiative. The Community Health Workers (CHWs), who are employed at each CCA, bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to their roles. They help to make important connections to health and human service resources to improve the health of their program participants.

Over the past two years, the HUB has reached many milestones, including:

The HUB launched on 9/1/20, initially serving at-risk pregnant residents in our communities;
CHWs received Certification through the Pennsylvania Certification Board;
The HUB expanded its participant population to include at-risk families of the Greater Johnstown Elementary School and Somerset Area School District;
Highmark Wholecare became an official collaborator of the HUB to improve the health of their members.

Over the next year, the HUB is planning to expand to serve more individuals, like those with chronic conditions like diabetes. We are grateful to all our community partners for your support of the HUB over the past two years and we look forward to continuing to improve the health of our communities!

Best regards,

Jeannine McMillan

Executive Director

1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health, Community Care HUB

Community Care HUB: By the Numbers

The Community Care HUB has been very active this year and the Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been busy reaching out to participants and making important connections. So far this year, the HUB has worked with194 participants. From January 1, 2022 through August 31, 2022, the top 3 Pathways open/complete are social service referrals, learning pathways, and medical referrals. With the pregnant population making up a large number of participants, the CHWs have also been able to help support these individuals and 84% of their births were delivered at a healthy weight.

Read more about the Community Care HUB here.

Supporting those you supervise: Meet CHW Supervisor Samantha Graham

Community Care HUB Community Health Worker Supervisor Samantha Graham works for Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy (AUCP). She has been a supervisor for about a year.

"Being a Supervisor with any position means being available and providing support to those you supervise. Our CHWs have a tough job and maybe don’t get enough credit. I am always readily available to assist the CHWs throughout the week if anything comes up. I also understand this job can be taxing on your mental health and make sure my staff utilize resources available to them as well. Being a supervisor means understanding and being supportive."

Learn more about Samantha

September is dedicated to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness

Read more about FASD

Alcohol use during pregnancy can cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which can be physical, behavioral, or intellectual disabilities and last a lifetime. FASD is often a mix of disabilities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are preventable if a developing baby is not exposed to alcohol before birth.”

A CDC study from 2018-2020 found that 1 in 7 pregnant people in the United States reported drinking alcohol in the last 30 days and 1 in 20 pregnant people reported binge drinking in the past 30 days. (Current drinking meant having at least one drink in the last 30 days and binge drinking meant the individual consumed four or more drinks on one occasion in the past 30 days).

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness

*If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call or text 988

Although it’s important to address suicide prevention year-round, September is set aside as a dedicated month to address the very difficult topic.

At the local level, the County Health Rankings (data from 2016-2020) show that Cambria County experienced 126 deaths by suicide while Somerset County had 60.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2020 Pennsylvania experienced 12.6 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people. In 2020, there were 1,694 deaths.

Find out more about Suicide Prevention

News Bites

Wellness Isn't Scary

The Cambria County Health & Welfare Council and Cambria County Suicide Prevention Task Force is hosting a "Wellness Isn't Scary" Health Fair October 22 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Greater Johnstown High School. The event is open to the public.

Lunch will be provided on a first come, first served basis.

Free transportation is available by calling CamTran at 814-525-3889 or by filling out the online form.

Fill out CamTran form

Vaccine information

Updated Covid booster guidance

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending that eligible individuals receive 1 bivalent mRNA booster after completion of a monovalent primary series.

The bivalent booster is recommended for:

Moderna - People ages 18 and older
Pfizer-BioNTech - People ages 12 and older

*This information was updated September 2, 2022.

Stay up to date on vaccines by visiting, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html

Wellness Wednesdays launching at Johnstown Housing Authority communities

The 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health (1889 JCPH) and the Cambria County Drug Coalition (CCDC) are joining forces to bring health and resources to individuals living in the Johnstown Housing Authority communities.

If your organization would like to be a part of these new events, contact allison.byers@jefferson.edu.

Pennsylvania expands SNAP benefits

Beginning October 1, Pennsylvania will increase the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) income threshold for all applicants to 200% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines.

The change means 420,000 additional Pennsylvanians will be eligible for food stamps.

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