By Penny Lara, Access and Outreach Project Manager
Public Health – Seattle & King County partnered with a group of “Promotoras” (Community Health Workers) from the South Park Information and Resource Center (SPIARC), members of the Western Washington National Association of Hispanic Nurses (WW-NAHN), and UW School of Nursing students to canvass the South Park Neighborhood. Together, we walked through South Park and talked with community members about the ongoing open enrollment for health insurance coverage.
Public Health is helping people get free or reduced-cost health insurance (www.kingcounty.gov/health/coverage) through Washington Healthplanfinder, with extra outreach to communities that might not get the word through traditional media or advertising.
Last Friday, December 12th, we held the South Park “blitz,” with the goal of promoting the enrollment site at the Seattle Public Library South Park Branch. Public Health and Sea Mar Community Health Center staff the ACA Open Enrollment help at the South Park Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 PM-5:00 PM and offer assistance in Spanish and English.
The group gathered at SPIARC, put on t-shirts provided by Public Health, and walked for about two hours.
We met business owners and community members. Everyone was welcoming. We were delighted to find people who were already enrolled and felt happy to have insurance coverage for the first time!
It was such an honor to be with this group of committed King County residents– their passion is truly contagious. I hope many more opportunities arise in the future for Public Health and other County agencies to work with the promotoras. These women are true leaders in their community.
