COVID COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PROJECT PHASE 4

Table of Contents



1 Background

4 Covid-19 Utah

6 Strategy #1 Partnerships

8 Strategy #2 Building CHW Capacity

11 Strategy #3 Access to Testing

12 Access to Vaccines

13 Strategy #4 Addressing Social Needs

16 Strategy #5 Outreach and Education

18 Strategy #6 Understanding Community Experience

20 CCP Moving Forward

Background



The COVID Community Partnership (CCP) project was established in May 2020 by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Health Equity (OHE) in response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, and the disproportionate burden it placed on racial and ethnic minority communities. The CCP project focused addressing health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic by mitigating the spread of COVID-19 among under-resourced communities in Utah. The CCP project is a part of the DHHS effort to achieve health equity by responding to health disparities and inequities created and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Health equity is a priority and focus within the department, showcased through the DHHS vision:

"The Utah Department of Health and Human Services will advocate for, support, and serve all individuals and communities in Utah. We will ensure all Utahns have fair and equitable opportunities to live safe and healthy lives. We will achieve this through effective policy and a seamless system of services and programs".

Community health workers (CHWs) were identified as a necessary component in this public health response to reduce the spread and effects of COVID-19 on communities who were at a higher risk of poor health outcomes. The CCP project partners with community-based organizations (CBOs) and local health departments (LHDs) to employ CHWs from diverse communities and incorporate them into the COVID-19 emergency response. The CCP project has been operationalized in 5 phases and continues to evolve and adapt to the changing state of the COVID-19 pandemic. As detailed in this report, Phase 4 of the project aimed to build CHW capacity, facilitate networking, and increase collaborative capabilities of partners. The strategies with significant outcomes are listed below, along with a timeline to see the progress and development of the CCP project.