Kudos to Community Health Workers

Community health doesn't get the most love — it’s a topic often overshadowed by front-page stories like the national health care reform debate or the quest for a cancer cure.

But the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an organization entirely dedicated to improving health and health care for Americans, isn’t forgetting those brave souls that continue to push for health care at the community level.

The foundation recently announced its 2009 Community Health Leaders Award winners, 10 people "who have overcome daunting odds to improve the health and quality of life for disadvantaged or underserved men, women and children across the United States,” according to a foundation press release.

The award, in its 16th year, chooses a diverse set of winners who are working on a range of efforts to ensure that underserved populations across the country can access quality care of all kinds. The projects, according to the foundation, “demonstrate the need to provide greater access to high quality, affordable care and expose weaknesses in the nation’s health care system.” The award winners receive national exposure, $125,000 and networking opportunities.

Some of the winners’ projects this year involve:

• Ensuring that Medicaid beneficiaries in Cincinnati, Ohio, can access the services they need;
• Making sure that poor families in Washington, D.C., can get mental health services;
• Expanding dental care to a Native American population in a remote area of Alaska; and
• Offering primary care and family planning to needy people in Amarillo, Texas.

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