Health Connect outlines community health worker program, monthly library office hours and Oct. festival

Fran Rice, executive director of Health Connect of South Dakota, told the Beresford City Council that her nonprofit will place community health workers in library and community sites to help residents navigate social determinants of health such as housing and food insecurity.

"Community health workers are frontline public health workers" Rice said, explaining CHWs will act as connectors and navigators who use the 211 helpline and a network-of-care to make referrals. She said the CHW assigned to the area will hold regular in-person office hours at the library on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and that more urgent help can be arranged virtually through Health Connect's office.

Rice described Health Connect as an information resource that began in the late 1990s and is funded through grants, sponsorships and partnerships. She noted an annual festival — scheduled for Oct. 17 at the Sou Falls Arena — that the organization uses both to provide services (free flu shots, vendor resources) and to raise funds; Health Connect also has a contract with Savers thrift stores that generates revenue from donations.

Rice said CHWs will use a centralized referral system so clients do not need to repeat their full histories at each agency: "The helpline center is a statewide system and if you dial 211 they can navigate you based on your zip code to resources that are in your community," she said. She described CHWs as empathetic communicators who perform goal-setting, coaching and health-literacy education and emphasized the in-person, one-on-one nature of the role.

Council members asked about partnerships and training; Rice said Health Connect is participating in the state's rural health transformation effort and is working with Southeast Technical Institute on an advisory board role for CHW training. She also said the project is grant-funded now but that she will pursue additional funding to sustain services. Rice encouraged residents to sponsor or volunteer for the Oct. 17 festival and noted many materials are available in Spanish.

The presentation closed with Rice inviting questions and providing follow-up contact information; council members indicated support and asked staff to coordinate the CHW office hours with the library.