Desert Messenger

MD CARPET CLEANING LET'S TALK DIRTY! • Carpet & Uphostery • Tile and Grout Cleaning • Urine Stain Odor Treatment • Residential & Commercial MIKE DOLAN 520-255-9081 WE GET THE SHIH TZU OUT OF YOUR CARPET! NOW Scheduling for QUARTZSITE! P����| S������ RAIN G�����-B��� 12 DesertMessenger.com May 15, 2024 Community Health Worker Program available in Quartzsite By Shanana Rain Golden-Bear Quartzsite, AZ - Lori Bachmann and Wendy Tatum from La Paz County Health Department made a presen- tation during the regular Quartzsite Town Council meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. They were in town to introduce a new County program called Community Health Worker Program (CHW). The program began during Covid pandemic and has since expanded, promoting wellness and quality of living in the county. CHW is work- ing hard to provide county-wide outreach and health fairs. They as- sist with Social Services and DES, chronic self-care, school services, treatment services and homeless as- sistance, community re-entry pro- grams, and elder care, LTCS, and Matter of Balance. This program is a continuation of services not only in response to CO- VID but for all residents and visi- tors who may need assistance with needed resources. This program is funded through a grant provided to La Paz County Health Department from Arizona Department of Health Services. Community Health Work- ers are assisting residents and visi- tors to gain access to a wide variety of resources and services that may be required for health and safety. The CHW program covers La Paz County: Bouse, Cibola, CRIT, Ehren- berg, Parker/Parker Strip, Salome, Quartzsite, and Wenden. CHWs can support members of the public with translation services, veteran resourc- es, health education, informal coun- seling, mental health services and more. CHWs will also connect indi- viduals with community resources such as Home Health Care, Meals on Wheels, Healthy La Paz, PAACE, WACOG and others. The goals of the CHW program are to: improve access to healthcare ser- vices, increase knowledge and use of community and social service re- sources, and reduce barriers to ser- vices available to La Paz County resi- dents and visitors. CHWs will also connect individu- als with community resources such as Home Health Care, Meals on Wheels, Healthy La Paz, PAACE, WACOG and others. They also help distribute boxes of Meloxicam Narcan working with RV parks and motels. The team has helped 39 families with reimbursed funeral expenses. In addition, the CHW team will assist individuals who have lost family members due to COVID. A CHW will connect the family and offer support through the reimbursement program provided by FEMA. If the application requirements are met, families can receive some reimbursement for funeral costs. The goals of the CHW program are to: improve access to healthcare servic- es, increase knowledge and use of community and social service resources, and reduce barriers to services available to La Paz County residents and visitors. Flyers are available at Town Hall. To fi nd out more about the Community Health Worker Program, call 928-669-9364, stop by the Health Depart- ment offi ce at 1320 Joshua Avenue Suite A in Parker, or go to their website, www.lpchd.com. AZ Veterans new online ADVS portal Online Portal Now Available For Arizona Veterans To Set Appointments with ADVS Veteran Benefi ts Counselors PHOENIX – The Arizona Depart- ment of Veterans' Services (ADVS) Veterans' Services Division (VSD) has launched an online appointment system for the agency's highly sought- after Veteran Benefi ts Counselors (VBC). VBC's advocate for Arizona's service members, Veterans and their families in pursuit of their federal (VA) and state Veteran benefi ts. VSD launched Calendly in January 2024 but has been working on the project since April 2023. The current phone appointment system utilized by Veterans and their families to make appointments was created out of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Three years later, the call center be- gan to produce challenges for VBC's including double booking and heavy phone traffi c. On average, the VBC appointment hotline receives over 200 phone calls a day. "Calendly offers the Veteran or cli- ent to schedule the appointment on their own," explained Chrissy Wei- ers-Hawn, Training and Informa- tion Manager for the Veterans' Ser- vices Division. "It's been a very well received option by the Veteran com- munity since we launched." For Veterans or clients who are not tech savvy, they can still call the VBC appointment line and staff is avail- able to walk them through the pro- cess of setting up an appointment. Please call 602-535-1215. In-person appointments are also available at 25 itinerant sites across Arizona. Visit online at https://dvs.az.gov/ services/benefi ts-page

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