JACKSON, Wyo. — The Teton County Board of County Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Wyoming Department of Health, Public Health Division and Teton County for the development of a Community Health Worker Program.
During yesterday’s meeting, Health Director Jodie Pond presented the MOU to the board and outlined the three new community health worker positions she spent the last six months working to get funding for.
“This MOU will allow us to hire three positions, a coordinator and two Spanish-speaking community health workers. We will be looking for individuals in our community to help serve our under-served communities and families,” Pond said.
The positions will be funded by the Wyoming Department of Health through a grant for $675,000 until June 30, 2023.
The community health workers will connect people with covid testing and vaccinations but Pond said one of the most important aspects of the new positions will be connecting under-served community members with health and social services.
“We have seen on our mental health survey that the Latinx community has a hard time connecting to those services, we see it in our own clinic in terms of referrals for different chronic diseases and cancer screenings. Diabetes is also a major concern in terms of referrals,” Pond said.
