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Family First Health

A community health care center

York Daily Record: Why Family First Health is installing diverse author library in York

By: Jenny Englerth, President & CEO of Family First Health

As Hispanic Heritage Month concludes, now is a time for celebrating and embracing the racial and ethnic diversity that makes up our community and makes it strong.  It also creates a time for reflection.

Family First Health’s foundation is rooted in social justice and equity.  For the past 50+ years, we have continued work to advance our mission of improving lives by understanding, advocating for and valuing the various perspectives and experiences of our patients, our workforce and the diverse communities where we exist and serve.

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Because our organization’s work has focused on improving equity in health outcomes, we are disappointed in the Central York School District’s previous decision to ban a list of more than 300 resources, which reflect the diverse people, cultures and perspectives that make up our community.  Such a decision is shortsighted in limiting the learning of our students and fostering understanding; and, decisions like these are bad for our health.

Research indicates that individual and structural racism denies opportunity to people of color and robs them of their physical and mental health.  The life expectancy of people of color is often a decade, or more, shorter than their white neighbors.  People of color face higher risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and mental illness.  These health inequities, and often the diseases themselves, stem in part from the stress of being silenced, ignored, oppressed and targeted for violence.  We see this impact on our patients every day.

The Central York School District Board has reversed its previous decision and we applaud and stand with the students, families, staff and community members who bravely protested the ban.  The collective action required to prompt the reversal of this decision will create many positive ripple effects. However, we know that our community will require ongoing action to address ongoing, systemic racism to begin to mitigate the impact of racism on the health of our community.

Family First Health strives for our work to be relevant, compassionate and responsive to all by closing the gap and raising the bar in addressing inequities in health.  Through this, we all have the opportunity to achieve enhanced understanding to work together to build up our communities by changing systems, addressing challenges and seeking unity.

To demonstrate Family First Health’s ongoing support of diverse learning, we are installing a “Little Free Library,” supported by the United Way of York County, outside of our School-Based Health Center at Hannah Penn K-8 School.  The library will include books by diverse authors and about diverse cultures.   Through this effort, we will encourage and promote some of our youngest learners to remain curious about themselves, others and the world around them and pave the way for a healthier next generation.

Jenny Englerth is CEO of Family First Health.

Fox 43: COVID-19 rapid tests are in short supply

“It’s supply and demand, so a lot of manufactures of these rapid test kits are experiencing a high need and they’re just not able to produce them at the rate they’re needed right now,” says Erin Schmidt of Family First Health.

Schmidt recommends patients find other alternatives such as the PCR test.

“You can get a PCR Test from your doctors office, yes it takes a couple of days so just planning ahead,” she said.

Family First Health is offering free rapid testing across Central Pennsylvania and no appointment is necessary.

Find the full article here

Governor Wolf Visits Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic, Encourages all Pennsylvanians to Take Advantage of Community Vaccination Clinics

Governor Tom Wolf today visited Rivas Deli Grocery II in York, an upcoming COVID-19 vaccine site, to encourage eligible Pennsylvanians who are not yet vaccinated to take advantage of their local community vaccine clinics.

“For people with irregular or unpredictable work hours, limited mobility, language barriers, and other challenges, hosting vaccine clinics where and when people shop for groceries is an excellent opportunity for vulnerable populations to get vaccinated,” said Gov. Wolf. “This upcoming clinic is a great example of how trusted community leaders and organizations can make a difference when they get involved in the vaccination effort.”

On Thursday, September 23, COVID-19 vaccinations will be offered by Family First Health from 12pm – 4pm at Rivas Deli Grocery II, 174 S. Pine St. York, PA 17403.

National Bus Trader: Bailey Mobile COVID Testing and Vaccination Vehicle

NBT highlights the recent partnership between Bailey Family of Companies and Family First Health for their mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination vehicle.

“The companies partnered together to retrofit and design an easily transportable trailer for mobile Covid-19 testing and vaccinations. The two companies joined together to reach out to the community at large and help make Covid-19 testing and vaccinations more readily accessible in marginalized areas in York and Adams counties.”

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The Struggles and Successes of Community Health Workers at Family First Health

By Family First Health

August 10, 2021

Too many families in our country must deal with the worry of paying for health care. They’re one accident or infection away from financial ruin, or worse, potentially losing a loved one. 

Community Health Workers (CHWs) at Family First Health understand those challenges and make it their personal mission to care for the uninsured and underinsured in South Central Pennsylvania.

“Being a Community Health Worker is different from other jobs in healthcare because we are able to assist our clients, patients, students and community with accessing health care, and connecting them to other resources like transportation, food, clothing, rental and utility assistance,” said Lead Community Health Worker Celia Serrano.

August 8-14 is National Health Center Week, a time to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments of CHWs like the ones at Family First Health.

While the spotlight will shine bright for a week, it’s important to appreciate the impact that CHWs make the other 51 weeks of the year.

“We provide affordable medical, dental, behavioral and optometry services to our community.” Serrano said. “But in addition to that, we are also able to connect and build trust with our community to help assist them with the resources they need to live healthy lives.”

COVID and CHWs in school

Nothing highlighted the efforts of CHWs more than the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of the clear threat that COVID-19 presented to the community, the pandemic also created challenges for CHWs when attempting to assist patients with disabilities apply for medical assistance and other resources from their homes.

“Our plans for programming had to be shifted to meet the needs of the families, while also ensuring the safety of the community and our workforce,” said Community Health Program Manager Casey Fogle. “But as a Community Health Center, we are constantly adapting to different needs and bridging gaps in care. The pandemic was just another layer to that.”

2020 and 2021 have had countless moments of pain and loss, during which the CHWs of Family First Health have offered support and care to the community.

“We check-in with our patients and clients just to see how they are doing and if there is anything we can further assist them with. We truly care about them and treat them how we would want to be treated,” Fogle said.

In addition to patients/clients, the CHWs also faced challenges helping community students. Family First Health has a school-based health center at Hannah Penn K-8 School in York, which provides medical services to community residents.

When a child gets sick at school, the nurse will ask the student’s parents if they would like their child to go right to the health center for an acute visit, regardless of if they are a current Family First Health patient. This convenience saves families a trip to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care.

“Our Community Health Center within Hannah Penn is the hub of the school, providing an array of services, in a one-stop-shop atmosphere, that most other health centers are not able to provide,” Fogle said.  â€œThis alone helps to reduce barriers to access of care when everything is located in one center.”

During the pandemic, many residents in the area struggled to afford/secure basic hygiene/cleaning products. Family First Health recognized this need and began a program to distribute these items to families in need. COVID-19 vaccines were also added to this program once they were developed and approved.  

“The hygiene distribution began in January 2021 in response to the impact COVID was having on the Hannah Penn community,” said School-Based Health Center Manager Erica Johnson. “At each monthly event, we provide much-needed household items at no cost and connect families to housing, employment, health insurance and other resources.”

Funding the Future

All of the aforementioned efforts are largely possible because of the partnership Family First Health has formed with the United Health Foundation (UHF), whose three-year grant has helped fund the “Connections” Program.  This program allows Family First Health to deploy CHWs into the Hannah Penn neighborhood to bolster the collective efforts of residents, businesses and organizations to enhance neighborhood health and well-being.

“Life for our community members would be sad and unhealthy without the Connections Program,” Serrano said. “This program has also helped us get much-needed health care to our undocumented population, who are going through the process of obtaining permanent residency, but do not currently qualify for medical assistance.”

With continued hard work and innovation, the country will soon navigate itself to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the community’s health beyond COVID-19 is as important as ever. The medically vulnerable population is still in desperate need of primary care, behavioral health, dental care, and other services.

In conjunction with community support, legislative backing for continued and enhanced funding is vital for the future of Community Health Centers like Family First Health.

“Funding is so important. Many of the staff and patients are familiar with one another, and often live in the same neighborhoods,” Fogle said. “We have real, trusting relationships with our patients and clients. They look to us for information and trust that we can help them.”