Connecting Communities with Community Health Workers

Improving access to health care information and services is the driving force behind the Rural Ag Health Community Worker project being piloted by the state's Extension system in more than a dozen counties in northeast and southeast Kansas. Financial support from K-State 105, which was established to support economic growth and workforce advancement in Kansas, enabled Marshall County to hire Arlene Wessel, a retired nurse and adult care home administrator as a community health worker. She discusses her role as a community health worker and Elaine Johannes, Kansas Health Foundation's Distinguished Professor of Health at Kansas State University, explains how this program can benefit rural Kansans and the entire health care system. Sound Living is a weekly public affairs program addressing issues related to families and consumers. It is hosted by Jeff Wichman. Each episode shares the expertise of K-State specialists in fields such as child nutrition, food safety, adult development and aging, youth development, family resource management, physical fitness and more. Send comments, questions or requests for copies of past programs to [email protected]. K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan.