661 - Pediatric Community Health Workers: Effective Support at a Critical Time

Sunday, April 30, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 661
Publication Number: 661.317

Shauntee Henry, NYC Health + Hospitals/Office of Population Health, New York, NY, United States; Mary McCord, NYC Health+Hospitals/Gotham Health, New York, NY, United States; Natalie Cohen, NYC Health+Hospitals, Brooklyn, NY, United States; Ariel Charney, NYC Health and Hospitals, NYC, NY, United States; Nura T. Anwar, NYC Health+Hospitals, new york, NY, United States; Shivali Choxi, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Katherine Piwnica-Worms, Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, New York, NY, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Shauntee Henry, BS (she/her/hers)

Pediatric Community Health Worker Program Lead
NYC Health + Hospitals/Office of Population Health
New York, New York, United States

Background: In October 2021, NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H), the nation’s largest safety net system caring for over 85,000 children ages 0-5, implemented a Pediatric CHW (Ped CHW) Program across 16 facilities, supporting families during a critical window of early childhood development. This large-scale roll-out offers insight into the feasibility of a systematic implementation of CHWs in pediatric primary care.

Objective: Funded by NYC Public Health Corps, we describe the Ped CHW Program’s first-year implementation, operations, and reach.

Design/Methods: Ped CHWs embedded within pediatric primary care work with families of children ages 0-5 across four domains: social determinants of health, early care and education, parenting support, and maternal-child wellbeing. CHWs receive training developed internally by H+H, covering topics including early relational health, developmental milestones and how to navigate NYC social services including Early Intervention, Day Care, WIC, mental health, and parenting support. CHWs are also trained in the UPenn IMPaCT CHW model. The program leverages Epic EMR for mother-child links, operational reports, and monthly quality assurance reports. Systemwide capacity building is done through weekly Q&A sessions, monthly trainings, and centralized coaching.

Results: The program reached 8,216 families with 6,246 (76%) successfully engaged in its first year. Among children reached, 50% identified as Latino, 29% as Black, and 34% were Spanish-speaking. Common referrals included early care and education, social needs (e.g. housing and food), and parenting support. Average length of enrollment was 2 months. Deployment of Ped CHWs across H+H enabled the implementation of a closed loop referral process for Early Intervention (EI); 1,872 children were referred in the first year. CHWs collaborate with EI partners to ensure families receive timely evaluation and follow-up, foster trusting relationships, and promote families’ active engagement in care.

Conclusion(s): H+H’s Ped CHW Program embedded 65 Peds CHWs and supervisors across 16 pediatric primary care practices and engaged 6,246 families in a safety net municipal system. In year 2, the program is strengthening collaborative workflows with HealthySteps and Women’s Health and implementing quality improvement projects using EMR-derived reports. Leveraging a mixed method design, including staff and caregiver surveys, focus groups, and Medicaid claims data, H+H plans to evaluate program effects on satisfaction, perceived impact, and claims-based outcomes across utilization, quality, and enrollment.