Medical service providers who treat victims of domestic violence just got a boost with the promise of additional assistance from the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s community health worker project.
The Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a nonprofit coalition of organizations and government agencies working to stop domestic violence, recently announced that with additional funding it has received from donors, partner organizations will be able to hire more domestic violence community health workers − making the program more widely available throughout the state, especially in Kent and Sussex counties.
Counselors who are a part of the domestic violence community health workers project are trained as both survivor advocates and peer health advisors.
The project, which began in February 2019, currently funds three full-time domestic violence community health workers who are staffed at CHILD, Inc. From its inception in 2019 through June 2022, the project has helped 499 participants and serves an average of 87 survivors a month.
The additional funding will allow People’s Place, a nonprofit serving southern Delaware with a focus on mental health and counseling, to hire two more full-time advocates to work in Kent and Sussex counties.
Domestic violence is a challenge to traditional models
“For many, many victims of domestic violence, the first responder is not law enforcement,” said Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director Sue Ryan. “It is their medical provider.”
That’s because many of those who experience domestic abuse will seek healthcare services for themselves or their children. In addition to medical treatment, victims will also need care for issues caused by the stress of living with abuse such as mental health conditions, substance abuse, and chronic disease like diabetes.
ChristianaCare has been providing funding since the project’s early days and has committed to do so for the next five years, according to Erin Booker, vice president of Behavioral Health and Social Care Integration at the hospital system. She explained that victims of domestic violence come into the hospital’s emergency department or doctors’ offices regularly and they believe it is essential as a part of a patient’s care to respond to not just that person’s medical needs but also offer resources that will address the social and emotional influences of their health.
Booker said having community health workers who are specially trained to provide support to victims of domestic violence − connecting them to resources to secure housing, food, and clothing or helping them develop a safety plan − is “incredibly important.”
After a health care worker refers a patient to the project, a domestic violence community health worker may meet with victims in covert locations such as grocery stores, laundromats or parks. The advocate works to ensure the victim is connected to health care services, has information regarding safety protection and long-term planning, and provides needed emotional support.
Additionally, the program offers the victim financial assistance to help alleviate stress from lack of money. Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which also works to serve as a resource for those who experience abuse with safety, health and social services, reported that program participants most commonly spent the financial aid on rent, basic needs, and utility bills.
ARMED AND READY:‘No one’s coming to save you’: Why these Delaware women are arming themselves with guns
The funding for additional community health workers comes at a time when many hospitals and medical providers are struggling with a burnt out workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes on top of the high cost of care many medical providers face when treating vulnerable patients.
About 5% of patients account for between 50-70% of the costs of care, according to Megan Williams, vice president of the Delaware Healthcare Association, a health care and hospital trade organization.
In figuring out how to improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care for the highest utilizers of hospital services, she said the non-medical social, mental and environmental needs of patients must also be addressed. Otherwise, “you will continue to see high costs for medical treatments,” Williams said.
The domestic violence community health worker helps the medical community “engage, connect and develop trusting relationships” with patients in abusive relationships by having “meaningful conversations” and helping to “drive their choices, their decisions and their support,” Williams said.
WHOLE PERSON CARE:Why St. Francis is making housing and community services priorities at the hospital
According to the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 75% of program participants are predominately Black and Hispanic mothers and a quarter speak Spanish as their primary language. These demographics present challenges for medical institutions that historically have not prioritized whole-person health care.
Typically, community health workers reflect the community being served and act as culturally cognizant public health envoys for public health work. Since their widespread involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic, many health care service providers have come to embrace the work of community health workers because of the difference they made.
The impact of the project is already working, according to the coalition. While the report states 100% of participants responded that the quality of their life had improved on some level after working with a domestic violence community health worker, leaders said the most important measure the project has achieved is giving victims a sense of hope.
Contact reporter Anitra Johnson at 302-379-5786 or ajohnson@delawareonline.com with tips and story ideas. Follow her on Facebook.
