Health Work Group

Lower San Antonio Collaborative
April 14, 2004
3:30-5:00pm
La Clinica de La Raza

Next Meeting – Wednesday May 12th – 3:30-5:00pm

*There were many questions about the collaborative and USC’s role. There was a suggestion made that all new members get a thorough orientation.

Questions:

• What needs assessment (or similar work) has already been done for the LSAC?
• What resources have been identified in the community?
• What data collection assistance related to health can Urban Strategies Council provide for the Promotoras project?
• Can Kristen and Anna meet with USC to get more information on the LSA neighborhood?

Next steps:

• La Clinica will set up a meeting with Deb to figure out how much they might need for TA around curriculum development and creating multi-lingual program materials.
• Mara will send the following materials:
• Promotoras proposal and program description (Jan 2003)
• Overview of health work group, structure chart and key to LSAC organizations
• Contact info for all members of work group
• Directory of LSAC members and contacts
• Update from Samantha on the May 1 st Health Fair
• Deb Montesino’s contact information

Upcoming Events:

There will be a Results-Based Accountability training with Mark Friedman on May 18th from 8:30am to 4:30pm at La Clinica. More information to come soon.

Attendees: Tamar Fendel, Kristen Graser, Mara Guccione, Deb Montesinos, Kenneth Wells, Anna

Promotoras Update

• Kristen is officially on board as the Pomotoras project coordinator. There will be another person hired to help, although they probably won’t work on this full time.
• Kristen was able to jump right in and begin interviewing and doing info gathering. She is asking questions, such as what direction do we want to go in? Where do we want to start? She expressed the importance of not repeating anything that has already been done, so she asked about previous work on needs assessments in the LSA. She also expressed the importance of not assuming that what works in one place (Fruitvale) will necessarily work in another (LSA). There is a multi-ethnic/lingual dimension to the LSA which brings more questions. Who are the stakeholders? Are there existing networks they should work with or through?
• Kristen also asked about how the health work group works together. Do we work on separate projects and come together with updates or do we want to collaborate more? Also, where does the accountability lie in the work group?
• In terms of how many Promotoras, Kristen thought 10 was the original number but that they are looking more at the approach than the number.
• Deb suggested working with EBAYC, who is a good resource for organizing and training community residents. In Kristen’s discussions with David, he asked an important question about whether we are doing leadership development (a different model) or a Promotoras program. Also, we need to think about whether or not we are interested in tapping into a pre-organized group of people.
• The program development steps are 1) development the assessment model; 2) analyzing; 3) program planning; 4) implementation. There is a TA need for developing the plan for assessment. Another idea is to develop an advisory group for developing the project with Deb, USC.

LSAC Transition planning

• Kristen raised some questions about the transition of the coordination role from USC to the neighborhood and what this is going to look like. Deb and Mara explained the process that is underway and that USC will continue to be involved and there will continue to be TA support.
• Tamar offered that the coordination of the health work group would likely go to her and La Clinica; that this is a natural fit.
• Anna suggested that it might make sense to separate the facilitation of the work group and the administration (note-taking, agenda, etc).
• There were many questions about the collaborative and USC’s role. There was a suggestion made that all new members get a thorough orientation.

Outcomes

The group went through the Casey report and discussed the goals section. There was some concern over what we can accomplish and if we would be penalized if not. Deb and Mara explained that this is a living document and we can make changes as we learn what is working. Deb was very helpful in providing an overview of each work group and how they are structured and work very differently. We suggested that if there was more feedback and suggestions, they should be sent directly to Owusu and Junious.

TA Work Plan

Deb is in the process of building TA plans from the work plans that each work group has given her. The goal of TA is to support programs that are directly connected to the Making Connections outcomes. There is currently $100,000 for TA, not including Deb’s time. Deb has a form that will need to be filled out for financial resource allocation, but she also prefers having the conversation about what the needs are. Deb also gave some examples of the types of TA she can provide, including facilitation, strategic planning and development, program planning, assessment and evaluation. Ideas for TA for the health work group include:

• Peer to peer matching – traveling to visit a site that has a Promotora or similar program; or bringing a panel of people here.
• Assistance in finding multi-lingual “promotora” programs, including curricula and anything that has been used with other groups. [Deb mentioned her friend, Diana Bermudez, who may know of such programs.]
• Community organizing/empowerment around health issues
• Curriculum development
• Help with needs assessment plan; making sure that it is done in a structured, efficient, meaningful way.

Next steps for TA:

• La Clinica will set up a meeting with Deb to figure out how much they might need for TA around curriculum development and creating multi-lingual program materials.

Announcements

• There will be a Results-Based Accountability training with Mark Friedman on May 18th from 8:30am to 4:30pm . Contact Deb to register. Tamar will ask about getting the large room for the morning and the smaller room for the afternoon. Agencies are encouraged to bring extra people.
• Family Care Update: They have stopped accepting applications and referred people to other agencies. They are keeping 2,000 members for the time being. If folks were enrolled before October 2001, they will stay but the termination date is June 30th for all others.