Congratulations to Clarissa Carrillo Martinez, Regional Community Lead for the West Region, for receiving her MBA degree from Emporia State University!

She had been working on her MBA degree steadily in the past three years. 🎓 Juggling community engagement work while pursuing an advanced degree is a journey that only those who have been through it can relate to.

Carrillo Martinez is a first-generation college and MBA graduate. She truly serves as an incredible role model for future leaders across Kansas.

Would you like to share congratulatory notes? You can email her here.

The holiday season is often the busiest for families and CHWs alike. In December, Candra Jones (CHW Supervisor), Angela Scott (Field Supervisor), and Thien Doan (CHW with a home base in GraceMed) attended at least three events, including a mobile vaccine clinic, Afternoon with Santa - Heartspring Wichita and a Christmas Dinner Flash Point and Violence Impact Community Integration Program. They also hosted an outreach event, inviting everyone to hang out with their neighbors and introducing them to the COPE project.

Courtesy photo: Thien Doan and Christina Pacheco  

Flu, R.S.V. and Covid May Collide This Winter, Experts Say. Getting tested will help you rule out and get the best care possible.

Now you can order free COVID-19 test kits from the U.S. government and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Here is how:

Flor Sanchez (Barton County CHW with a home base in Heart of Kansas) has been nominated for the 2023 Chamber of Commerce Ambassador in Barton County.

The Barton County Chamber of Commerce relied on a vast network of community influencers to select and choose candidates. The process is similar, if not identical, to the operation of the McArthur's genius award.

According to Megan Hammeke, 2022 Chamber Ambassador President and Aquatic/Senior/Adaptive Director in Great Bend, "Ambassador Club members assist the Chamber with networking events, ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings, and membership recruitment and retention. This group of volunteers allows the Chamber to cultivate business relationships and network with the area's most successful people."

Sanchez credited this nomination and other professional development opportunities to her COPE position. Less than two months on the job, Sanchez was invited by 20th Juvenile District Services to represent COPE in a CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) conference in Florida back in July. She also introduced herself to Senator Jerry Moran at an event where she described her role as a CHW in Barton County and discussed the impact of funding social services.

More opportunities soon followed. She recently did an hour-long podcast with Alliance for a Healthy Kansas to discuss the role of a CHW. It is scheduled to air in January 2023.

"COPE has allowed me to be involved in my county and city in an active role," Sanchez said. 

Congratulations on these achievements! We are so proud of you!

Vicki L. Collie-Akers joined three other panelists to share their visions for the future of public health in a webinar on December 14. This webinar, titled " Looking Ahead: Insights, Challenges and Opportunities for the Future of Public Health," brought unique perspectives from the community, national, global and cross-sectoral levels into this conversation.

American Journal of Public Health Publishes Work from the COPE team Members

At the onset of the pandemic, many public health practitioners scrambled to understand barriers to COVID-19 testing. The COPE team members recently published their mixed-method findings in the American Journal of Public Health to document barriers, specifically in rural and urban areas in Kansas.

The COPE team members involved in the study were: Vicki L. Collie-Akers; Edward F. Ellerbeck; Elizabeth Ablah; Allison Honn; Mary Ricketts; Broderick Crawford; K. Allen Greiner. Read the publication here.

Most of the COPE team members have worked on RADx-UP, a sister project of COPE. Of the many aspects of the RADx-UP project, the team released the "Community Health Workers Beat the Virus" campaign aimed to encourage COVID-19 testing and vaccination.

KU Today recently features this work, published in the American Journal of Public Health. Authors included Yvonnes Chen; Mariana Ramirez; Crystal Lumpkins of the University of Utah; Broderick Crawford; and Drs. Allen Greiner and Edward Ellerbeck. Read the press release here.

Missed our prior issues? Want to share our work with community partners? Links to prior issues below.

Issue 1 (January 2022): Welcome to the COPE Family!

Issue 2 (February 2022): COPE mobilizes to distribute 22,500 COVID-19 At-Home Test Kits

Issue 3 (March 2022): COPE Presented at the 2022 Kansas Governor's Public Health Conference

Issue 4 (April 2022): COPE Team participates in health fair in Jackson County

Issue 5 (May 2022): Bourbon County LHEAT Distributes 480 Produce Boxes to Address Food Insecurity

Issue 6 (June 2022): Governor Kelly Recognizes Community Health Workers and COPE Partners in Community Health Workers Month

Issue 7 (July 2022): Baby fever Runs Rampant in the COPE Family

Issue 8 (August 2022): Barton County LHEAT Partners with Local Hair Studios for Children’s Back-to-School Haircut Event

Issue 9 (September 2022): Barton County Shoulders the Load for 20 Families at the Inaugural Laundry Love Event

Issue 10 (October 2022): "Does Your Chili Have a Little Heat?" Seward LHEAT's Win Sparks A Conversation

Issue 11 (November 2022): Happy Thanksgiving