Written by Pat Melgares
K-state expansion
There, in the living room of the Epworth Towers retirement community in Hayes, six women – one of them using a walker – were talking, laughing and marching into place.
Carissa Frazier, a community health worker with Kansas State University’s Office of Local Extension, set the tone for the group in a calm, steady tone.
“Okay, let’s warm up,” she says. “Strengthen your muscles and get ready to march.”
The morning session is something of a routine for the group, and usually draws twice the size of the day’s gathering. For the past six weeks, they have been participating in K-State Extension’s Walk with Ease program. This program helps people with arthritis and other chronic conditions increase physical activity.
The warm-up is followed by a 15-minute walk through the halls of the nursing home.
Walk with Ease is one of the many K-State extension programs Frazier has implemented as a certified Kansas community health worker.
Established in 2017, the program empowers community members to serve as public health workers and serves as a liaison between the community and health and social services.
“As a community health worker, I get to help people navigate the medical world. For some, that might mean helping people find health care, health insurance, or assistance programs to pay for medications, such as Medicare or Medicaid. I also work with people one-on-one, coaching individuals with chronic illnesses on their health journeys, and managing their health.”
K‑State empowers community health workers to close local health disparities
Elaine Johannes, Kansas Health Foundation Distinguished Professor of Community Health and K-State’s College of Human Sciences, said nearly half of the states and territories in the U.S. have certification programs, and Kansas is one of the first.
Since 2017, the state’s program has been managed by the Kansas Department of Public Health within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. K-State joined in 2023 through a university initiative, which led to six extension offices that have or are currently staffing community health workers.
“K-State Extension is the first extension system to employ community health workers in local extension offices to support local care coordination, identify service gaps, and connect customers to health care providers for care and local health access,” she said.
To obtain certification, community health workers must complete 160 hours of training, including 60 hours in the field, or submit documentation of previous community health work.
Monique Koerner, a family and community health specialist with K-State Extension, works closely with Frasier to serve the Hays area.
“One of K-State Extension’s core missions is the health and well-being of families,” Kellner said. “I truly believe that the community health worker position will help expand the work that family and community health workers are already doing. I like the fact that they often work one-on-one with clients.”
A local woman recently attending K-State Extension’s Stay Strong, Stay Healthy class found herself in a dilemma. Just before her second class, the woman had to call the extension office to apologize for missing class, Kellner said. Her husband has dementia and after a really bad night, she didn’t know what the rest of her life would be like.
“Karissa works well with local dementia support groups and respite care, so I was able to give her the client’s name and she was able to reach out, listen, and provide them with the resources they needed during this time,” Kellner said.
Frazier said his role is simple.
“I sit and listen,” she said. “I listen carefully, get to know the other person, and understand what is bothering them.”
From there, Frazier helps his neighbors overcome their health challenges by first understanding how the obstacles can be approached and overcome.
“For example, you might ask, ‘How can I change my behavior to make the lifestyle changes necessary to achieve better health?'” Frazier says. “We’ll also talk about your doctor’s recommendations and how you can incorporate them into your daily life.”
One woman couldn’t afford the medicine she needed to treat a chronic illness, Frazier recalled. But after a little searching, Frazier helped the woman find a grant she could apply for and receive.
“She now has thousands of dollars in funding for that medication. With that barrier removed, we were able to take a holistic look at her lifestyle and decide how to better manage her disease in the future.”
Community health workers cover “all walks of life” in the community
Kellner and Frazier tend to praise the relationship between health care workers and extension specialists. They have seen it work and believe it is a model that will lead to healthier communities.
By providing comprehensive coverage of community health, with Kellner taking on the maternal and child health work and Frazier taking on aspects of adult development and aging, extension staff like them serve the community with a “womb-to-grave” approach, Kellner said.
“I see people of all ages and from all walks of life. An elderly person might come to me asking for help enrolling in Medicare. Or I might have a middle-aged person with a disability who needs help getting their benefits. Or a young entrepreneur might come to my house and ask for help enrolling in marketplace insurance.”
Through this program, K-State Extension community health workers fulfill the university’s land-grant mission of service and education.
“Extensions are already a great resource,” Frazier said. “If our communities can deploy health care workers in community-based settings, as K-State Extension is proposing, we will be able to reach more people and serve them in different ways.”
More information about community health and wellness programs is available at your local K-State Extension office in Kansan.
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