Community health ambassadors in Flemingdon Park.
We are pleased to share that our Leading Practice submission, “East Effort’s Community Health Ambassadors Initiative”, has met all required criteria for acceptance as a Leading Practice from the Health Standards Organization (HSO)!
A Leading Practice is an innovative, people-centred and evidence-informed practice that has been implemented by teams in an organization. Leading Practices demonstrate a positive change related to safe and reliable care/service, accessible and appropriate care/service and/or integrated care/service.
This submission, developed by Alden Leung, an Administrative Resident at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), on behalf of the East Effort team led by Flemingdon Health Centre, highlights the recruitment and work of community health ambassadors as part of the East Effort: Community COVID-19 Response Project.
These ambassadors are people of all ages and backgrounds who help their neighbours, and other members of the community, in need by connecting them to COVID-19 supports and other services.
This group of individuals has been key to contacting more than 70,000 people living in high-priority neighbourhoods in East Toronto, including Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park, through outreach and engagement activities.
They have also facilitated the distribution of more than 10,000 adult and child personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and supported more than 1,400 people through case management and connecting them with financial supports.
As part of their work, ambassadors working under East Effort have also assisted with interpreting COVID-19 information for residents who speak different languages; accompanied individuals going to vaccine clinics; and created online community groups, gone door to door and flyered buildings to share science-based information about COVID-19.
This initiative has helped enhance the experiences of local residents who need COVID-19 supports and other care services by restoring and improving trust.
The initiative has also helped improve health outcomes thanks to community-based education led by the ambassadors that encouraged local residents to follow public health guidelines related to COVID-19.
See the full Leading Practice submission for East Effort’s Community Health Ambassadors Initiative (Download PDF). Congratulations to our partners for this well-deserved recognition!