Alamance Community Assessment and Interventions
The three primary challenges facing Alamance County, North Carolina are education, access to care and a deteriorating economy. Access to health care is, therefore, the fundamental issue of concern for the residents of Burlington Municipality among other areas in Alamance County. Access to care allows people to receive preventive care, acquire monitoring of, and follow up for chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Most residents in Alamance County lack health insurance coverage coupled with inadequate income that can cater for the medical costs. There are also few health care professionals in the county who can work to meet the health needs of the growing population (Healthy Alamance. Alamance Community Assessment, 2015). Lack of transportation to the facility may bar an insured individual to access health care, and once he or she does, language barrier becomes the next issue of concern.
A community health nurse is supposed to come up with interventions geared towards increasing access to healthcare. He or she should lobby with the county government for the establishment of more clinics in the area to meet the health needs. Private practitioners can also be allowed to practice in the county at subsidized prices. Community health nurse can offer community outreach services where screening, treatment and health education are done from a mobile central point. He or she should also lobby the local government to deploy more healthcare professionals in the area.
The transport network is a primary challenge facing the residents of Alamance county thus enhancing the transport services could lead to better access to health care. Most people fail to seek health care due to inability to pay the expected transport costs to far places. Health insurance will help improve access to health care among the Alamance residents since medical expenses can be covered. Bridger, Smith & Saunders (2017) suggest that the public health nurse and local government should work together to seal the gap in insurance and Medicaid coverage.
References
Bridger, C.M., Smith, S.E., & Saunders, S.T. (2017) Saving Lives And Saving Money The Role Of North Carolina Health Departments In Medicaid Managed Care. North Carolina Medical Journal, 78(1), 55-57.
Healthy Alamance.Alamance Community Assessment (2015). Retrieved from www.healthyalamance.com>uploads>2015/10
