Sandra, OneWorld patient, and her son, Thiago.
OneWorld patients often face many health inequities due to their social determinants of health, the factors that impact a person’s overall quality of life and health outcomes. Nikki West, CSW, Social Work Manager, said
literacy, lack of insurance, immigration status, food insecurities and poor living environments are a few of the common health injustices seen in the OneWorld patient community. “We have a lot of patients whose immigration status is pending or uncertain, and as a result don’t have access to assistance programs, such as food stamps, so it’s difficult for them to access food—especially nutrient dense food,” said Nikki. “In the case where patients have access to a food bank, they often don’t have the means of transportation, they may not have a social security card which is sometimes required or they may not speak English.” To fill these gaps, OneWorld collaborates with local food banks to coordinate food deliveries for patients, and the social work team uses online grocery ordering to deliver food directly to patients’ houses. “Together Inc. continues to partner with OneWorld to provide weekly deliveries for some of our patients who test positive for Covid-19 to make sure families have enough food while they are in isolation,” said Nikki. A few of OneWorld’s medical clinicians and the social work team maintain a small food closet on the Livestock Exchange Health campus and a freezer for patients in emergent need of food. In addition to food insecurity, patients’ living conditions can contribute to poor health. Families may not have stable income to afford a safe home, or they may live with multiple other families in one apartment. “When you are afraid of your lights being turned off or not being able to pay your rent and/or you are facing an eviction, the result is a lot of stress and anxiety,” said Nikki. “We see that the social determinants of health are very multi-faceted. Patients worry about their resources and that stress causes them to have poor physical and mental well-being.” OneWorld integrates screening for social determinants of health into medical exams to make sure patients have their basic needs met. Follow-up appointments for services including behavioral health are added to treatment plans if patients need additional help outside of a clinical setting. “All of our efforts are dedicated to help patients feel seen,” said Nikki. “Despite the health disparities, discrimination or oppression they face, we are a safe space for them. When patients walk through our doors, they know they will be treated with dignity and respect and we are going to do our best to help them because we truly care for each individual.”
At OneWorld, We Care for All People.
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