Kentucky Homeplace Announces New Community Health Workers

Hindman, Ky. (Nov. 14, 2012) – Kentucky Homeplace has named two new community health workers to help link medically underserved residents of Knott County with available health and social services.

Karen Feltner serves Kentucky Homeplace clients from an office located within the University of Kentucky’s June Buchanan Clinic in Hindman. The June Buchanan Clinic is a sister facility of the UK North Fork Valley Community Health Center in Hazard where Feltner has worked in medical records for the last four years.  Feltner says that serving her community is her passion and the recent change in work roles offers her an opportunity to bring her experience to the individual level to make a real difference in other’s lives.
 

Cassandra Smith, a native of Lotts Creek, serves clients in and around the Lotts Creek area from an office located within the Lotts Creek Community School. This is a unique partnership with Lotts Creek Community Foundation that not only links individuals with much-needed services, but also offers them an opportunity to participate in a grant-funded study designed to identify health trends and barriers to healthcare access.
 

With administrative offices based in Hazard at the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health, Kentucky Homeplace employs a total of 26 lay health workers to help residents in 38 counties across the eastern, southern and western regions of the commonwealth access medications, medical supplies, disease- and wellness-related educational materials, and other services.
 

Kentucky Homeplace is publicly funded and services are provided free of charge to its clients. There are no eligibility restrictions, although most of the companies from which medications are accessed do have income guidelines. Referrals to Kentucky Homeplace can be made by health care providers, as well as by friends or family.
 

“Kentucky Homeplace is devoted to promoting health lifestyles and access to care, with an ultimate mission to empower rural Kentuckians to advocate for their own health needs,” said Fran Feltner, director of University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health and Kentucky Homeplace.
 

Those in need of assistance or wishing to make a referral may contact the June Buchanan office at (606) 785-9884 or the Lotts Creek location at (606) 785-5282.  For more information about Kentucky Homeplace, visit them at www.kyruralhealth.org.