COVID-19 pandemic raised an increasing awareness of Health Disparities across the socioeconomic continuum. The Case Managers, Social Workers, and Health Advocates in hospitals and community agencies continue to work with individuals to secure and sustain the most appropriate and least restrictive level of care in promoting independence. The challenge presented to the Case Managers, Social Workers, and Health Advocates was lack of a consolidated resource platform to map pathways in coordinating care. The availability of resources to overcome health disparities is fragmented and time consuming. While the costs of caring for individuals continues to climb and payments are limited, hospitals and other agencies must find ways to overcome obstacles. Health disparities negatively impact individuals creating additional challenges to maintain good health. Health Disparity includes but is not limited to: socioeconomic status or income; race or ethnicity; age; sex or gender; geography (rural vs urban); disability; sexual orientation; immigrant status; religion; chronic illness; or mental health status. As Case Managers, Social Workers and Health Advocates we are challenged to assist in these areas by making optimal referrals that yield successful outcomes for these individuals and/or their families. The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate our collaboration with the Council on Senior Services (COSS) & Allen County Health Disparity Coalition and strengthening our community through shared resources.

Objectives: 

• Identify and discuss areas of health that lack connections between hospital Case Managers, Health Advocates, and Community Resources.
• Compare and collaborate with local healthcare and social service organizations in exploring the possibility of promoting and expanding publicly accessible resource platforms.
• Identify opportunities for case managers, health advocates and community health providers to collaborate and share resources that can meet the needs of those experiencing healthcare disparities.