[Parent / Caregiver] I was very worried about Antonio’s asthma situation. We had to go to the doctor, the emergency room…
[Dr. Megan Sandel, Pediatrician – voice over] In my experience as a pediatrician, having a visit from a community health worker can really change the course of a child’s life.
[Phone ringing]
[Parent / Caregiver] Hello?
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker] This is Sheyla Royster, the community health worker
[Parent / Caregiver] Yes
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker] I am calling because Dr. Sandel asked me to give you a call concerning your child’s asthma. I’m calling to schedule an appointment to come to your home and visit and see what are the triggers that can be causing the asthma.
[Parent / Caregiver] Is this confidential?
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker] The visit is completely confidential.
[Parent / Caregiver] Well, I could do Tuesday afternoon around 4.
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker] Great! I’ll see you Tuesday the 12th at 4:00 p.m.
[Doorbell rings]
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker – voice over] When a child is sick, it affects school, work, career life, family, and children are the center of family.
[Parent / Caregiver] Nice to meet you.
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker] Same here.
[Parent / Caregiver] Come in.
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker] Thank you.
[Parent / Caregiver] You’re welcome.
[Sheyla Royster, Community Health Worker – voice over] On the day of the visit, we’ll do a walkthrough through each room. I’ll check where the child sleeps for allergens. We’re just coming to make certain recommendations based on our experience of what the triggers are in your home.
We come in the door, and you might be doing all the right things, but you have no control over the leaking ceiling in your bathroom or the mold under your kitchen sink. Those are things you don’t correlate with asthma.
I’ll check for cleaning products that can aggravate asthma, and then I’ll suggest safe, low-cost alternative products. And I’ll also show you and your child how to use the nebulizer and what to do in an emergency situation. Then, we’ll schedule a follow-up visit to make sure you get everything you need.
The benefit of a community worker coming to visit you is your child will take less trips to the hospital. You won’t spend time in emergency rooms. You’ll be knowledgeable about asthma.
[Parent / Caregiver] Antonio is feeling much better. He’s sleeping through the night. He’s not tired anymore, and we have no more emergency room visits.
[Dr. Megan Sandel, Pediatrician – voice over] What I’ve seen in my experience is I’ll have a family with a kid who’s had multiple ER visits, and nothing has really gotten better. But after the community health worker comes to the house, people understand the medicine better. They’re able to change their environment to make it healthier. And that’s what makes the difference for them - making them healthy.