The first step in connecting your patients to good community support programs is to identify what is available. To learn who is out there and what they do, seek assistance from patients and family, staff, government agencies, hospital social service departments, Area Agency on Aging organizations and similar groups.
Who Can Do This?
Remember, it is not necessary for the physican or nurse in a practice to lead this effort. Volunteers, office managers, or receptionists may be glad to take on this project.
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Strategies for Finding Resources
- Ask patients, families, and staff who live in the community what programs they know about that address specific problems and needs (e.g. food, exercise programs, respite care). And ask them if they know other people who might have some good information.
- Tour the neighborhood. Ask patients or staff who live in a neighborhood you serve if they would be willing to lead you on a tour of that neighborhood. As you tour, ask them and/or those you meet along the way, what problems people with chronic conditions in this neighborhood typically face or typically find most troubling? What resources do people facing these problems find most helpful?
- Look in the Yellow Pages under “Social and Human Services” To start, you might just want to call two or three organizations that seem most likely to be able to meet the needs of your patients.
- Check with your local hospital Social Service Department and Department of Public Health
- Local Area Agency on Aging groups offer a wealth of services and programs. Visit http://www.fullcirclecare.org for an easy to use nationwide directory to find agencies serving your area.
One resource in your community, perhaps a heart, asthma or diabetes association, can often tell you about other resources and help you keep information about them current. Ask if they will send you regular updates.
Additional Tips on Finding Community Resources
● Programs change and go out of business frequently, so lists go out of date. It’s good to review your list with phone calls, as often as volunteer or paid staffing allows.
● The Social Service department of a local hospital usually has useful lists they are willing to share with affiliated practices. In such instances the updating may be automatic.
● A long journey starts with one step. You might start by contacting a leader from an organization you know, or who has been recommended by other knowledgeable people. Ask about:
- Specific services of the organization
- Eligibility criteria and fees for those services
- Current waiting times for services
- Languages spoken by the organization’s staff
- How physicians can make referrals to the organization
- Who should not be referred to this organization
● Submit your own tips here
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Once you have found resources, the next step is to make them available to patients.