You may be getting—or may have already gotten—a knock at your door and an offer for a blood pressure reading. Here’s why.
The Community Health Advocate program was launched by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department in 2014 in the Weller neighborhood and has since expanded to include all of Zone 1 and one Zone 2 neighborhood.
[pullquote]Community Health Advocates live within the communities they serve. They build relationships with their neighbors to help them live healthier lives. Through blood pressure screenings, residents are connected with health care. While the program focuses on blood pressures, it also helps connect residents to other community resources such as community gardens. Learn more at springfieldmo.gov/health.[/pullquote]
The goal of the program is to help neighborhoods be healthier by truly acting as an advocate for clients’ needs. Advocates can most often be seen going door-to-door offering blood pressure screenings, but the program is bigger than just that one indicator of a person’s health. Each neighborhood’s advocate works to help individuals understand the health of themselves and their family, as well as getting people connected with health care needs and navigating existing programs and resources. Advocates also help at food distribution events in Zone 1 neighborhoods and at other neighborhood events.
Cassandra Siperko serves the Midtown, Robberson and Weller neighborhoods. Lacey Nichols serves the Bissett, Grant Beach and Heart of the Westside neighborhoods.
Hugo Aparicio serves the Doling, Tom Watkins, West Central, Westside and Woodland Heights neighborhoods.
Hugo brings a unique skill to his advocacy work—he’s bilingual. He can help bridge the gap when Spanish-speaking clients need help with issues that can sometimes get lost between languages.
Hugo’s first experience with volunteering in the health field came during his high school years in his native El Salvador. He helped go door-to-door to spread the word about preventing dengue fever.
“Through these encounters I had with different families, I learned to appreciate how important it is to help your neighbor and how strong the family bond is in difficult circumstances,” he said.
“Among all of these experiences with the community, I discovered that compassion was one of my greatest strengths.”
Hugo was born in El Salvador, but his family came to America in the 1990s to escape the ongoing civil war.
“I have lived in the Ozarks since 1995 and have witnessed the progress the City of Springfield has made with collaborative efforts,” Hugo said. “I am very proud to be a part of that progress and know it will benefit generations to come.”