Community Engagement Model

HHCGA's Trailblazing Model of Engagement

HHCGA – Showcasing a working Community Engagement Model

It was earlier this year that Georgia Community Engagement Alliance (Georgia CEAL) received recognition in the President’s Council ofAdvisor’s on Science and Technology (PCAST) report titled “Supporting the U.S.Public Health Workforce.” The PCAST report applauded the outstanding work done by Georgia CEAL and its partners to advance health equity in Georgia’s ethnic and racial minorities amidst the COVID – 19 pandemic.

Special mention was made of the role played by Shirley E.“Bella” Borghi, Executive Director of the Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia(HHCGA) and Co-Chair of the Georgia CEAL Community Coalition Board. UnderShirley’s leadership, the HHCGA field team worked tirelessly with other mobile units and organizations to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to underserved communities.

The precedent set by the HHCGA was groundbreaking and established a successful approach to community engaged practices that could serve as a model for other health organizations.

For this outstanding effort, Shirley E. “Bella” Borghi and the HHCGA was the only submission chosen by the NIH from among the nations CEAL teams, to present at the 2023 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo held Nov. 12-15 at the World Congress Center. The annual meeting is one of the largest and most influential public meetings in the world. More than 12,000 public health experts participated in the 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo, virtually or in person.

In his role as HHCGA Community Outreach Engagement Director,Julian Santiago Ramon (Santiago), worked with the HHCGA team week-in and week-out at event in various underserved communities. It was therefore fitting that Santiago represented the HHCGA at the APHA meeting. He led a very practical and interesting session on efforts to support undeserved communities, focusing on the importance of resilience and sustainability of field activities to bring about improve health outcomes.  

Of his impressions of the APHA meeting, Santiago had this to say,

“I felt truly honored to be the representative for the HHCGA. Finding myself among such a large number of health care professionals, university representatives, and leaders of healthcare organizations, was both inspiring and empowering. It was evident that we all had a common passion and a heart for public healthcare, and the challenge of improving health outcomes for all underserved people.”

Santiago also said that following his presentation, he was impressed by the practical nature of the questions he was asked by the participants. Questions such as, “how do you select the communities to have events, and how do you know what the community needs?” He reported being surprised by the number of times he was recognized and the expressions of appreciation he received, and by statements such as thanks for giving great insights and ideas we can implement.

Thanks to Santiago’s presentation, we can expect to see the HHCGA model for effective community engagement reproduced nationwide.

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