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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > SONOMA VALLEY CHC SEEKING AMERICORPS VOLUNTEERS
Article published - June 10, 2010
Credit: SONOMA NEWS
Sonoma Valley Community Health Center seeking AmeriCorps volunteers
By Emily Charrier-Botts
MThe Sonoma Valley Community Health Center will be getting some much-needed help with the addition of two AmeriCorps members, who will begin working at the facility in September.
But first, the facility must find qualified candidates to fit the positions, and the center will get an added financial boost if those candidates come from Sonoma County.
"The idea is to stimulate the economy and get some jobs going in this area," said Patricia Talbot, chief executive officer of the health center.
Talbot explained that the community health center is a member of the Redwood Community Health Coalition (RCHC), a group of health centers in North Bay that work in concert to provide better access and services to the medically disadvantaged. The coalition in turn partners with the Alliance for Rural Community Health, which received a federal grant from the National Association of Community Health Centers to bring a total of 22 AmeriCorps members to work in area health centers.
Of those, between seven and 11 members will be sent to Sonoma County. The Sonoma Valley Community Health Center asked for two of the members to work at the West Napa Street facility.
"We queried all of the health centers and each health center decides what positions they need filled," said Marty DeKay-Bemis, assistant manager of health access programs for RCHC, who is overseeing the AmeriCorps members.
The center is looking for one AmeriCorps member to help in the implementation of electronic health records, which the center is in the process of switching onto. That person would be responsible for working with patients and center staff to help ensure a seamless transition into the new system. The other position, called an outreach worker, will be specifically asked to work with Sonoma Valley Health Roundtable, a collection of health-care providers who work together in Sonoma Valley to improve access to health care. That member will be asked to help develop a health resource guide, implement a virtual business office and further develop the roundtable's goal to improve access to diabetes treatment.
The community health center will interview and select its own candidates for each position. It is preferred that members be bilingual to better suit the needs of the health center's patients. Talbot said the position is ideal for recent college grads returning to the Valley to live with mom and dad before planning their next move.
"It's not for someone who's been out in the field for a long time," Talbot said. "It's really for people who are trying to get experience. It's great for the résumé."
The members begin Sept. 13 and commit to working fulltime for nine months at the health center. They will be paid a stipend of about $1,000 a month, in addition to a $5,350 education award at the completion of the program.
"They can use it (education award) for education in the future or if they've incurred student loans in the past, they can pay those off," DeKay-Bemis said.
Each health center is required to contribute $7,000 per member to offset the costs of the program. However, a county foundation will cover the $14,000 the health center would expend on the members if the center hires Sonoma County residents.
To apply for a position, go to www.ruralcommunityhealth.org and click on "AmeriCorps." There, users can see a list of open positions with a description of the job and health center.
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