Cottage to Provide COVID-19 Prevention Training to Community Health Ambassadors

Cottage Center for Population Health is partnering with Latino community-based organizations and leaders to offer medically accurate and accessible COVID-19 prevention training for Community Health Ambassadors (CHAs), to help slow the spread of infection in the Latino community.

CHAs are community members who provide trusted and culturally relevant health education and support Cottage Center for Population Health in addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health.

Beginning this month, Cottage and community partners are piloting a project for CHAs to help distribute personal protective items and COVID-19 prevention education to the Latino community, who has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

In addition, those receiving the kits and education will have an opportunity to connect with a resource navigator to access services for basic needs. These efforts will focus on mid and south Santa Barbara County from Lompoc through Carpinteria.

Participating partners include: Dr. Sergio Rubio, Internal Medicine Specialist; Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, Cottage Health Chair of Infectious Disease; Cottage Infection Prevention and Control Department, Santa Barbara County Promotores Network, Family Service Agency, Isla Vista Youth Projects, La Casa de la Raza, and Mi Vida Mi Voz.

Components of the project include the following in Spanish and English:

• Community Health Ambassador training – trusted community members are trained on the basics of COVID-19 prevention and outreach
• COVID-19 Prevention Kit Distribution for our Latino Communities – distribution and education provided by trained CHAs to their friends and neighbors
• Resource Navigation and Connection – assist individuals who have unaddressed basic needs to access local resources

The CHAs will begin distributing COVID-19 prevention kits in December, continuing into the first quarter of 2021. A total of 2,400 kits will be distributed by approximately 200 CHAs.

Individual COVID-19 prevention kits will include the following items:

• Masks for adults and children, sanitizing wipes, COVID-19 information and resources, coloring booklet, and stickers and crayons provided by Cottage Health
• Hand sanitizer provided by Santa Barbara County Public Health Department
• Vitamin D supplements provided by Naturewise and Dr. Richard Mazess