Kate Forand, RN

Kate is the AmeriCorps Rural Health Promoter at Garfield County Hospital Public District in Pomeroy, Washington. Last May, she graduated from Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Taking an unconventional route with her nursing career she decided to follow her passion of volunteerism by committing a year to service through AmeriCorps. This led her from her hometown of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to eastern Washington. At GCHD, Kate works closely with the Community Care Coordinator at the Pomeroy Medical Clinic. Together, they encourage patients with chronic diseases, specifically diabetes and cardiovascular disease, to be active with managing their condition as well as engage the Pomeroy community to have a more health-minded focus.

Rural Community Health Promoters: A New Partnership with Americorps
March 30 2:10PM
This session will describe a partnership of 10 rural communities, the Washington Service Corps, and the Washington Health Foundation. In the first year of this partnership, 12 AmeriCorps members were recruited, placed and trained to be full-time Community Health Promoters. The AmeriCorps members work on community health improvement priorities set by the communities themselves, including helping people form Health Homes.

The presenter will describe how her work as part of the Pomeroy Clinic team focusing on chronic disease education, awareness, and management aims to improve health outcomes and help the hospital district achieve its mission.

While there are about 900 AmeriCorps members in the state, most are working in education. We will discuss the potential to expand this innovative model throughout rural Washington.