As the date for the open enrollment is fast approaching (Nov. 15th), we wanted to introduce you to the Health Coverage Guide from Aurora Community Connection (ACC). We are proud to be partnered with the ACC, as they do great work within our diverse community. With their efforts, we are able to get more individuals covered with health insurance.
About Aurora Community Connection
The Aurora Community Connection (ACC) family resource center was founded in November 2007, with funding from the JFM Foundation and support from the Family Resource Center Association (FRCA). ACC simultaneously promotes family self-sufficiency and mobilizes residents from the local community to contribute their time and skills to help other families. In its short time as a nonprofit organization, ACC has built trust with local residents and created a strong approach for community outreach. As a result, groups such as Aurora Public Schools, Aurora Mental Health, Share Our Strengths, and the Anschutz Wellness Center turn to ACC to connect program resources to families in Aurora. For the 2013-2014 Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment, ACC was able to enroll more than 1,220 lives, and outreached to more than 10,000 individuals and families in the Aurora. Colorado metropolitan area.
Vision
Emphasize the experience of
individuals and families to heighten awareness of everyone’s capacities and
diminish low self-esteem, dependency, and inequalities among all families in
Aurora.
Mission
Develop the capacities of
under-served families, increase access to resources and promote social equity.
Our Location
http://www.auroracommunityconnection.com/
Aurora Community Connection
9801 E. Colfax Ave. Ste 200
Aurora, CO 80010
Ph: 720-975-0147
Fx: 720-975-0152
Aurora Community Connection
9801 E. Colfax Ave. Ste 200
Aurora, CO 80010
Ph: 720-975-0147
Fx: 720-975-0152
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| Meet the ACC team-from left to right: Pedro Arevalo, Nohemi Burciaga, Ivan Sosa, Chris Tello |
Meet the Health Coverage Guide- Ivan Sosa
Tell me about a typical day in the
life of a Health Coverage Guide?
A typical day of a Health Coverage Guide at Aurora Community
Connection is full of informational and outreaching events. Health Coverage
Guides start their week by having a staff meeting to plan weekly events. They then go out to the streets to educate small business, and individuals about Connect for Health Colorado and Medicaid. The remaining time of the day, they spend doing one-on-one
educational/enrollment appointments. On some nights and weekends, Aurora Community
Connection Health Coverage Guides attend community events to educate, and
enroll individuals and families in Connect for Health and Medicaid.
What is your role within Aurora
Community Connections?
My name is Dr. Ivan Sosa, MSW and I am the Health Coverage
Guide Program Coordinator. My role as a Program Coordinator is to make sure
that ACC staff have the tools necessary to provide the best quality of service
to the individuals and the families that we serve. My role is to build
collaborations with assistance sites, churches, nonprofits, schools, and
community partners to allow us to go into their communities to educate, and
enroll members of their community.
What inspires you in your role as a
Health Coverage Guide?
Being a Health Coverage Guide is a rewarding job that
inspires me to reach out to the general population about Connect for Health Colorado and
Medicaid to make sure that everyone is covered by health insurance. One of the
inspirations that I have as a Health Coverage Guide, is that I get to help
people whose native language is not English, in order to obtain health insurance for
them and their families. It’s rewarding to talk to individuals and families in
their native language-Spanish, so that they can fully understand their insurance
options and make sure that their families have the appropriate health plans.
How can health coverage save lives?
There have been a number of instances where Health Coverage Guides at ACC have helped save the lives of uninsured individuals and families in the Aurora metropolitan area. Currently, we are helping a young couple and their 3-month old baby to enroll in health coverage. Recently, the husband got injured at work and had a broken leg. He was taken to the local hospital where he was admitted into ER, but when he tried to go back for a follow-up appointment, they told him that they could not see him as he did not had health insurance or Medicaid. He came to Aurora Community Connection for assistance doing a Connect for Health application, and we are able to process his Connect for Health application and educate him about the different types of coverage available to him and his family. This young individual went four days with no pain medication, had a broken leg, and got turned away by the local hospital until we were able to get him the assistance necessary to select a health plan. We helped get his broken leg the treatment needed to help him heal.
What are key events coming up?
Daily walk-in at Aurora Community Connection
November 15th to February 15th
Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Weekly information/enrollment events at Martin Luther King Jr. Library
November 15th to February 15th
Tuesday 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Weekly Enrollments at Kids first
November 15th to February 15th
Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
