Yesterday marked the start of Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment’s (COPE) 2013 Symposium: Community Health in Navajo Nation (NN). COPE is a partnership with the Navajo Nation Community Health Representative Outreach Program to improve the lives of those living with chronic diseases in Navajo.
NN Surgeon General, Dr. Gayle Dine Chacon, spoke about the need for community health innovations to better meet the needs of the Navajo people.
The goal of the COPE project is to strengthen the existing Community Health Representative (CHR) Program of the Navajo Nation and other American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN) nations with the following aims:
- To provide CHRs with the training, support, and resources needed to enhance their ability to promote the health of their community members living in Navajo Nation;
- To improve the health status of high-risk patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions;
- To increase efforts of prevention and early diagnosis of diabetes and other chronic conditions affecting the Navajo community and other Native American communities.
Above: COPE Director Dr. Sonya Shin from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mrs. Didi Bertrand Farmer from Partners In Health.