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Journey to Better Health

Journey to Better Health provides free services to help individuals identify, monitor and manage their health conditions with health screenings and classes and a support care program, the Member Care Support Network. Our goal is to empower members to manage their health and encourage their journey with a network of people who support them.
 

Member Care Support Network

The Member Care Support Network offers non-medical support services (e.g. transportation, light housekeeping and companionship) from a Community Companion volunteer, to enrolled individuals who are experiencing a health need such as a hospitalization.

    • Are 65 and older
    • Live alone
    • Have been recently hospitalized
    • Are socially isolated or homebound
    • Have multiple chronic conditions (e.g. lung disease, cancer or any other long-term health issues)
    • Experience functional impairment
    • Feel overwhelmed by recent stressful life events
    • Be 18 years or older
    • Live or worship in Howard County
    • Have temporary non-medical support needs
  • Register today!

    For more information, call 410-740-7601 or email [email protected].

    The Member Care Support Network program is a great resource for congregations that wish to expand the services of their care ministries.

  • Lorna Sampson"I learned about Howard County General Hospital’s Member Care Support Network from its Community Care Team. Due to previous health complications, I came to HCGH for two surgeries. While at the hospital, I learned I qualified for free at-home health care assistance from CCT.

    The team noticed I needed additional help with day-to-day tasks I couldn’t perform because of my health. I’m fairly new to Howard County, with no family or close friends nearby. I found out an MCSN volunteer could help me for free.

    When Tehani Mundy, MCSN coordinator, visited me to enroll me in the program and understand my needs, she noticed some jewelry I made while I was recovering from my surgeries. Tehani suggested I showcase my jewelry to sell it. She paired me with Dibora Kuma, a volunteer Community Companion knowledgeable about social media. Dibora took photos of my jewelry and showed me how to post them on Instagram. Now, I’m marketing my own jewelry.

    Dibora also helped me organize paperwork for my appointments and medical bills, which can be very overwhelming, and with some basic home organizing. She moved belongings that I can’t lift so they are more convenient for me.

    Dibora came into my life to help with simple tasks, but the impact she’s had is far greater. I think of her as a friend, an advocate and, thanks to her social media know-how, a business advisor.

    When you’ve been independent for most of your life and are accustomed to doing things on your own, it can be hard to recognize when you need help and to ask for it. My condition halted the independent day-to-day life I was used to, and it has been a hard adjustment. Thanks to the MCSN program and its Community Companion volunteers, living with my condition has gotten better."

    - Lorna Sampson

  

Faith Community Partnerships

Journey to Better Health works with Howard County faith organizations to support health and complement care ministries to members who are ill, with health services and a care support network.

The goal is to empower members, with free services, to proactively monitor their health and encourage their journey with a network of people who support them in dealing with a health issue.

Faith communities of all denominations that participate in the program have access to all Journey to Better Health services.

  • Abiding Savior Lutheran Church
    Atholton Seventh Day Adventist Church
    Bethany Church
    Bethany United Methodist
    Bridgeway Community Church
    Calvary Lutheran Church
    Celebration Church
    Christ Episcopal Church
    Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church
    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Clarksville and Ellicott City)
    Church of the Resurrection
    Columbia Baptist Fellowship
    Columbia Community Church
    Ellicott City Assembly of God Church
    Ellicott City Seventh-day Adventist Church
    First Baptist Church of Guilford
    First Evangelical Lutheran Church
    Gary Memorial United Methodist Church
    Glen Mar United Methodist Church
    Hope Bible Church
    Jewish Federation of Howard County
    Kittamaqundi Community Church
    Iglesias De Dios Pentecostal
    Locust United Methodist Church
    Muslim Family Center
    New Hope Adventist Church
    North American Division Seventh-day Adventist Church
    Oneness Ministries
    Saint James United Methodist Church
    Savage United Methodist Church
    St. John Baptist Church
    St. John United Church
    St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church
    Temple Isaiah
    Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia
    United Methodist Church of Savage
    Unity Baptist Church

    If you do not see your faith organization listed, learn how your faith organization can start taking advantage of Journey to Better Health.

  • "The leadership of St. John Baptist Church is excited about the partnership Journey to Better Health brings to our members. It has become a springboard for encouraging members to remember the body is a temple to be cared for as it is the only one we will ever have.

    The blood pressure and pre-diabetes classes are very beneficial; we often hear comments about the excellent instruction participants receive.

    The Member Care Support Network is the icing on the cake! It has become a part of our member care support system. One early morning I received a call from a St. Johns Community Companion telling me one of our members was in Howard County General Hospital's Emergency Room. That call permitted me to provide a timely response in reaching out to the member, who was surprised and appreciative of being contacted while dealing with a medical emergency.

    One of the most significant benefits of the Journey to Better Health partnership is that it enhances our ability to minister to members, the goal of every church."

    Rev. Ostein B. Truitt
    Assistant Pastor, St. John Baptist Church

 

Volunteer Opportunities

There are many benefits to volunteering – fulfillment from help those in need, training that leads to new skills, discovering local resources and more. If you are 18 or older, you can volunteer with Journey to Better Health and give back to your community.

Select a volunteer position below for descriptions, requirements and application information:

  • Community Companions are trained volunteers who provide care support of Member Care Support Network members who are dealing with a health condition.

    As a Community Companion, you are paired with a MCSN member based on mutual availability and matching his/her needs with your chosen responsibilities. The supportive tasks you provide are based on your unique experience and comfort level. For example, driving members to doctor visits, calling to check up on them and their needs, social home visits or providing other types of support.

    Ideal Community Companion qualities include:

    • Following through with commitments
    • Respect for privacy
    • Possessing an interest in healthy living
    • Comfortable with providing compassionate support
    • Trusted and accountable character
       

    Requirements & Applying to Volunteer

    Before you begin volunteering, you must complete our Community Companion training, which is offered once a month. To get started, complete our online application or call 410-740-7601 or email [email protected].

    Additional training and volunteer opportunities are available to Community Companions.

  • Journey to Better Health offers free, on-site health screenings throughout the year to help individuals identify and monitor conditions like high blood pressure, pre-diabetes and obesity. Event Support Volunteers provide event set up and on-site registration support, event guidance and language interpretation for attendees at these community health screenings.  

    Ideal volunteer qualities include:

    • Great people skills
    • Good communication skills
    • Respect for privacy
    • Ability to take initiative
    • Energetic and cheerful personality
       

    Application and Training

    Journey to Better Health staff prepares volunteers on how to manage a health screening station, including event procedures and guidance to attendees.

    Complete our online application or call 410-740-7601 or email [email protected].

  • Health Educators lead our Living Well workshops, a six-week workshop that focuses on supporting participants to become good self-managers of their health conditions.

    Benefits to becoming a trained Living Well Health Educator:

    • Enhance your abilities to care for yourself and for loved ones
    • Gain experience and certification in delivering a proven effective program that helps people take charge of their health
       

    Qualities:

    • Experience with a chronic condition or caring for a loved one with a chronic condition
    • Worked with an individual or group of people whose cultural backgrounds differ from yours
    • Comfortable with public speaking
    • Be at least 18 years of age
       

    Responsibilities:

    • Adhere to workshop standards
    • Lead at least one workshop per year to maintain certification
       

    Application and Training

    Apply online to attend our free training where master trainers prepare you to lead a Living Well workshop. You must attend all training sessions to receive certification and begin leading the workshop. Training is offered on an annual basis.

    For more information, call 410-740-7601 or email [email protected].

 

About Journey to Better Health

Learn how Howard County General Hospital’s Journey to Better Health program provides those who live or worship in Howard County with resources that help them manage their health and support them in dealing with a health issue.

Faith Community Partners

Learn how Howard County General Hospital’s Journey to Better Health program works with Howard County faith organizations to support health and complement care ministries to members who are ill, with health services and care support networks.


Contact Us

410-740-7601
[email protected]

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