Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard

About Kentucky Homeplace

Mission

The mission of Kentucky Homeplace is to provide access to medical, social, and environmental services for the citizens of the Commonwealth.

Vision/Goals

The goal of Kentucky Homeplace is to educate Kentuckians to identify risk factors and use preventative measures to become a healthier people with knowledge and skills to access the healthcare and social systems.

Background

Kentucky Homeplace was originally developed by the University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health, based in the eastern Kentucky coal-mining town of Hazard, Ky., as a demonstration project in 14 counties. Since its inception in 1994, this community health worker initiative has linked tens of thousands of rural Kentuckians with medical, social and environmental services they otherwise might have done without. Homeplace’s community health workers are trained to help medically underserved residents access appropriate health services, and emphasis is placed on preventive care, health education and disease self-management.

Today, Homeplace’s geographic service area spans the length of the state, including most counties in eastern and western Kentucky and those along its southern border. Residents of these areas are statistically poorer, less educated and less likely to have medical coverage than those in other parts of the state and nation. Further complicating the matter is that most of the state’s 120 counties are designated as medically underserved areas. Yet, in Kentucky, even availability of services is not synonymous with access. Barriers, especially for poor rural people, include lack of knowledge about services, inadequate information on their own conditions, social and cultural inhibitors, lack of money, transportation, and numerous other factors.

What We Do

Community health workers are employed from the communities they serve and are trained as advocates to provide access to medical, social and environmental services and to deliver education on prevention and disease self management. Research data is collected and then analyzed to identify health trends, socio-cultural and economic barriers. These findings are then used to find solutions in bridging the gaps between uninsured and underserved individuals and the health care delivery system.

Who We Serve

The program’s beneficiaries are the medically underserved or “the neediest of the needy.” Most clients are at 100% - 133% of the federal poverty level. Homeplace’s services are offered at no charge to the clients.

The need for Kentucky Homeplace has never diminished; in fact, it has continued to grow every year. In the quarterly reports, “Client Encounters” details the struggles and hardships of the people we serve daily. We are very proud of the difference our program makes in the lives of our clients and their families.

See Also

• Statewide Service Area Map (pdf)
• Frequently Asked Questions