For forms and information used by Navigators, please click here.
Navigators help people find and understand how to use a Health Home. A Health Home is defined as:
Harris County/Houston "Health Home" is the person or place an individual chooses for accessing health promotion, prevention and primary care on a continuing basis.
The attributes of a Health Home are:
 | Facilitates access to preventative and primary care | ||||||
| Client/provider collaboration | ||||||
| Health and social services coordination
|
Navigators perform a combination of services associated with case management, such as outreach, eligibility determination, health promotion, referral, advocacy, and facilitation of service coordination. Navigators increase access to healthcare by providing cultural linkages between communities and healthcare providers. Navigators reduce the cost of healthcare by helping people obtain healthcare services at the lowest level of care, improving quality of care through services that promote health and prevent disease, and enable better communication between patient and provider.
The goal of the Gateway to Care Navigator Program is to help Harris County residents access appropriate levels of healthcare services. They will:
| assist people to access healthcare resources at the appropriate level of care |
| assist people to identify a Health Home |
| assist people to obtain social services and other community resources |
| educate people on the value of a Health Home, and |
| assist in the development of family preventive healthcare plans |
Through the services offered by a Navigator in assisting the patient with identifying a Health Home, it will help decrease the number of visits to the Emergency Room which will allow the Emergency Room to be used as originally intended - treatment of injuries and illnesses that threaten an individual's life.
Navigators are focused on the person and family and look beyond the system where they are located to ensure a good match for future optimal health.
From 2004 through 2007, Gateway to Care was proud to host one of the AmeriCorps programs. Please click here to find out more
