Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Donate today to give back in celebration of all that #PublicMediaGives. Your contribution will be matched $1 for $1.

New Help For Doctors With Chronically Ill Patients

Walfred Lopez, a community health worker at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, visits patient Maria Rivera, 48, at her home in La Puente, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2015. Rivera says she depends on Lopez to understand what is happening with her health. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Walfred Lopez, a community health worker at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, visits patient Maria Rivera, 48, at her home in La Puente, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2015. Rivera says she depends on Lopez to understand what is happening with her health. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)

Doctors know barriers prevent many of their chronically ill patients from getting better. But with limited time, they don’t always know what those barriers are. That’s where community health workers come in. In Los Angeles County, an experiment is underway to see if community health workers can help the most vulnerable patients. Anna Gorman from Here & Now contributor Kaiser Health News reports.

Reporter

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.