Anne Kirby is currently serving as a National Health Corps - Philadelphia member at Delaware Valley Community Health, working as Care Navigator and serving as a compassionate ear to her patients. In her role, Anne signs up community members for preventative cancer screenings and works with a list of patients to screen for different social determinants of health. After determining their particular needs, she will use the Connect4health platform to find the relevant resources AS WELL AS following up with patients to know that they can trust Anne with their needs. (SHE DOES SO MUCH!)
Using the Connect4health platform, Anne can keep track of which referrals need additional follow up and, through this, she has created strong relationships with CBOs supporting her patients, like The Simple Way. This relationship has proved invaluable in being able to support her patients and communicate expectations with them.
Anne loves being the trusted point of contact for her patients, working at the intersection of public health and social work, both of which she hopes to pursue in her graduate education. Working with an older population, Anne sees how the use of technology can help combat health inequities but understands its limits and potential, saying, “there are consequences to how we engage with technology, but it’s important to not take for granted the access and ability to quickly and efficiently access information."