The Launch of Our Community Health Worker Program

Philadelphia, PA: This year, the Living Well With Sickle Cell Passport Project Grant of $20,000 has been awarded to the Crescent Foundation for their new Community Health Worker (CHW) Program. This initiative will provide direct community based services and care coordination for survivors with Sickle Cell Disease from birth across the lifespan to ensure that they receive appropriate follow up care, education, access to medical home, community based services, and seamless transition from pediatric to adult care. This work will extend to the entire Philadelphia area as well as the Delaware Valley.  

Of Crescent’s latest accomplishment, Tahirah Austin, Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer, says this isn’t just a win for Crescent but for patients in need of real support after transitioning into adult healthcare institutions, “For the adult sickle cell community there’s no community based organization in Philadelphia or in the Delaware Valley that has a community healthcare worker program that’s strictly for adults living with Sickle Cell Disease. It’s really important to support our adult population with sickle cell disease, especially because many of them come from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher’s Hospital of Philadelphia and they’re familiar with having a CHW as part of their medical team. So it’s good for them to transition into the adult care world and still receive that type of support and benefit when it comes to receiving their healthcare.” 

With the support of Children’s Sickle Cell Foundation and the Passport Project, the Crescent Foundation intends to use the funds to:

• Launch the initiative in early September backed by a team of community health workers certified through the Penn Impact program and Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) community health worker program. 
• Provide assistance for SCD patients. Which could look like:
  • Patients being referred to Crescent Foundation by their healthcare team in the Penn Medical system. From there, their team recommends what service that patient may need when it comes to needing a community healthcare worker.
  • Assistance managing day to day aspects of life including: pain management,  finances, and connecting resources to those in rural Pennsylvania areas.

About Crescent: Crescent Foundation is a solutions-focused organization with the sole purpose of serving the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) community. Through guidance and support for individuals transitioning from pediatric to adult care, Crescent helps patients navigate the journey of the healthcare system. Crescent Foundations aims to increase awareness, advocacy, and support for evidence-based care for patients, families, and communities affected by SCD, through collaborative action and innovative initiatives. 

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