Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
The program’s goal is to directly reduce the catastrophic medical costs that trap vulnerable families in cycles of debt.
By Micah Mertes
A new Aflac grant will support Creighton University’s efforts to help underserved Omahans achieve a better quality of life.
The award — a $100,000 Community CareGrant from Aflac, the leading provider of supplemental health insurance in the U.S.* — will support Creighton’s Center for Promoting Health and Health Equity (CPHHE) in the School of Medicine. For nearly two decades, the center has addressed health disparities and empowered the surrounding communities through education, research and service.
Aflac’s Community CareGrant will help fund and deploy six community health navigators — all graduates of Creighton’s Community Health Worker certification — to provide chronic disease prevention education and training to an estimated 200 high-health-risk Omahans. The program’s first year will focus on individuals living in Omaha Housing Authority public housing towers and attending Black and Hispanic/Latino faith-based churches.
The peer navigators will educate participants about diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer prevention, and connect them with healthcare providers for clinical screening and treatment.
“The program’s goal is to directly reduce the catastrophic medical costs that trap vulnerable families in cycles of debt,” said CPHHE co-directors Sade Kosoko-Lasaki, MD, professor in the School of Medicine, and John Stone, MD, PhD, professor emeritus.
“Our work has always been guided by the belief that communities know what they need and must lead the way,” they said. “This partnership model has shaped every aspect of the CPHHE, including our Community Health Worker training program. Aflac’s generous gift strengthens our ability to continue this vital work and expand opportunities for community-driven health leadership.”
The Aflac Community CareGrant program aims to help communities facing or highly exposed to medical debt. The grants are awarded to nonprofits and university research and outreach programs to advance efforts to address long-standing health inequalities and improve medical outcomes.
Since 2022, Aflac has contributed nearly $3 million in CareGrants, according to Aflac Incorporated and Aflac U.S. President Virgil Miller.
“When people lack information and access to preventive care, small health concerns can turn into life-changing issues,” Miller said. “We know this Aflac Community CareGrant will help the CPHHE connect people in Omaha to education and screenings that can make a lifesaving difference.”
African‑American and Hispanic/Latino residents in Omaha experience some of the most significant health disparities in Nebraska, including higher rates of being uninsured, lacking a personal physician, and delaying needed care due to cost, said Kosoko-Lasaki.
Community Health Workers (CHWs) play crucial roles in promoting and supporting the health of individuals, families and communities. As trusted members of the communities they serve, they provide a vital link between their neighbors and access to an increasingly complex network of health and social services.
Creighton CHW program graduates serve in clinics, nonprofits, schools and neighborhood organizations across the region.
Creighton-certified community health worker Darlene Brown is the health minister at Bethesda Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church in North Omaha, where she helps provide members of the congregation and the larger community with information and resources (including items from the church’s food pantry) to improve their health. Brown, who grew up in North Omaha, said it’s rewarding to help the community she lives in.
“As community health workers, it’s important that we experience and build trust with the community we serve,” she said. “We meet people where they’re at to learn what they need most. Creighton’s program has provided me not only with the knowledge and resources but also with the network to better serve my community. What this grant from Aflac makes possible will be very impactful to Omaha.”
* LIMRA 2024 U.S. Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report
