The Health Focal Points program is a partnership between the Bhutanese American Organization-Philadelphia and PolicyLab. Using lessons learned from existing social service organizations serving immigrant and refugee communities, we worked with experts from the Penn Center for Community Health Workers and the Center for Public Health Initiatives to adapt a community health worker program aimed at teaching Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees how to navigate the U.S. health care system.

This community-based program helps clients solve pressing problems accessing health care, such as language and cultural barriers. It uses a combined approach of direct assistance and education to help clients gain knowledge, skills and confidence. The ultimate goals are self-reliance of the clients, empowerment of the Health Focal Point, and dissemination of an efficient and effective model that new immigrant communities can use to help their members learn to have successful interactions with the U.S. health system.