When the coronavirus pandemic began Dr. Luiz Manriquez, family physician and leader with the Spokane Alliance, knew that Spokane County did not have enough hospital beds to care for the number of predicted cases. With support from the WSU Elson S. Floyd School of Medicine and in coordination with the Spokane Regional Health District, the Spokane Alliance created the Community Health Monitoring Program.

For the first nine months of the pandemic we operated a volunteer-run program to support COVID patients. When low-risk people tested positive for COVID and were asked to self-quarantine at home, they received a pulse oximeter to self-monitor their heart rate levels and oxygen levels at home.

 

Volunteers called patients to support and check up on them for ten days, and patients also received a nonmedical resource guide for issues such as lack of food access and domestic violence. A team of food delivery volunteers provided groceries for self-isolating patients who did not have enough food. We trained over three hundred volunteers to support COVID positive patients and ten local medial providers volunteered on rotating six-hour shifts to provide medical advice and assistance to the patients.

 

The program gave sick people and volunteers a purpose and a sense of connection during the most uncertain months of the pandemic. With many patients living alone, volunteers helped patients get through recovery and improve their mental health. The program allowed people to find hope and unite the community. During our nine months we accomplished:

• We served 137 patients and there were 6 languages spoken among our patients. 
• The Spokane Alliance trained and HIPAA certified more than 300 volunteers. 
• Among the 300 volunteers, there were 10 languages spoken including Arabic, Spanish, Hindi and Russian. 
• We partnered with organizations across Spokane County, including World Relief, CHAS, Planned Parenthood-Raiz, and Better Health Together. 
• Many patients either wrote letters, expressed over the phone or posted on their social media about their gratitude for our program. Many patients felt comforted, supported and informed about their health and options for resources to get them through this challenging time. We know that at least one patient received life saving care because of our support.

Thanks to funding from the Innovia Foundation and the WSU College of Medicine, the Spokane Alliance’s Community Health Monitoring Program remains committed to achieving health equity for all in the community. Governor Jay Inslee commended the program for its efforts to bring people together, and Spokane Alliance staff person and WSU Medical School student Ravneet Waraich was named Washingtonian of the Day for her contributions to the program.  

To learn more about the Community Health Monitoring Program, see KXLY News coverage here.

Ravneet Waraich "Washingtonian of the Day"