Celebrating National Community Health Worker Awareness Week
This week, we celebrate National Community Health Worker Awareness Week by recognizing the impact our community health workers (CHWs) have on the patients and families we serve.
At the Delta Dental of South Dakota Foundation, our CHWs play a vital role in helping people overcome barriers that can stand in the way of good oral health. Whether it's arranging transportation, finding childcare, navigating payment concerns, or connecting patients with resources, they meet people where they are with compassion, advocacy, and trusted support.
Their work extends far beyond coordinating care—they build relationships, empower patients, and help create healthier communities, one person at a time.
We are grateful for our CHWs and the passion they bring to improving lives every day.
Below are a few inspiring stories that showcase the lasting difference these frontline professionals make for individuals across South Dakota.
The stories below are shared with some details changed to protect the privacy of the families involved.
A Simple Referral That Changed a Family’s Life
What began as a routine school dental referral became an opportunity to transform a family's future.
After connecting with a mother who had recently left an unsafe situation with her three children, our CHW arranged dental care, transportation assistance, and an immediate connection to a local shelter, where the family found safety and essential support. As the family regained stability, the CHW continued coordinating dental treatment for the children and worked through the ongoing barriers standing in their way.
Months later, the children had completed their treatment, and the family was preparing to move into permanent housing. It's a reminder that CHWs help families access not just healthcare, but safety, stability, and hope.
One Child's Path to Care
A young Head Start student faced overwhelming barriers to dental care, including losing her mother, a lack of insurance, transportation, and legal guardianship, along with significant communication challenges that made every step harder.
After a teacher recognized signs of severe dental pain, our CHW spent five months coordinating among healthcare providers, the hospital, Head Start staff, and the family to work through the tangle of scheduling, consent, and access issues.
The child ultimately received the urgent dental surgery they needed, and today is pain-free, happier, and thriving. When a child faces extraordinary circumstances, a CHW is often what makes complex care possible.
More to the Story
When a school screening identified a toddler with extensive tooth decay, our CHW uncovered barriers that reached far beyond dental care.
The child's caregiver lacked legal guardianship, which prevented treatment, and the child later couldn't clear multiple pre-operative exams because of a medical condition that had gone undiagnosed. Working alongside healthcare providers, Head Start staff, and the family, the CHW helped secure emergency guardianship, coordinate medical evaluations, and arrange transportation to appointments.
After more than two years of steady advocacy and coordination, the child finally received the care they needed. Some cases test just how far a CHW will go, and ours went all the way.
A New Beginning Through Dental Care
A young boy whose family had recently arrived in the United States was referred for severe dental pain, having never seen a dentist before.
His family faced a stack of obstacles at once: a language barrier, limited transportation, no insurance, and an unfamiliar healthcare system. Our CHW coordinated appointments, helped with paperwork, and stepped in with emergency transportation when plans fell through. Over four visits, the child received comprehensive treatment that relieved his pain and restored his oral health.
Being cared for by a dentist who spoke the family's language helped build trust and confidence along the way, a reminder that CHWs help families access the care every child deserves.
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This CHW Awareness Week, take a moment to recognize a community health worker who's made a difference in your community.
Click here to learn more about the Delta Dental of South Dakota Foundation and the work of our CHWs.