GRIC Members Receive ‘Outstanding Community Health Representative of the Year’ Awards

December 16, 2022

Emma Hughes

Community Newsperson

Gila River Health Care’s (GRHC) Community Health Representatives (CHR) and GRIC members Alfreda Wise, District 6, and Micah Marrietta, District 3, were both recognized with the “Outstanding CHR of the Year” award during the CHR Summit VI on Nov. 3, in Henderson, Nevada.

The Community Health Representative Program is a unique model that provides health care, health promotion, and disease prevention services for GRHC patients.

CHRs have demonstrated how they assist and connect with the Community. As a result, their work has become essential to the spectrum of Tribal community-oriented primary health care services such as GRHC. 

“My favorite part is just meeting people, and getting to know their story and what their needs are and trying to best help them,” said Wise, “It’s been very fulfilling for me to serve the Community in that capacity.”

CHRs often conduct home visits, help nursing staff, and assist GRHC in various Community clinics. In addition, they regularly follow up with COVID positive patients in the Community, ensuring they have the resources they need to get through quarantine safely.

Currently, there are 11 Community Health Representatives within GRHC.

Wise and Marrietta were nominated by their peers for going above and beyond, connecting with and supporting their patients on a personal level.

“Ever since I was in high school, I always wanted to be a part of the medical field, and I’ve always wanted to help people at a medical level; I wanted to help my Community as well,” said Marrietta.

He shared that he enjoys learning and helping fellow Community members become more independent in taking control of their health.

“I enjoy helping them learn how to set up appointments, how to arrange transportation so that they can take this education and continue on with their lives and hopefully pass it on to their family members, becoming more self-sufficient.”

Their dedicated work has assisted many in meeting their health care needs. The health promotion and disease prevention efforts that CHRs provide have also helped people from the Community improve and maintain their health. 

Wise said, “We’re a team and I feel like it’s not just for me or for Micah, it’s for all of us, and we couldn’t have achieved any of this without the people we serve. I feel like this belongs to them.”