Health Education & Social Services - Community Volunteers in Medicine

Our Health Education & Social Services

Good health is about more than just doctors, dentists, and drugs. CVIM is a comprehensive healthcare home for our patients, many of whom are from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Our goal is to educate and empower each patient to take charge of their own personal health and to help them overcome all barriers to a healthy and productive life.

Health Education

CVIM’s professional volunteers and staff work to address complex health issues, and to provide preventative healthcare to keep people well. In addition to medical, dental, and behavioral health care, this includes a patient’s overall well-being, lifestyle and habits, and their personal concerns and needs. Proactive health education may include expert nutrition and exercise advice, education about a specific disease or diagnoses, medication therapy management, and bilingual assistance navigating health services provided outside of the CVIM Healthcare Center.

Social Services

CVIM is here to help our patients with the unique challenges they may face beyond medical and dental concerns. CVIM has a bilingual Social Worker who works to assist our patients with the following areas:

Transportation
Legal and Tax Concerns
Substance Abuse / Addiction
Food Insecurity
Credit and Budget Counseling
Employment
Intimate Partner Violence
Government Benefits
Housing Assistance

Diabetes Education

Approximately 40% of CVIM patients manage a chronic disease, and the most common diagnosis is diabetes. Our bilingual Diabetes Care Coordinator works one-on-one with patients and arranges services that help patients manage their diabetes diagnoses. This includes education, medications, lifestyle adjustments, testing, treatment, and more.

Tobacco Dependence

Tobacco use is a serious health risk and a hard habit to break. Through individualized counseling sessions, CVIM helps patients learn about the addictive qualities of smoking, triggering habits or stressors, and the availability of nicotine replacements to help them along their journey to quitting.

Nutrition & Cooking Classes

We are here to help our patients learn how to prepare and eat healthy, nutritious foods. Bilingual volunteer and staff nutritionists are available for one-on-one appointments to discuss weight management and healthy eating and lifestyles. Through seasonal cooking classes, offered in partnership the Chester County Food Bank, our patients learn how to integrate nutritious recipes into their cultural cooking at home.