St. Nicholas Hospital
Sheboygan, Wis.

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In 2001, St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan, Wis., began its "Friends Outreach" program to offer health care services and education to underserved residents, particularly among ethnic minority populations. Shortly thereafter, the Friends Outreach Department formed a partnership with the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association to provide health information to its clients. The program's goal continues to help participants obtain knowledge about their health care options and to actively engage in making appropriate health care choices.

The need for these services has grown as a result of the increase in the Asian population which expanded by 128 percent from 1990 to 2007, with much growth from refugees arriving from Thailand from 2004 to 2006. The Hmong Association and Friends Outreach remain committed to providing clients with preventive health education and services in addition to offering other supportive services such as housing assistance, employment, interpreting and translation services, short-term counseling, and referrals.

The Friends Outreach program development specialist, a nurse, coordinates monthly health education programs for the Hmong Association. These include conducting health screenings such as high blood pressure, blood sugar, and heel bone density in addition to health education presentations. Each fall, flu vaccines are given. A monthly exercise class was also introduced in the spring of 2010 to promote fitness and well-being.

The ongoing working relationship between St. Nicholas Hospital and the Hmong Association has assisted many refugees in transitioning to new ways of living in a very different culture. By holding classes and offering services at the Hmong Association's center, the Friends Outreach program assists in meeting their health care needs in a welcoming and familiar environment. This partnership strengthens both organizations by providing increased knowledge for all parties and a commitment to continue and evaluate future programming. Many of the Hmong Association's refugee clients need some type of health education and St. Nicholas Hospital serves as their health resource.