Meet Lissette Rivera: Understanding the Struggle in Health Care

Lead Community Health Worker Lissette Rivera worked her way up to a (CHW) with the Bridges to Health Program and has inspired a client to pursue a similar career path.

From Bridges to Heatlh:

By Judy Bankman

Lissette Rivera grew up in Hood River and started interpreting from English to Spanish for her parents when she was six years old. She often went to medical appointments with her family members to help them understand the doctors. As Community Health Worker (CHW) with Bridges to Health, Lissette is able to relate to her clients because her family experienced similar challenges.

“I’ve always loved helping others that have experienced barriers that my family has struggled with in the past,” said Lissette.

Bridges to Health has been helping clients access resources inside and outside the health care system since 2017. All CHWs within the Bridges to Health team are employed by local nonprofits, government agencies, or local hospitals, which contract with the Columbia Gorge Health Council. CHWs are trusted members of the community who help their clients with anything from making a dental appointment to accessing food, transportation, or housing.

Lissette worked as a Bridges to Health CHW at the Hood River Health Department for two years, and in September 2020, took on the role of Lead CHW with Bridges to Health. Her supervisors saw her as a team player and also as someone who had the requirements for a leadership position: she knew the program well, she was bilingual and bicultural, and she showed that she was up to the task. Even before her promotion, some of Lissette’s colleagues had already been coming to her with questions. She was already supporting them and pausing her own work to help them be successful.

Nowadays, Lissette balances her client-centered work with other administrative duties like billing and managing referrals, as well as supporting other CHWs, and representing the program at community meetings on topics such as Covid vaccine education. Throughout the worst of the pandemic, Lissette was the person who took all isolation referrals from the health departments and sent them out immediately to Bridges to Health staff, ensuring clients were seen immediately.

Lissette has not only supported and inspired her colleagues but her clients as well. A client who preferred to go by the name Elle to retain her anonymity was referred to the Bridges to Health program several years ago when she had moved to the Columbia Gorge from Santa Rosa, CA to be closer to her parents. She recently had a diagnosis of May-Thurner syndrome and had two procedures in Santa Rosa, but she still was not feeling well and needed assistance getting settled in her new home.

Lissette helped Elle with applications and paperwork related to insurance, doctors’ appointments, and employment. She also helped L get a new phone, transfer car insurance across state lines, and referred her to an orthodontist for her daughter’s braces.

“She guided me through, so in the end I knew where to navigate,” Elle said. “If I had questions, I would make sure with Lissette that I was doing it correctly.”

Elle eventually had a successful procedure at Oregon Health & Science University and has been feeling much better. She had worked as a CNA for years in Santa Rosa but decided to change her career after going through years of stress related to her diagnosis. Elle knew she wanted something in a field related to health care, and she began talking to Lissette about what it takes to become a CHW.

“The first time we talked about [the CHW career path], I remember her saying, ‘I’m so excited I’m getting goosebumps!’” recalls Lissette.

Elle just completed her CHW training on May 21st, and Lissette has been helping her create an updated resume and cover letter to send out to employers.

“It’s something I know I can do and because of my experience, I’m more interested in it,” Elle said. “I understand the feeling. I understand what [clients] going through. I can relate because of the experience I’ve had.” 

It’s the empathy from the lived experience expressed by both Elle and Lissette that makes so many of the Bridges to Health CHWs successful at what they do.

As we move into summer, Bridges to Health is expanding to better meet the needs of the community. The program is hiring four new CHWs: two will be based at One Community Health, one who will focus on the Tribal community and be based at The Next Door, and one who will focus on homelessness and be based at Mid Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC). Funding for these new positions will come from PacificSource Community Solutions, the Columbia Gorge Health Council, the Oregon Community Foundation, and a $3 million federal Emergency Solutions Grant - Covid-19 (ESG-CV) grant awarded to MCCAC.

If you’re interested in applying for a position, please reach out to b2h@gorgehealthcouncil.org.