Helping people to stay healthy and get even healthier is what the Suwannee River Area Health Education Center is all about.

Things are especially busy now at the Alachua-based nonprofit, better known by its acronym, SRAHEC, because of its involvement with the navigator program that assists people looking to obtain health coverage through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

Open enrollment is ongoing now through Jan. 15 and SRAHEC’s team of navigators are reaching out to people in the 15-county area that falls under the organization’s health insurance purview.

“I am really glad we are a part of this because it directly aligns with our mission and vision as an organization,” said Sarah Catalanotto, SRAHEC executive director. “It fits nicely with our mission of providing healthy connections and health education to our community members. It’s an incredible service.

“Rural and underserved communities really struggle with access to care and part of that is having health insurance,” she said.

SRAHEC navigators serve consumers in Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee and Union counties.

Catalanotto said the organization strives to hire local because they have found that works best.

“We try and hire members of our community who are from the communities we are serving, who either have a connection from personal life or professional life,” she said. “We find when they are from those communities and have served those communities in the past, they have a deeper connection.”

SRAHEC has been part of the navigator program since it began in 2014. It had four navigators working initially when it first got involved as a subcontractor under another state agency, Well Florida Council. A few years later, Well Florida bowed out and SRAHEC became the lead entity for north central Florida, which continues today.

Funding is administered by Florida Covering Kids & Families at the University of South Florida, which partners with 11 organizations collectively referred to as the “Covering Florida” consortium. They provide Navigator services across the entire state.  

Today SRAHEC has 14 navigators, all trained to provide unbiased assistance to consumers seeking health coverage options. All services are offered free of charge, Catalanotto said. This is something that also holds true for the organization’s tobacco cessation program.

Catalanotto said the tobacco cessation program has been around for over 10 years.

“About 20 years ago, the state of Florida sued the tobacco companies and settlement dollars were awarded to the state. AHECS are legislatively mandated to receive funding from the tobacco settlement to provide tobacco cessation education.”

The tobacco cessation programs are offered in-person and online and aim to get people to break their tobacco habit for good. Each group is led by a trained specialist who guides participants through the quitting process. Groups are hosted at locations such as local public community centers, libraries, and hospitals. Groups are also available virtually.

“We offer free group programs on tobacco cessation,” she said. “We use trained facilitators helping a person understand why they smoke, and understand their habits around smoking, their addiction around tobacco and most importantly how to use the medications.

“The combination of medication and behavioral change will double the chances for someone to quit,” she said.

Both programs have been successful in terms of numbers reached. The navigator has served between 500 and 1,2000 people in various capacities with outreach and direct appointment assistance and enrollment, Catalanotto said. The tobacco program has higher numbers, from 1,000 to 4,000 people who have signed up for classes.    

But that’s not all SRAHEC does. The organization also sponsors a Scholars Program, open to students in disciplines that support primary health care services delivery in both clinical and non-clinical roles. It is a two-year program that gives students some in the field experience.  Only 150 students across Florida will be selected to become AHEC Scholars.

But now, through mid-January, the navigator program is taking center stage. Anyone needing an appointment can call SRAHEC at 386-230-9400 or email at navigator@srahec.org to make an appointment with one of Suwannee River AHEC’s Navigators. There is also an online portal on the organization’s webpage, www.srahec.org.  

For more information on Tobacco Free Florida AHEC Cessation Programs, call 866-341-2730, or email tobacco@srahec.org.