NEW CASTLE – A pilot AmeriCorps program called National Health Corps Delaware was formed to address the COVID-19 pandemic and associated health inequities, officials announced Monday. 

Member service activities for this pilot period will focus on reducing health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic in addition to address the ongoing COVID-19 health needs in the community. The program will be helmed by a program director and coordinator, which the county will begin recruiting for immediately, according to a news release.

"We are in this together,” New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer said in a prepared statement. “This partnership with the National Health Corps will create job opportunities in our most vulnerable communities, keeping the pressure on to eradicate this virus from our communities.”

The pilot AmeriCorps program, which will have 15-20 members in the initial phase, will last one year and will be funded through New Castle County’s federal CARES Act allotment. The funding will last through December 2021. U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester supported the program.

“Health Federation of Philadelphia has a long-standing commitment to finding community solutions to public health challenges,” Natalie Levkovich, CEO of Health Federation of Philadelphia, said in a statement. “We believe strongly in our National Health Corps program and in community service as effective responses to those challenges. Partnering with the can-do State of Delaware to replicate our proven program model is a very exciting and timely undertaking.”

Karen Dahl,  senior advisor for COVID-19 at the federal agency AmeriCorps, said in a prepared statement that the project will harness the nation’s greatest strength: the American people.

“Working together, we can have an enormous impact,“ she said.

The program members will work to achieve the National Health Corps program goal of reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes in communities. Main objectives of the program are:

• Objective 1: Support empowerment in youth and adults to make choices about their health and lead healthier lives.   
• Objective 2: Foster members’ skills related to professional development, commitment to health-related careers, ethic of service, and reducing health disparities.   
• Objective 3: Support organizations that aim to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes in communities.  
• Objective 4: Create a model for national service in a crisis. 

Potential host sites are invited to a virtual information session on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 2:30 p.m. using this Zoom link. 

For more information, visit the program's website.