Child Health Investment Partnership met with community leaders to help underserved children

CHIP hosted group discussion addressing health needs for children

ROANOKE, Va. – Officials with the Child Health Investment Partnership, known as CHIP, met with dozens of community leaders Thursday morning to discuss what they can do to support more children in the Roanoke Valley.

"We talked about transportation, food security and what we can do to better bring services to families," Robin Haldiman, CEO at CHIP, said.

One of the hot topics was the concern for families who are resisting services because they are scared or ashamed.

"There was a lot of talk about how we can better eliminate those barriers, because those are truthfully barriers! Pride and shame are barriers to accessing services that are already available to families," Robin Haldiman, board member of CHIP, said.

The solution?

"The outcomes today might be to have a more energized approach to even ramping up collaboration in the community. That is so critical," Stockburger said.

Another mission addressed was to find a way to make families more aware of services in the area.

"There is a sense of people saying, "Wait a minute! We have that service here, but let me share that information with you so that you can contact me," Haldiman said.

The discussion had an instant result. Mohamad Ally, chief medical officer of InTotal, a United Healthcare health plan, is now eager to collaborate with families at CHIP.

"It's our every intention to be as supportive as we are able to do," Ally said.

CHIP currently serves more than 1,000 children throughout the Roanoke Valley.