Healthy Opportunities in Madison County - WNC Health Policy Podcast Ep. 25

WNC is home to many innovative strategies for navigating complex health challenges.

Two of those include the role of Community Health Workers in the healthcare workforce and the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, which abruptly ended in the summer of 2025 due to the General Assembly's failure to pass a budget. 

In this episode we hear from Jacque Ballard, a community health worker who has worked in both Madison and Yancey Counties and recently supported research by the Health Policy Research Consortium to understand the impact of HOP's end. We talk about the work of community health workers, challenges experienced in WNC, and the impact of HOP's end.