Engage With CareFirst
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The CareFirst Engagement Center (CEC), located on the first floor of the CareFirst tower right here in Canton (1501 S Clinton Street), provides in-person health services and support for our community. For CareFirst members, the CEC provides in-person service support with billing, benefits, enrollment, eligibility, claims processing, and other questions. But the CEC also has classes and resources for the entire community, and you don’t need to be a member to participate! The CEC offers wellness and fitness classes, health education, and local partner events. Check out the CEC website to learn more and stay updated!
This month we are talking with Shakia Colbert, Service Navigator, to learn about the new CareFirst Engagement Center.
Tell us about yourself… what is your role at CareFirst?
I am a service navigator at the CareFirst Engagement Center in Canton. That means I have the privilege of being a liaison between the local community and CareFirst. I reach out and build relationships with local community members and organizations to better understand how CareFirst can support wellness needs and support the health and wealth of all. It also means I am specially trained to help CareFirst members navigate healthcare and provide support on insurance questions and local health resources.
The CCA is excited about the new CareFirst Engagement Center, please tell us about it.
The CareFirst Engagement Center just opened in November 2022 but CareFirst has served the Maryland, DC, and northern Virginia area as a not-for-profit healthcare company for more than 80 years. Coming out of COVID, CareFirst wanted to be intentional about how we were showing up in the communities that we serve. As the local BlueCross BlueShield affiliate, we are able to focus exclusively on this area and have deep, longstanding commitments to the health and success of all. In short, the success of the local community is our success!
What type of free services and wellness classes are offered to the community?
The CEC has a great series of free fitness classes every Wednesday. The day kicks off with Zumba from 8:30 – 9:15 am and then Pilates from 12-12:30 pm. And for those who are pregnant, we have a popular Fit4Baby Prenatal Workout class from 6 – 7 pm. The instructors are amazing, and you don’t need CareFirst insurance to participate. Classes and parking are free. Some yoga mats are provided but many bring their own. It’s easy to join, just sign up in advance, by clicking https://www.carefirst.com/cec/, and select register for a class or event.
And there’s tons of other programming that we offer as well. Health classes, education events with licensed physicians, and community events with local partners. We have blood drives, celebrations for holidays like Earth Day, educational classes on mental health, and a variety of other programs designed to meet local interests and needs. We are particularly excited for two upcoming series – Back to Basics for young adults and New Parents for those who are pregnant or looking to become pregnant. Back to Basics covers critical information for young adults – how to transition off parents’ insurance and prepare for long-term health, how to save and buy a home in the Baltimore area and local resources to support homebuying, and financial and legal basics to help save for the future and legally prepare for contingencies like illness. The New Parents series covers everything from pelvic health before and after pregnancy to lactation/nursing to how to sleep with a newborn! We will be promoting this series in the next few months so keep an eye out for more details.
Free Wellness Classes include:
• Pilates – Wednesdays 12:00-12:30 pm
• Zumba
• Fit 4 Baby by Fit 4 Mom
• Decoding Diabetes
• Healthy Food, Healthy Body
• Hypertension 101
• Managing Stress
• Boost Your Mental Muscle
• Rest and Recover for Wellness
• Caregiver Support
View the full calendar here to sign up.
What is Community Thursday?
Community Thursday is at the heart of what we are doing at the CEC. Community Thursday is a day we reserve every week to both host events with local community partners and to go out into the community to meet residents and learn what we can do to support their health and wellness. For example, on May 4th we are hosting the Latino Economic Development Center for a class on homebuying from 10 – 12 pm and the following Thursday, May 11th, we are hosting the National Alliance for Mental Illness for a session on “Stigma Free Workplace” from 1-2 pm. On days when we do not have a community event planned, we try to go out to local libraries, farmers' markets, or nonprofits to meet with people and better understand how we can help.
What do you like the most about working in and with our neighbors in Canton and partnering with the CCA?
I absolutely love working in Canton. My favorite place is the Canton Waterfront. I enjoy talking to people in the park and petting all the cute fur babies. One of my favorite places to eat is Nacho Mamas and now I cannot get enough of it. The people that reside in Canton are sweet and I find it easy to talk to them. I have an exceptional group of women whom I connect with every Wednesday for either Zumba or Pilates. I really bonded with the women and if they do not show up for class, I reach out to them via Facebook just to check-in.
Partnering with the CCA was the best thing I could have done. I had the pleasure of presenting the CareFirst Engagement Center in February to all of Canton at the Community Association meeting. Being at the association meeting allowed me to see how the residents in Canton care about this community. I love how you all work together to make this a safe neighborhood. I too feel better working in Canton because you all CareFirst.
We heard you recently held an event in support of the Hampstead Hill Academy, please tell us about it.
We partnered with Hampstead Hill Academy to host an early Earth Day celebration on April 15th for a group of their students who had done work to help clean up the community and educate people about sustainability. The event was open to everyone, and we reached out to several other local elementary schools to help promote it. We provided refreshments and sustainable arts and crafts for the kids and brought in several other local partners to drive engagement and education. It was a wonderful opportunity to help support young people who care about making our community a clean and sustainable place to live.
What else would you like the community to know?
Check our website, check the CCA Facebook and Twitter pages for updates about classes and other resources, and feel free to reach out to me directly! My email is shakia.colbert@carefirst.com and I am available for service appointments and any questions you might have.
The CareFirst Engagement Center is inside the CareFirst Tower at 1501 S. Clinton Street. There is a parking lot across the street and parking will be validated for anyone attending an appointment, class, or event.