Hundreds of local residents hired to accompany patients across five communities Posted on Dec 11, 2020 Maria Plata, a community health worker, goes door-to-door providing residents with information about how to protect themselves from COVID-19 in Immokalee, Fla. Photos by Scott McIntyre for Partners In Health Maria Plata, an Immokalee, Fla., native and daughter of a Mexican farm worker, was one of millions of Americans who lost their job when COVID-19 hit in early March. But several months later, she found a new opportunity among the first cohort of community health workers hired by Healthcare Network, a local health care provider, and trained by Partners In Health to support her community’s response to the virus.