Sickle cell disease care is changing for the better, and there’s a specific reason for that: community health workers. Without that guidance, trust, and connection patients suffer, and even the best health care system can’t effectively deliver the care it’s meant to provide. For decades, adults living with sickle cell disease have navigated a system that wasn’t designed with them in mind. When people lose trust in the health care system, they often stop using it until they have no other choice. In 2019, the state established Networking California for Sickle Cell Care (NCSCC), the first statewide network of comprehensive, adult sickle cell clinics.