Providence-supported academy readies community health workers for clinical settings
In this Article:
- The Community Health Worker Academy is a collaboration between Providence and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science with the goal to train people as community health workers to assist patients in clinical settings by facilitating access
to care for at-risk populations.
- The opportunity to imbed community health workers in urban clinical setting comes as the result of a rule change which allows providers to get reimbursement for the services community health workers provide to patients enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state's
Medicaid program, currently covering an estimated one-third of the state's population.
- The program trains a diverse group of individuals to assume entry-level positions in health care, giving students online classroom training to familiarize them clinical operations and teach basic skills on accessing medical and social support services. Then the students move to paid internships in clinical settings such as Providence hospitals.
"It makes me really happy to see community health workers entering clinical settings because, hopefully, now there's family members who can take a little bit more of a step back and find support in the clinic and in the hospital rather than trying to navigate these additional barriers all by themselves,” —Nazaret Núñez, Community Health Worker Academy program manager and former community health worker
Read the full article, originally published by Catholic Health World, November 2022
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