The Louisiana Primary Care Association (Baton Rouge), DePaul Community Health Centers (New Orleans), and Southeast Louisiana Area Health Education Center (Hammond) have partnered with Louisiana State University, Delgado Community College, and the Louisiana Association of Community Health Network to offer paid training for nearly 300 individuals to begin careers as community health workers (CHWs).
CHWs serve as a culturally sensitive bridge to connect patients to care networks and local services in urban and rural communities. They help to reduce social determinants of health (SDOH) and can advocate for individual and community health needs by meeting patients where they are in order to conduct preventative health screenings and provide referrals to federally qualified health centers when needed, increasing health literacy and reducing emergency department visits.
DePaul Community Health Centers (DCHC), which will coordinate the training, has garnered success with its nearly five-year old CHW program. For example, Healthy Blue and Anthem Medicaid partnered with DCHC to launch a SDOH incentive program on April 1, 2020 with two CHWs to serve the health plan’s members and connect them to care, thus improving their health outcomes. During the initial year (2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CHWs conducted more than 400 member assessments and made more than 500 referrals to the right places for help.
Funded by a three-year, $3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, individuals who participate in the program will be trained to fill CHW roles at the 39 federally funded, private, nonprofit and public community health centers and lookalikes across the state that are members of the Louisiana Primary Care Association.
Beginning Spring 2023, courses will take place locally or online for the 280 trainees in partnership with Louisiana State University’s Louisiana Community Health Outreach Network (LaCHON) and Delgado Community College. Trainees with at least one year of experience in some healthcare field will be directed to LaCHON’s 80-hour program while those new to the field will be required to enroll in Delgado’s 180-hour program.
Trainees will be offered a stipend, materials, and technology as part of this program. Fifty-three of the 280 trainees will be placed in apprenticeships, and 210 will find employment in the field. Apprenticeship sites will offer on-the-job training and mentoring. The apprenticeship sites will work toward accreditation with the Area Health Education Centers. Trainees will have a 1200-hour requirement.
These trainings will allow those within vulnerable communities to receive certification and higher education opportunities at little to no cost to them while also providing a path toward health access for all regardless of their ability to pay.
For more information, contact Erica Rose-Crawford at ecrawford@lpca.net or sign up for updates at lpca.net/community-health-worker-training-program.