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CHW eNewsFrom: CHW e News <ajenkins@hmhb.org> National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition Introduction The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) is pleased to present to you the first issue of the CHW e News. HMHB had an overwhelming response to the CHW information needs assessment survey. The majority of the respondents welcomed the opportunity to hear about issues and programs that impact their work. We realize that we can not address all the topics but will do our best to bring you the most current information. The CHW e News will be sent quarterly. Please share it with your colleagues. HMHB welcomes your submissions, suggestions and questions. Please contact Leslie Dunne at ldunne@hmhb.org with your thoughts and contributions. To unsubscribe to the CHW e News please click on the option to unsubscribe at the bottom of this e mail. In this issue¼ 1. Q/A with Teresa Rios, Chair of American Public Health Association
(APHA), CHW Special Primary Interest Group (SPIG)
Teresa Rios is the Chair of the American Public Health Association
(APHA), Community Health Worker (CHW) Special Primary Interest Group
(SPIG). She is currently employed as a CHW at the Multnomah County
Health Department Q. How did you get your start? A. I am originally from Mexico. In 1985, I came to this country
with my three children and my husband. I got a job in a day care
center. This is where I begin to see the needs in the Latino Community
and begin to identify with their health concerns. My three children
had asthma and we needed support and resources. I met a provider
at one of the clinics who had ties to the health care system, but
there were other gaps that we needed to fill. In 1988, I started
working for El Niño Sano (The Healthy Child) program as a
Community Health Promoter. I was able to learn more about my community
and became a “fountain of resources” for my community
and the health care system. Two years later, I met Noël Wiggins,
who introduced my co workers and me to Popular Education methodology,
which allows the community to raise consciousness about situations
or problems and also find possible solutions. In this way, the community
does not need to wait until somebody comes to fix things for th
A. I have four points that outline my vision. They are the recognition of the CHW as an essential member of the health care system; a better pay scale or some pay for some people who are working on a voluntary basis; a national organization focused solely on empowering and capacitating (training) new and existing CHWs and their programs; and educating legislators and other health and human services professionals about CHWs’ role and work.
A. Although we have several CHW networks across the country, we
need a collective voice. At the national level, the American Public
Health Association CHW Special Primary Interest Group adopted the
term “Community Health Worker” as the universal name.
However, not everyone sees the value of CHWs because we have not
clearly established the roles of CHWs nor understand the diversity
and strengths we possess. The National Community Health Advisor
Study already exists and can be used as a basis to start this process.
We have successful CHW programs but what makes them work? We need
to develop standards and provide education about supervision for
community health workers. We need to develop a mechanism to share
our experiences and best practices. CHWs must have opportunities
for professional development. There should be a national body of
people that partner with us and advocate on our behalf. CHWs need
to support one another and their programs. We still have a l
A. For those of you who are not familiar with this group, I’ll
just tell you that it started back in the 1970s. It was formed to
address the emerging role of CHWs as contributing professionals
in public health. I have been actively involved in the APHA CHW
Special Primary Interest Group (SPIG) since 1994 and now serve as
the Chair. This has been an ongoing discussion for the group. We
are all volunteers who have demanding jobs. I would really like
to see a paid staff person take on a leadership role. The CHW/SPIG
will continue to focus it efforts on exploring the role of CHWs
within the field and practice of public health. We also intend to
provide a forum to share ideas, resources and strategies and to
create a power base for coalition building. However, to achieve
results, we need more CHWs and other stakeholders to build partnerships.
APHA offers CHWs the opportunity to dialogue, network and develop
strategies to address our issues. If you are interested in learning
m
Every two years, HMHB hosts a biennial partnership conference called Connections. As part of the conference, we offer the Leadership Institute (LDI) for Community Health Workers (CHWs). The Institute provides CHWs the opportunity to build relationships and learn practical skills to aid in their professional development. Last year at our conference, we introduced a new approach in training called Popular Education (PE). Originally created for literacy instruction by Brazilian Paulo Freire, it has since been adapted for use in health education and many other fields. This method has been used as a tool to raise people's consciousness about how their personal experiences are linked with larger social problems. For an excerpt from the LDI, go to http://www.hmhb.org/uploads/ldi.pdf 3. HMHB Honors Three Community Health Workers The Community Health Worker Award is presented biennially in recognition of individual CHWs whose outstanding efforts have significantly contributed to the health of mothers, babies and families. The awardees were selected based on how they demonstrated the core competencies identified in the National Community Health Worker Advisor Study. The CHW award recipients were: Wendy Coppage, Multnomah County Health Department, Portland, OR; Olga Rivera, South Central Family Health Center, Los Angeles, CA; and Hester Jean Young, Center for Healthy Communities, Dayton, OH. Meet the awardees at http://www.hmhb.org/connections_album.html
HMHB is working to foster collaboration between our 93 S/L HMHBs and CHWs in their state or community. The S/L HMHBs conduct educational initiatives, support policy and legislation, provide direct services and network to achieve their maternal and child health goals. They also link health care providers, educators, policymakers, community leaders, parents and teens through a variety of activities designed to enhance the health and well being of families. To learn more about the coalition in your area, go to: http://www.hmhb.org/state.html
2nd Annual Community Health Worker Network of New York City Conference, June 17, 2003, New York, NY. For more information about the one day conference, go to: http://www.chwnetwork.org/page2.html or call Arkeyris at (212) 481 5172 6th National Community Health Workers/Promotores Conference, August
19 22, 2003, San Francisco, CA. Limited number of scholarships are
available. For more information about the conference, go to: chwnetwork@wahec.com
or contact the Western Arizona Area Health Education Center, Inc.
March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign
To subscribe or to unsubscribe to the CHW e News, go to: http://www.hmhb.org/cgi bin/mojo3/mojo.cgi?f=list&l=chw
http://www.hmhb.org/cgi bin/mojo3/mojo.cgi?f=u&l=chw&e=bciesielski@salud.unm.edu&p=7518 Click this link, or copy and paste the address into your browser.
A. For those of you who are not familiar with this group, I’ll
just tell you that it started back in the 1970s. It was formed to
address the emerging role of CHWs as contributing professionals
in public health. I have been actively involved in the APHA CHW
Special Primary Interest Group (SPIG) since 1994 and now serve as
the Chair. This has been an ongoing discussion for the group. We
are all volunteers who have demanding jobs. I would really like
to see a paid staff person take on a leadership role. The CHW/SPIG
will continue to focus it efforts on exploring the role of CHWs
within the field and practice of public health. We also intend to
provide a forum to share ideas, resources and strategies and to
create a power base for coalition building. However, to achieve
results, we need more CHWs and other stakeholders to build partnerships.
APHA offers CHWs the opportunity to dialogue, network and develop
strategies to address our issues. If you are interested in learning
m
Every two years, HMHB hosts a biennial partnership conference called Connections. As part of the conference, we offer the Leadership Institute (LDI) for Community Health Workers (CHWs). The Institute provides CHWs the opportunity to build relationships and learn practical skills to aid in their professional development. Last year at our conference, we introduced a new approach in training called Popular Education (PE). Originally created for literacy instruction by Brazilian Paulo Freire, it has since been adapted for use in health education and many other fields. This method has been used as a tool to raise people's consciousness about how their personal experiences are linked with larger social problems. For an excerpt from the LDI, go to http://www.hmhb.org/uploads/ldi.pdf 3. HMHB Honors Three Community Health Workers The Community Health Worker Award is presented biennially in recognition of individual CHWs whose outstanding efforts have significantly contributed to the health of mothers, babies and families. The awardees were selected based on how they demonstrated the core competencies identified in the National Community Health Worker Advisor Study. The CHW award recipients were: Wendy Coppage, Multnomah County Health Department, Portland, OR; Olga Rivera, South Central Family Health Center, Los Angeles, CA; and Hester Jean Young, Center for Healthy Communities, Dayton, OH. Meet the awardees at http://www.hmhb.org/connections_album.html
HMHB is working to foster collaboration between our 93 S/L HMHBs and CHWs in their state or community. The S/L HMHBs conduct educational initiatives, support policy and legislation, provide direct services and network to achieve their maternal and child health goals. They also link health care providers, educators, policymakers, community leaders, parents and teens through a variety of activities designed to enhance the health and well being of families. To learn more about the coalition in your area, go to: http://www.hmhb.org/state.html
2nd Annual Community Health Worker Network of New York City Conference, June 17, 2003, New York, NY. For more information about the one day conference, go to: http://www.chwnetwork.org/page2.html or call Arkeyris at (212) 481 5172 6th National Community Health Workers/Promotores Conference, August
19 22, 2003, San Francisco, CA. Limited number of scholarships are
available. For more information about the conference, go to: chwnetwork@wahec.com
or contact the Western Arizona Area Health Education Center, Inc.
March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign
To subscribe or to unsubscribe to the CHW e News, go to: http://www.hmhb.org/cgi bin/mojo3/mojo.cgi?f=list&l=chw
http://www.hmhb.org/cgi bin/mojo3/mojo.cgi?f=u&l=chw&e=bciesielski@salud.unm.edu&p=7518 Click this link, or copy and paste the address into your browser.
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