A.S. Degree in Community Health Prof. Mercado
What is a Community Health Worker? • Community Health Workers are the frontline health advocates who have a close understanding of the community they serve • CHWs serve as a: • Liaison • Link
• They are intermediary between • health • social services • the community
Community Health Workers: • build individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as: • • • • •
Outreach Community education Informal counseling Social support Advocacy
(American Public Health Association, 2008)
Community Health Workers: • have deep roots in the communities they serve and share similar: • • • • •
values life experiences ethnic background socio-economic status usually the same language
• serves as a bridge between the: • • • •
community health care government social service systems
Community Health Workers: • promote community empowerment and social justice • help link people to needed health care information and services • facilitate access to services • improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery
Community Health Workers: • often work in underprivileged marginalized communities where people may: • have limited resources • lack access to quality health care • lack the means to pay for health care
Community Health Workers work at: • • • •
government agencies nonprofit organizations faith-based groups health care providers
to help reduce and/or eliminate: • persistent disparities in health care • negative health outcomes in underprivileged communities
The Community Health Worker field is expected to grow at a rate of: • 18% from 2016 – 2026 • resulting in 10,400 new jobs
Community Health Workers go by many titles (depending on where they work, who they work for and what they do)
• Health Coach • Community Health Advisor • Family Advocate • Health Educator • Liaison • Promoter
• Outreach Worker • Peer Counselor • Patient Navigator • Health Interpreter • Public Health Aide • Promotores de Salud
Working Conditions of Community Health Workers • Often live in the community they serve • Spend much of their time traveling within the community, speaking to: • groups • visiting homes and health care facilities • distributing information • connecting with local people
Working Conditions of Community Health Workers • Some work in health facilities providing: • • • •
case management client education interpretation follow-up care
Working Conditions of Community Health Workers • Others are employed by government agencies and nonprofit groups to provide: • • • •
community organizing health education Medicaid enrollment preventive care services in the field
Community Health Workers may: • Staff tables at community events • Provide: • health screenings • referrals • information
• Help people complete applications to access health benefits
Community Health Workers may: • Visit homes to check on individuals with specific health conditions • Drive clients to medical appointments • Deliver health education presentations to schoolchildren and their parents and teachers
Community Health Workers may: • have a disease or populationbased focus, such as: • promoting the health of pregnant women or children • improving nutrition • promoting immunization • providing education around a specific health issue, such as diabetes or HIV/AIDS
Academic Requirements • Training and educational requirements vary across states, cities, employers and employment sectors • Some states have developed collegebased training while others have implemented community-based training resources
Required Credits for A.S. in Community Health COMMON CORE English Composition ENG 110 & ENG 111
credits
6
Mathematical MAT 120 Strongly recommended
3
Life and Physical Sciences BIO 230
4
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
MAT120* Intro to Probability & Statistics Not needed if taken in MQR
3
BIO230** Anatomy & Physiology I
4
BIO240** Anatomy & Physiology II
4
HLT 110 Intro to Community Health Education (WI) 3
FLEXIBLE COMMON CORE
HLT 212 Bilingual Issues in Community Health
3
World Cultures and Global Issues Strongly recommend SPA 117 or HIS (WI if needed)
HLT 214 Substance Use and Abuse
3
3
HLT 215 Nutrition (WI if needed)
3
U.S. Experience in Its Diversity HIS or LAC (WI if needed)
3
HLT 220 Contemporary Health Issues
3
HLT 299 Field Experience in Community Health
3
FREE ELECTIVES
1-12
Creative Expression ANY Course (WI if needed) Individual and Society PSY 101 (WI if needed) Scientific World BIO 240
3 3 4
Strongly recommend Modern Language for those placed in SPA 118*** and a HLT Elective TOTAL CREDITS FOR DEGREE
60
Academic Requirements for Community Health Workers Some employers require: • only a high school diploma (but is changing rapidly) • most prefer a college degree
• They typically receive hours of training: • • • •
on the job through classroom study job mentoring a combination
• Employers may set continuing education requirements
Salary Range of Community Health Workers • Community health workers made a median salary of $37,330 in 2016. The best-compensated in the field earned roughly $63,880, while the lowest-paid made about $23,620. • 75th Percentile$49,340
Salary Range of Community Health Workers The highest paid in the community health worker profession work in the metropolitan areas:
Salary Range • Recommended starting annual salaries range: • major metropolitan areas • senior CHWs • supervising CHWs • managers CHWs
$35,000 to $42,000 $42,000 to $52,000 $52,000 to $60,000 > $60,000
Average Pay Community Health Worker vs. Other Best Jobs
Carlos Story Carlos grew up in poverty. Although social justice and community development were his passions, he wanted to make a decent salary to help his family. "At that time, I didn't know of any good paying jobs working with youth or doing community outreach," he said. So, Carlos went to business school, got his bachelor's degree in business administration and went to work at a telephone company. And he hated it!! See next slide to find out what happened to Carlos‌
Carlos Story What he enjoyed was the volunteering he was doing with youth in the Bronx. So, after a few years of hating his job and loving his volunteering, Carlos quit his job with the telephone company and went to work at a community health center, suffering a pay cut. But he loves his new job.
Since then, he has assumed many job titles, including outreach coordinator, outreach educator, community liaison, project director and co-facilitator. In essence, he was a community health worker (CHW) all along, before the term was even coined back in 2000.