Category B: Community Health Worker Workforce in Governmental Public Health
The Envision Equity Community Health Worker Technical Assistance and Training Center (Envision), under its project "Envisioning Equity: Strengthening the Community Health Worker Workforce in Health Departments for Sustainable Impact", aims to bolster the CHW workforce within state, territorial, local and tribal public health departments and offer Capacity Building Assistance through the dissemination of usable tools and clear, consistent CHW sustainability policy messaging to support the growth of the workforce. Envision, a CHW-led organization, will expand its virtual presence and enhance its resource and training library, ensuring widespread access to valuable knowledge for the benefit of the CHW workforce. Additionally, Envision will collaborate with national CHW-focused and ally organizations to contribute to a unified policy agenda and messaging for CHW sustainability. Envision has the experience to effectively reach the CHW workforce, public health sectors, and state Medicaid officials to improve the public health system. Envision’s focus on this collaborative effort is supporting the CHW workforce to implement equitable policy and programmatic change for sustainability of the workforce. A supported CHW workforce is critical in filling gaps, expanding public health services, promoting equity, innovating care models, and protecting the nation’s health.
Envision will achieve the following outcomes:
● Increased use of CBA services and products by state, territorial, local and tribal public health departments to benefit the CHW population of focus
● Increased awareness and understanding of recommended processes, policies, programs, and practices within the strategic areas to ensure long-term sustainability of the CHW workforce
Envision is a multi-organization structure that includes the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, University of Wisconsin, Madison Population Health Services, University South Carolina Center for Community Health Alignment, Louisiana State University CHW Institute, and KineticHealth Communications.