Project overview The SI PPS and their primary partners - Community Health Center of Richmond (CHCR) and College of Staten Island (CSI) - are proposing a Community Health Worker Training Program (CHWTP) that will train 466 Community Health Workers (CHWs) over three years. The CHWs will receive training on CHW core competencies with on-the-job-training (OJT) enrichment opportunities in: maternal and child health (MCH) at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC); ambulatory care for chronic disease management at area hospitals; and behavioral health across provider partners in the high need and high demand areas of Staten Island. We are projecting training 128 CHWs in year 1 with 20% increases in years 2 and 3. Measurable objectives accomplished by the SI PPS CHWTP project include: - Update and enhance the current CHW program to respond to employer- and community-needs post-COVID. - Update and enhance the training curriculum to reflect: -- New Public Health training needs post-COVID (as determined by HRSA); -- Three distinct on-the-job (OJT) modules - maternal and child health (MCH, ambulatory care for chronic disease management, and behavioral health; and -- Cultural awareness, social determinants of health (SDOH), health equity, and health literacy training for both project trainees and all training facilitators and supervisors. - Train 466 CHWs over the 3-year course of the grant (128/154/184 in Years 1/2/3). - Provide OJT opportunities for 75% of trainees (96/116/138) - Place 25% of OJT trainees in paid apprenticeship positions (24/30/34). - Increase applications and trainees by 20% each year targeting at least 60% from North Shore neighborhoods each year. - Graduate 75% of trainees throughout the grant period (including fulfilling OJT requirements) by providing additional support such as mentorship, transportation stipends, financial incentives, and job preparation. - Evaluate and refine the programming throughout the grant period using th
e SI PPS centralized data system to ensure challenges are addressed in real time. - Increase engagement among all partners by convening monthly meetings. HHS/HRSA clinical priorities addressed by the SI PPS CHWTP project include: - Take actionable steps to achieve health equity and improve public health. - Improve access to quality health services, especially as it pertains to MCH efforts, and reducing behavioral health challenges. - Foster a health workforce and health infrastructure able to address current and emerging needs. The project will be accomplished in partnership with the CHCR and CSI to provide traditional, in-person classroom training, as well as nontraditional, virtual learning for the trainees. CHWs also will receive: ancillary support, enhanced training modules, and OJT opportunities in up to three enrichment opportunities. The SIPPS has designated a data analyst/coordinator specifically to oversee workforce transformation in healthcare with a primary focus on CHWTP. Four hospitals, behavioral health providers, and community-based organizations - including CHCR - on Staten Island will serve as primary experiential training sites. The project will launch September 15, 2022 and run for three years, after which alternative funding will have been raised to continue. Statement indicating eligibility for funding preference The most recent data shows 74% of SI PPS trainees are from disadvantaged backgrounds, including racial/ethnic minorities. 59% graduated and self-reported health care employment in Medically Underserved Communities (MUCs). See Needs Section of Narrative and Attachment 7 for more information on Staten Island’s North Shore neighborhoods, the targeted service area for the CHWTP. The SI PPS and their partners request $2,995,307 over three years to fully fund the program as described.