Saturday, April 5, 2025
4/5/2025
Community Health Worker Training Program - Address: Touro University California, 1310 Club Dr, Vallejo, CA 94592PD: Michele Bunker-AlbertsPhone Numbers:707-638-5702E-mail Address: mbunker@touro.eduWebsite: tu.eduGrant Funding Request: $3,000,000Funding Preference: Serving individuals from disadvantaged background, Rural, and Healthcare shortage areaA collective impact model design will be used to train CHWs to close the gap in primary care access in underserved communities in counties North of San Francisco. Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo Counties are some of the most racially and ethnically diverse counties in the United States. They have a unique mix of urban and HRSA rural eligible areas and health professional shortage areas. These counties have prevalent health disparities with CDC SVI ranges from low/moderate to high. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed stark health inequities with LatinX communities making up approximately 30% of the community in this 8 county region but accounting for >61% of COVID cases. Limitations to accessing health care remains due to high premiums, providers not accepting Medi-Cal, and long waiting lists which have been exacerbated by COVID-19. This proposal aims to remove these barriers to provide expanded training opportunities for entry level CHWs, extend the impact of CHWs by providing advanced training, and develop experiential and employment support for CHWs. Using a consortium approach of partners that include Redwood Community Health Coalition, Northern California Center for Well Being, and Touro University California will implement the North Bay Community Health Worker Training Program (NB-CHWTP) to address community needs in north bay counties to access healthcare and improve health outcomes. This will be accomplished through the following three goals: • Goal 1: EXPANSION OF CHW TRAINING – Increase the number of CHWs trained from diverse communities to create convenient access points to public health and healthcare to reduce health inequities.• Goal 2: EXTENSION OF CHW IMPACT – Implement advanced training for current CHWs to address gaps in public health and community needs and improve community wellness and health outcomes. • Goal 3: EMPLOYMENT & EXPERIENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES – Develop a network of partners who will provide CHW trainees with experiential training (shadowing, internships, and apprenticeships) and employment opportunities. This program will focus on training diverse CHWs that represent the local community that they will serve. This will include BIPOC, LatinX, and Asian CHW trainees that can serve in the North Bay communities in the service areas of the three partner organizations. RCHC member health centers provide patient-centered primary care health homes to 276,639 patients, including 164,498 Medi-Cal patients and over 65,443 uninsured individuals across a six-county region. Fifty-five percent of patients are Latino and 39% of patients are best served in a language other than English. NCCWB is a non-profit CBO based in Santa Rosa and providing health and wellness services to >25,000 Sonoma County residents annually. All services are offered in English and Spanish, in an “access for all” model regardless of ability to pay with a focus on serving Latinx, BIPOC, low-income, and underserved communities. NCCWB has trained and certified 100s of CHWs over the years, the majority of who are low-income. They train ~30 CHWs annually, and the majority of graduates find employment in the healthcare sector or local nonprofits. TUC is a private, not-for-profit university that provides graduate health professions degrees (pharmacy, physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioners, and public health). The TUC mission is to serve, to lead, and to teach with a focus on producing primary care providers that work in underserved communities. Using CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program, TUC has trained over 300 certified lifestyle coaches.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).