Thursday, April 3, 2025
4/3/2025
Community Health Worker Training Program - With combined decades of experience and expertise, the Community Health Worker (CHW) Training Program will take a collaborative approach to help local partner organizations mobilize the local CHW workforce. The primary partner organizations (Program Team) include Trailhead Institute (Trailhead), Patient Navigator Training Collaborative (PNTC), and the Alliance of CHWs, Patient Navigators and Promotores de Salud (the Alliance). These organizations have significantly collaborated in the development and administration of proven and successful CHW training programs. Trailhead will serve as the coordinating organization for this program. As a current USDOL CHW apprenticeship sponsor, Trailhead will ensure the trainings developed engage and support current and ongoing CHW apprenticeships. As the convening body for the Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative (CPHWC), Trailhead will align this program with Colorado’s Blueprint for Public Health Workforce Development. As the longest standing training provider for community health worker positions in Colorado, PNTC is the primary CHW training provider. PNTC has trained over 2,000 unlicensed public health staff with 200 trainees annually. PNTC’s extensive experience and expertise in the development and delivery of CHW trainings is essential to ensure this program move and improve constantly. The Alliance serves as the state CHW Association in Colorado and brings together over 500 CHWs, employers and key partners invested in the future of this diverse workforce. The Program Team will recruit 80 trainees each year of which 20 (25%) will be existing CHWs that receive upskilled training. Trainees will be assessed and matched to CHW training opportunities, and trainee stipends will be provided to cover training fees and other costs for participation. After completion of the didactic training, trainees will be placed at internship sites across Colorado. Sixty (75%) CHWs will be supported for job placement and 20 (25%) will be placed in CHW apprenticeships. The Program Team will identify field placement sites, develop and update curriculum and evaluate the program to identify necessary improvements and identify impact. The Program Team will work across an extensive network of 25 additional partners including health systems sites, behavioral health agencies, community-based organizations, the primary care association, the state office of rural health, area health education centers (AHECs), and academic partners to provide field placement, apprenticeships and job opportunities for newly trained CHWs. In addition to these field placement sites, county workforce centers will refer interested individuals to the training program and the CPHWC, and its partners will update public-facing online career pathways with links to open positions, creating leadership pathways for CHWs. Through this effort, the existing PNTC curriculum will be expanded to encompass all CHW competencies. Several CHW modules will be created using subject matter experts and instructional designers. Self-paced modules will link to instructor-led courses with assignments that support active learning and follow principles of Adult Learning Theory. Micro-learning segments will be created to enhance and support the continuing education of CHWs in the field and improve job performance. New content will be beta tested with 10 current CHWs prior to inclusion in the curriculum. Using a quality improvement approach, curriculum modules and courses will be evaluated, and needed modifications will be identified. Evaluations completed by CHW trainees, internship supervisors, CHW apprenticeship and job placement sites, will provide the feedback needed to make corrections, enhancement and modifications.Address: Trailhead Institute, 1999 Broadway, Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202, Sarah Lampe MPH, 720-398-5532, Slampe@trailhead.institute, http://trailhead.institute/, grant requist: $2,999,891, funding preference: Yes
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