Improving Community Health: The CHW

 

 

Our blogs have talked a lot about community health workers (CHWs) and their role in helping to build a healthier community. CHWs are an advocate and liaison to connect individuals and families to health care and social services. They have a strong connection to the community they serve and may share the same ethnicity, race, language, socioeconomic characteristics, cultural, spiritual beliefs, and life experiences found in the community. CHWs can work in urban or rural environments with low-income, minority, immigrant, underserved communities, and populations with limited English proficiency. They have diverse job descriptions as well as job titles depending on the organization in which they work.

The demand for CHWs is growing as they have a crucial role in improving health equity and supporting the public health system, especially in underserved communities.

Home visits. CHWs can do home visits for patients/clients. Their training teaches them how to be prepared for a home visit, recognize hazards in the home, and ways to assess the overall environment. CHWs might discuss lifestyle changes while keeping in mind the cultural customs of the patient. They can see firsthand in the home what the physician office can’t. How important is that to really know your patients/clients?

Culture. Understanding cultural influences such as communication preferences, beliefs about health and illness, family and community, preferred healthcare practices, and addressing potential challenges can lead to more effective and appropriate care. This is an important part of what CHWs do.

SDOH. CHWs can complete a social determinants of health screening (SDOH) which includes questions about housing, food security, transportation, healthcare access, childcare, utilities, employment, income, and other social factors that may affect a patient’s/client’s health. CHWs can see what is in the refrigerator and if the patient/client could use a referral to a local food bank. CHWs can help with transportation issues for physician office appointments and financial assistance needs to help with paying utility bills. If they don’t know what is specifically available for a problem, they will investigate.

Community resources. Referrals to needed community resources are a big part of what a CHW can do along with assisting patients/clients in accessing these services. It could be a health department, food bank, community center, transportation, mental health support, housing, appointments, and other related social needs. CHWs can help with barriers to obtaining needed preventive services. Knowing what is available in the state, city, county, zip code is vital.

CHWs may call 211 or go to www.mi211.org to learn about agencies in the county to help with energy bills, for example. State of Michigan emergency relief programs, Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) for low income residents, and utility companies all have programs that may provide certain types of assistance. There is an outreach toolkit for energy assistance on the Michigan.gov website:

https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/-/media/Project/Websites/mpsc/consumer/info/toolkits/Energy_Assistance_Outreach_Toolkit.pdf?rev=32219a29ba9547c98f72ad5e5ffc117d&hash=2FF0B41D07770AE02FFC6606FA608863

SMART goal and action planning. CHWs can develop SMART goals and action plans around the priority needs of patients/clients and do follow-up at the next contact with them. They are trained in motivational interviewing techniques and brief action planning.

As you can see, all of the items above interconnect with one another. As CHWs perform these tasks, they build trusting relationships with their patients/clients. There is a critical link between identifying SDOH needs, understanding cultural influences, and integrating community resources to improve the health outcomes of patients.

Community Health Worker Program

The next CHW Program will begin on September 25, 2025, and conclude on February 19, 2026. Live virtual webinars will be on Thursdays from 9 AM – 4 PM. PTI is an approved provider of CHW training by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). We are the only CHW training program that offers 0.6 IACET CEUs for each individual session.

Register here: https://web.cvent.com/event/c92a52ee-4fd1-4741-9107-c95e1910be8a/summary

Community Health Worker Sustainability: Advancing the Profession

The new dates for this program will be August 14 and 21, 2025 from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. This series is designed to provide in-depth knowledge on documentation, billing, coding, and the role of CHW interventions in improving population health. Practice Transformation Institute is authorized by IACET to offer 0.8 CEUs for attending both days of the program. IACET CEUs are recognized by a wide range of organizations including universities, regulatory boards, corporations, and professional organizations.

Goals of this educational opportunity are:

· Educate CHWs about the payer enrollment process and billing services.

· Strengthen the understanding of coding systems (ICD-10-CM, Z-codes) for reporting health conditions and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).

· Improve documentation skills to align with payer requirements and reimbursement processes.

· Enhance knowledge of how CHW interventions contribute to improving population health, increasing access to care, and reducing health disparities.

Register here: https://cvent.me/KMvL4V

Continuing Education

Practice Transformation Institute is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.