Health Impact Ohio Graduates Third Class of Certified Community Health Workers
By: Heidi Christman, Chief Operating Officer, Health Impact Ohio
Health Impact Ohio proudly graduated our third cohort of the Central Ohio Pathways HUB CHW Certification Program in May. The CHW Certification program is led by Health Impact Ohio’s HUB Education Director, Dr. Tanikka Price in collaboration with the HUB Project Manager, Mary Mutegi. Dr. Price and Ms. Mutegi worked to bring in a variety of instructors, including fellow Health Impact Ohio staff, as well as experts in a diverse set of subject matter from around the state of Ohio.
Class Demographics
This outstanding class of twenty-four participants is our first group that came from across the state of Ohio, unlike previous cohorts that have been exclusively from Central Ohio. There were 22 participants that identified as female, and two that identified as male. Ten participants identified their race/ethnicity as white, ten as Black or African American, and one as Asian or Indian. We were thrilled to welcome people with the following employment backgrounds:
Anthem, Carmella Rose Health Foundation
Bridges to Wellness Tuscarawrus County HUB
Columbus Developmental Center
Insurance Navigator
MetroHealth Medical Center
Neidig Health Care
Physicians CareConnection
Pregnant with Possibilities Resource center
PrimaryOne Health
Ross County Health District
Senior Resource Connection
St. Mary's Develpoment
United Church Homes
United Way of Greater Cleveland
Unemployed
Self-Employed
Class valedictorian, Kouzan Abdullah said of the course, “They say that web classes are not engaging. I defer that. We were at every corner of the state, yet we became closer than many of us are with some of our own family members.”
Program Curriculum
The first unit of the program focused on Certified Community Health Workers Improving Lives within Larger Health and Healthcare Systems, where we focused on understanding the role and goals of CHWs, and CHW employment models, particularly the Community Pathways HUB Model. We described ways for CHWs to manage stress and anxiety and went over best-practice client engagement strategies. This unit also covered understanding social drivers of health, and how they connect to life expectancy and outcomes. We highlighted and brainstormed strategies to keep CHWs safe in various environments. This unit was designed to empower collaborative discussions, self-esteem, establish responsibility and professionalism, as well as develop professional relationships with certified CHWs in Ohio.
Our second unit focused on CHWs Role in Health Education and Health Promotion. This unit guided the cohort to demonstrate general awareness of health care needs for individuals across the life span and related health care and social services. This includes understanding pregnancy, motherhood, and the early years of life and possible barriers and concerns, and how to mitigate those risks. A focus of this section was on identifying chronic health conditions, as well as educating clients on possible risk factors and health behaviors that decrease risks. Chronic diseases that impact African American, Latinx, and Indigenous American communities including asthma, heart disease, and diabetes will be highlighted. The unit taught participants how to recognize signs indicating changes in client’s health status, and how to educate others on healthy lifestyle choices. Delving deeper into health disparities, we explored the behavioral, mental, emotional, and spiritual impacts on health, and discuss substance use and effects on health. This unit concluded with a collaborative discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, incorporating data, case investigations, testing and vaccine advocacy, and resource coordination. The goal for this unit was for participants to become an effective self/client advocate and develop and improve interpersonal communication skills and health literacy.
The final unit of the program focused on at-risk communities. With an emphasis on health disparities and health equity, participants explored health disparities in Ohio, and worked to understand specific client population considerations. Populations that were covered included Black and African American people, LGBTQ+ people, Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (IDD), opioid/substance abuse disorder clients, New Americans, Immigrant populations, Asian Americans, and Hispanic and Latinx populations. They were able to define cultural appropriateness and worked to understand ethical issues in research on marginalized groups. Through collaboration and advocacy-oriented discussions, participants learned how telling and listening to stories centers minority voices, and counters economic stereotypes. This cohort completed the course with conflict resolution skills, the ability to adhere to privacy and confidentiality, and understand concepts of trust amongst professional teams, CHWs, and clients.
Graduation
While the course itself was offered exclusively online, we were honored to offer graduates the option to meet in person on May 26th to celebrate their successful completion of the program. We were able to recognize several participants for outstanding performance in particular areas of the program. In addition to certificates that were awarded to all participants, the following awards were presented:
Class Valedictorian: Kouzan Abdullah
The Mark Redding Memorial Courage Award: Leisha Kowski
Participation Award: Juanetta Burch
Class Spirit Award: Jennifer Jones
Presentation Award: Tony Rush
Perfect Attendance: Alicia Ballard, Diane Kelley, Elicia Johnson, Kouzan Abdullah, LaTanya Thornton, Leisha Kowski, Marielle Little, Tony Rush, Wendy Holliman
Abdullah shared the impact the class and staff team had on her in her valedictorian speech remarking, “The power, engagement, enthusiasm, and understanding Dr. Tanikka Price had for us while she was going through family hardship herself. Yet, she was there for every class to teach us. Dr. Tanikka, I learned from you and your teammates who I am right now, and I need to meet myself where I am today so that I can help my community.”
The program will begin accepting applications for the next cohort of participants in mid-summer of this year, and the course will begin in August. For more information on the Central Ohio Pathways HUB Certification Program, visit the project page on our website: https://www.healthimpactohio.org/chw-certification-program.
