The Community Health Worker Workforce Partnership is a collaborative in St. Louis committed to scaling and sustaining the Community Health Worker workforce.
The Partnership is advancing 4 key regional strategies:
How to Get Involved as a Partner or Employer
The IHN convenes and participates in several local, regional, and statewide tables around the CHW workforce. Come take a seat at the table! The IHN facilitates a bi-monthly table called HEAL where employers, government leaders, educators, physicians and CHWs come together to strategize and discuss current work going on within the CHW movement.
How to Get Involved as a Community Health Worker
The St. Louis region is forming a CHW Coalition. The Coalition is comprised of trained CHWs who are committed to serving their community. These individuals come together to discuss workforce challenges, policy, as we as community needs and engagement.
The Partnership is currently supporting the development of the St. Louis CHW Coalition, led by the Community Health Worker Board of Leaders.
What is a Community Health Worker?
A Community Health Worker (CHW) is a trusted member of the community they serve, allowing them to act as an intermediary between the community and several industries including healthcare, criminal justice, education, and social services.
The cultural sensitivity and trauma informed delivery of care they provide aids in not only improving health status for individuals and communities but also building community capacity and self-sufficiency within residents of the same communities negatively affected by compounding social determinants.
Community Health Workers are unique members of a patient care team, currently missing within our regional health system. CHW’s not only serve as advocates for their patients but also a valuable resource committed to referring patients to additional services and bridging the gap to yield patient follow through.