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April 2024 Community Health Worker Training and Apprenticeship Program graduates (from left to right): Abby Solis Linares, Ursula Galvez, Lisbeth Hoyle, Angela DiDomenico, and Manuel Mercado (not pictured: Guada Campos, Jasmine Miller)
| FAYETTEVILLE — The UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation is celebrating its first graduating class of seven community health worker (CHW) students this month who completed a one-year community health worker training and apprenticeship program.
The institute, formerly the UAMS Office of Community Health Research, has enrolled 88 CHWs from 21 counties in Arkansas since it began classes last February.
The Community Health Worker Training and Apprenticeship Program provides 80 hours of basic training to new and experienced CHWs across the state, giving them the tools to better support their local communities. After the initial 80 hours of core training, CHWs can enroll in the program's year-round training. This requires an additional 80 hours of supplemental training, 2,000 hours of on-the-job training, and proven skills in 21 core competencies. Culturally appropriate health education, connecting individuals to resources, and expanding health literacy.
“I became a CHW to help people facing similar challenges that I faced,” said Guada Campos, a community health worker at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation. “This training helped me build a network of other community advocates and provided me with the tools I needed to make a meaningful impact in my career.”
According to the World Health Organization, CHWs are front-line public health professionals who act as bridges between health services and the communities they serve and are effective in delivering health services to vulnerable populations. It is a reliable local resource.
UAMS and its partners have worked together to expand the state's CHW workforce since the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the institute has trained and deployed more than 150 CHWs to 40 counties in the state, and more than 350 CHWs are affiliated with the institute across the state.
As part of the CHW Training and Apprenticeship Program, the UAMS Institute has partnered with the University of Arkansas to provide trainees with college credit and opportunities for more experienced CHWs to earn new certifications and work in the field. Added “Skill Up” component. training. UAMS also helped advocate for community health worker to become an officially recognized state title, which Arkansas added in July 2023.
“It has been a very rewarding experience to see local healthcare workers evolve and grow in confidence over the past year, and hear their ideas for putting what they have learned into practice. ,” said program director Rosalinda Medrano Green. “Their growth is a reminder of the impact of community health workers and reaffirms our commitment to expanding community health workers across the state.”
UAMS is the only health sciences university in the state and includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health professions, and public health. Graduate School; Hospital; Main Campus in Little Rock. Northwest Arkansas Regional Campus in Fayetteville. A statewide network of regional campuses. and eight institutions: Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stevens Spine Neuroscience Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, and Translational Research. Institute for Regional Health Innovation, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS' clinical operations. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. The state's largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide patient care at UAMS, regional campuses, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Baptist Health. It is included. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook. X (old Twitter)YouTube or Instagram.
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