Community Health Worker

The Community Health Worker (CHW) Certificate of Achievement program provides the students with the skills needed to work in public health, healthcare, and social services. CHWs provide services including health education, navigation through healthcare systems and services, health outreach, community health data collection, and health promotion. Graduates will be able to help improve quality of life by identifying the social determinants of health (SDOH) and disparities in communities, increasing access to health care services, promoting health screening, and providing public health education on available health services and recommendations. The certificate is for both entry-level individuals and for providing additional competencies to those employed in various fields. Graduates can work in various settings including healthcare clinics, mental health facilities, substance abuse programs, nursing homes, assisted living, and neighborhood and faith-based organizations.

Occupations:

·        Community Health Worker

·        Health Advocates

·        Contact Tracers

·        Community Liaisons

·        Health Navigators

·        Community Navigators

·        Community Health Advisors

·        Outreach Educators

·        Community Health Representatives

·        Peer Health Promoters

20 Per Year starting year two

The Community Health Worker (CHW) Program will be a 25-unit CTE certificate that meets CTE goals including transfer and workforce preparation. CHW is a pathway to the Public Health Science ADT program sharing various common and transferable courses. BLS projects a growth in demand for CHW by 12 percent from 2021 to 2031, more than the average of all other occupations. With 0 program completions in 2021 and676 annual job openings in target occupations, the CHW program addresses this worker shortages and the growing trend/need for CHWs to provide preventative health services that bridge the gap between health/social services and the community to improve the quality of healthcare. CHWs fulfill this role by providing services, such as:

•              health education and promotion

•              improve health care services use and navigation

•              knowledge of community health and social services

•              enhanced communication among patient, community, and health providers

•              reduced need for emergency and specialty services.

The California Budget2021-22 establishes that CHWs are now a benefit provided within the Medi-Cal program. Students who successfully complete the CHW program will gain competencies in communication skills as it relates to medicine and healthcare, healthcare services navigation and coordination, health education and promotion, knowledge of public health principles, etc., that can lead to employment as a Community Health Worker, seek higher education in public health, and further explore related fields in public/allied health occupations.

Required Core

·        HSC 104 – Medical Terminology (3 units)

·        PH 601- Introduction to Public Health (3 units)

·        HLTH 1 – Contemporary Health Issues (3 units)

·        PH 602 –Health Education and Promotion (3 units)

·        PH 604 – Interprofessional Communication inHealthcare (1 unit)

·        PH 603 – Health and Social Justice (3 units)

·        PH 605 – Directed Practice for Community HealthWorker (3 unit)

Restricted Electives

·        MATH 10 - Introduction to Statistics (3 units) ORPSYC 44 - Statistics for Behavioral Sciences (3 units) OR BUS 10 -Business Statistics (3 units)

PSYC30 OR SOC 30 – Social Psychology (3 units)

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
HSC 104	Medical Terminology	3	S1
PH 601	Introduction to Public Health	3	S1
HLTH 1	Contemporary Health Issues	3	S1
PH 602	Health Education and Promotion	3	S1
S1PH 604	Interprofessional Communication in Healthcare	1	S1
PH 603	Health and Social Justice	3	S2
PH 605	Directed Practice for Community Health Worker	3	S2
MATH 10 or PSYCH 44 or BUS 10	Introduction to Statistics (3 units) OR - Statistics for Behavioral Sciences OR  - Business Statistics	3	S2
PSYC 30 OR SOC 30	Social Psychology	3	S2

Certificate of Achievement

None identified in Program mapper

20