“你是一座桥. 你就是社区.'

Jessica 卡特 worked as a chef for 15 years before becoming a community health worker (CHW) in Southeast Ohio. 在完成她的课程后 newbb电子平台CHW项目, 卡特 works closely with new mothers, helping them focus on the importance of good nutrition. 当客户的厨房出现问题时，她知道该怎么做. 

“我有几个客户不知道怎么处理整只鸡，”卡特解释说. “我当时想，我甚至没有想过这个问题. 我还以为你不会煮整只鸡呢.” 

职位描述可能不包括烹饪技能, but the ability to draw on life experience and community connections to solve problems is a crucial skill for all CHWs. 然后是卡特在她的客户旁边说的话. 

“让我们一起走过它. 我们现在就做，”她回忆说. 她就是这么做的.

一起走过

Community health workers may be employed by public or private organizations and their job descriptions vary widely, but one thing is true of all CHWs: their work focuses on bridging the gap between healthcare and people. 

CHW的头衔比这个职位本身还要新. 邵凯丽副教授， 社区卫生工作者领导 为 俄亥俄州人口健康联盟, says that similar roles—local healthcare liaisons and advocates—have been around for hundreds of years. The significance of such work is not always recognized; nor has it always had a name.

“在某种程度上，这在美国是一个新名词, 但实际上, 它们在世界各地的社区中自然存在了很长时间, 长时间,肖说。. “这些人在美国建立了这个头衔, they were physicians who went up to Alaska and found these really rural Alaskan communities that all had local health leaders who were very trusted.” 

Increased recognition of the role’s importance from the larger healthcare community has brought increased demand for CHWs. 这种认识促使newbb电子平台在2015年设立了培训项目. 2019年 阿巴拉契亚地区委员会 提供了100万美元的资助，这使得大学能够 扩展程序 来帮助对抗阿片类药物危机. 这个节目也被改编成 在乌克兰培训非专业社区成员 支持他们的社区. 

卫生保健工作者经常与自己的社区密切合作, which makes them better able to advocate 为ir patients because they understand them on a deeper level and may share similar experiences with them.

“It’s pretty integral to the position that they look and talk like and have lived experience that is really similar to the people they’re working with, 这在医疗保健领域是独一无二的吗,肖说。. “我认为拥有这样的声音, 社区的声音, 在医疗保健领域是一个游戏改变者，因为你可以从第一人称的体验中得到倡导.”

卡特, 前厨师, 现在是一名认证的社区卫生工作者和国家认证的同伴康复支持者. 她和来自杰克逊的病人一起工作, 加利亚和梅格斯县, 平均每天开车200英里为她的病人运送食物和其他必需品.

“我帮助我的一个客户买了一辆车，这对他们来说是一个改变人生的时刻,卡特说。. “这是非常基本的东西, 只有交通工具, 她哭了，非常感激. 就是这样的小事.” 

每个CHW都给这个角色带来了不同的生活经历, 他们被鼓励让这些经历指导他们的实践. 卡特 often uses her experience as a chef to educate her clients about making the most of the food she delivers.

“如果他们不知道如何准备他们食品盒里的一些东西, 他们可以打电话给我，我们可以一起研究食谱,卡特说。.

单身妈妈, April Krape finished her CHW training recently and is in the process of completing her field hours at her current job. 她每天都在华盛顿法院与家庭一起工作.  

“I was just recently able to help someone get a new washer because it’s a household of seven and their washer quit,克拉普说. “就在同一天，我可以送感恩节食物了. 有时候很有挑战性，但也很值得.” 

更好的健康结果

newbb电子平台’s Community Health Worker training is one of the few free CHW training programs offered in the state. 本课程内容广泛，共100学时. 大部分课程在网上进行，有三节面对面的课程. The in-person classes include CPR certification and training in basic medical tasks such as taking vitals and motivational interviewing, a conversational approach to patient intake that helps CHWs understand their clients’ behaviors and assess how motivated they are to make changes.

在学生完成100小时的课堂教学或教学活动后, 然后，他们将在社区环境中完成130个小时, 开展社区卫生工作,肖说。.

在此期间, students work closely with a supervisor and complete journals reflecting on how they apply their classroom learning to what they are doing in the field. Students are eligible for certification through the Ohio Board of Nursing after completing the required field hours.

克里斯托弗·约翰逊于2018年毕业于newbb电子平台，获得舞台管理学位. 约翰逊住在洛根, where he works at Health Recovery Services as a case manager while completing the CHW coursework. 他为面临成瘾和心理健康问题的客户提供咨询. Johnson said his experience with the CHW training has not only had a positive impact in his work, 还有他的个人生活.

“训练很有趣，”约翰逊说. “我发现它越来越有帮助，不仅在我的工作生活中，而且在我的个人生活中. 我有高血压, so going to classes and hearing that high blood pressure can be catastrophic and can be deadly really inspired me to watch over my own health more.”

奥利维亚·德吉茨(Olivia Degitz)是俄亥俄州CHW项目的另一位校友. Her background is in social work and public affairs; she even studied neuroscience as an undergraduate.

德吉茨解释说:“这是一门非常容易上手的课程. “我们班上的学生非常多样化，我很喜欢. 都是女人, 我们的女性来自全国各地，背景各异, 不同年龄, 我觉得那很酷. 我从同学那里学到了很多.

德吉茨最近搬回了雅典, where she works at the 雅典 City-County Health Department as the 朋友hip Bench program manager. The program offers free and confidential appointments with staff trained to lend a listening ear.

德吉茨补充说:“培训比你想象的要容易得多。. “它比人们意识到的更有用、更有帮助. Folks who are community health workers play a huge role in the health and wellbeing of our communities, 总体上帮助人们获得更好的健康结果.” 

“你是一座桥."

Appropriate healthcare is vastly important for everyone, but not everyone has the same access to it.

“我们将以一种新的方式真正解决卫生不平等问题，”肖说. “We shouldn’t be saying that people are non-compliant because they don’t have transportation to their doctor’s appointment.”

不管他们日常工作的细节如何, 所有卫生保健员都致力于以无障碍的方式为社区提供卫生保健服务.

“The training is really easy 为 people that set out to do this type of work with very little bias,卡特说。. “You can walk into someone’s house knowing that they have bed bugs and you treat them like they’re a human being. 就是这样. 这是一种同情和同理心，把别人当作人来对待.”

建立信任对于良好的医疗保健体验至关重要, but trust is difficult to establish when there is little to no common ground between patient and doctor.

“尤其是在阿巴拉契亚这里, 我们不太信任别人的地方, 我们不相信医生,卡特说。. “我们不会因为感冒或流感而去，我们不会去看医生. I think it’s important for our role as CHWs to actually gain that trust and that rapport with our clients so that they might be a little more apt to actually listen to us.

莎妮卡·弗雷泽(Shanika Frazier)已经做了五年的CHW. Previously, she spent fifteen years working in child welfare, and was a foster parent for six years. 在完成CHW培训并获得认证后，她在联合医疗公司找到了一份工作.

“当他们说社区医疗保健时，你是一座桥梁. 你就是社区，”弗雷泽说. “因为你弥补了这一差距，然后卫生工作者就成了你的同伴, 和你一起工作的人. 我们都在为一个目标而努力. And that is that: every person, we meet them where they are and we get them what meets their needs.” 

期待

“I love being able to look at the people in my classroom and know that they are going to be treated with dignity and respect and that they’re getting jobs,肖说. “这正是我们所在地区所需要的.”

第一组有三个学生. 现在这个项目每学期招收40到60名chw. 社区卫生工作是一个不断发展的领域，它以同情、信任和关怀为基础.

“你知道,弗雷泽说, “我认为我永远不会停止在社区帮助人们弥合差距的工作.”

对newbb电子平台社区卫生工作者计划感兴趣的个人可以在线申请. 该项目每学期在newbb电子平台的不同校区提供.