Pub. 4 2020 Issue 2

First Utah Community Health Worker Section Annual Meeting and Celebration Community Health Workers — Together, We Can! By Oreta Mapu-Tupola A 2018 report from Utah Health Policy Project stated, “Lead - ers ranging from healthcare to government, have pointed to the CHW workforce as the next step forward in the quest to improve the quality and efficiency of the U.S. health system in general, and for the role they can play in reaching underserved population groups, and ultimately increasing health equity and decreasing/eliminating disparities.” When the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread throughout the U.S. and here in Utah, Community Health Workers were immediately called up as a part of response team efforts to reach our most vulnerable community members to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Utah Governor Gary Herbert initiated the development of a Multicultural Task Force led by Nubia Peña (Director of Utah Divi - sion of Multicultural Affairs). The Task Force mobilized CHWs to ensure that our most highly impacted communities were identi- fied and provided with critical resources to help manage the spread of COVID-19. To those who were already aware of the valuable work being performed by CHWs in these vulnerable communities, their inclusion by the Task Force was no surprise. But many Utahns may not be aware of the CHW program and how it was established in Utah. In 2012, a Community Health Worker (pro- motora) from the Latinx community named Jeannette Villalta recognized the need for support for CHWs in Utah. As a veteran in the health care workforce, she was feeling the strain of an increasing workload with complex cases that could also be emotion- ally taxing. She recognized that if she felt the toll of burnout, others were feeling the same way. Jeannette had several discus- sions with other community partners, which led to a conversation with the Utah Department of Health and Utah Public Health Association. Their meetings turned into what is now the Utah Broad-Based Community Health Worker Coalition, which was organized to support and promote the work of CHWs. This work led to partner- ships with Intermountain Healthcare, the Association of Utah Community Health (AUCH), and the Utah Public Health Association (UPHA). Intermountain Healthcare provided funding to de- velop several programs to support and promote CHW work. AUCH was tasked with creating a pilot CHW program within its organiza- tion. AUCH hired five CHWs to address emergency room utilization and social determinants of health among frequent health care utilizers from five identified hot spots in Salt Lake Coun- ty. UPHA was tasked with organizing a professional section/association for CHWs to provide education, training and support for the workforce. The official Community Health Worker Section was organized in May 2016. This opportunity produced a CHW Certifica - tion and Training program, statewide CHW professional association, increase in the state CHW workforce, CHW leadership and representa- tion at local, state and gov- ernment levels, and CHW recognition on multidisci- plinary care teams across diverse professions. At the heart of the work performed by CHWs is the relationships they build with community members. CHWs are known by different titles throughout Utah: promoto- ra, lay health worker, patient advocate, peer support specialist and many others. While they may be known by different titles, all CHWs www.UtahAFP.org | 20