On April 29-30, 2024, CHWs for a Healthy VA will host the Coalitions Empower Conference: A Seat at the Table in Abingdon, VA. This FREE conference will introduce community health worker (CHW) regional coalitions and other Virginia coalitions to resources and best practice methodologies from various disciplines. Register to learn about: 

• Expanding and sustaining existing CHW coalitions
• Ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Virginia CHW workforce

Objectives:

• Leave with tools, best practice methodologies, and action steps to strengthen coalitions.
• Have a better understanding and awareness of CHWs’ roles in supporting communities to achieve improved health outcomes.
• Expand professional networks with other like-minded individuals and organizations for the expansion, sustainability, and impact of the coalitions. 
• Learn effective strategies for coalition implementation and sustainability. 

Who: CHW regional conveners, CHW coalition members, CHWs, ecosystem/community builders, and other thought leaders across Virginia.

When: April 29, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and April 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Where: Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, One Partnership Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210

To Register, visit: Coalitions Empower Conference: A Seat at the Table Tickets! 

Agenda

Speakers/Panelist/Conveners

If you have additional questions, please contact [email protected]. 

This CHWs for a Healthy VA project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of financial assistance awards totaling over $13 million, with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) Leading Focus Groups

ONLY TEN (10) SPOTS AVAILABLE

This training enhances CHWs’ communication and facilitation skills, focusing on planning and leading effective focus groups.
Focus groups are guided discussions that give insight into
participants’ thoughts and feelings about a particular topic. CHWs are uniquely qualified to lead these discussions because of their deep understanding of the communities they serve.

Learning objectives:

• Learn about focus groups and their purpose
• Understand a focus group facilitator’s roles and responsibilities
• Learn best practices for planning and leading focus groups
• Feel confident about planning and leading focus groups

What? Two (2) one-hour training sessions

Who? CHWs

When? January 19 and February 9, from noon to 1 p.m. EST

For more details, please contact [email protected]. 

Virginia communities risk losing community health workers (CHWs) if sustainable funding is unavailable for these positions and programs. CHWs are vital to their communities because they build individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through outreach, education, informal counseling, social support, and advocacy.

On Thursday, January 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., the Virginia CHW Association will host a CHW Awareness & Education Day at the General Assembly building. Leaders from all over the state will meet with legislators to discuss the role and impact of CHWs in communities across the Commonwealth. The theme of this event is “I Have a Dream,” to honor Martin Luther King Jr’s emphasis on the power of collective action and community engagement to achieve equality for all.  

Join these efforts by registering for the CHW Awareness & Education Day and/or sending a prewritten letter detailing the importance of CHWs’ role to your legislator (You will only need to fill in your information in the template). 

To take it a step further, IPHI encourages you to sign up for the CHW Civic Engagement Ambassador Week. IPHI and Transformative Changes host a CHW cohort to create a space for community members to sit at the table, leverage their voices, and influence meaningful change in systems. 

For more details, please contact [email protected], [email protected] [email protected]. 

CHW Legislative Summit (English) (Spanish)

IPHI, Transformative Changes, New Virginia Majority, and the Virginia Community Health Worker Association invite you to the CHW Legislative Summit on December 14, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This Summit is a space for CHWs, allies, and advocates in Virginia to co-create change together.

At the Summit, attendees will:

• Build community by getting to know each other
• Learn skills and strategies to effectively ignite systems change
• Hear about the 2024 policies landscape that could affect CHWs
• Share stories, questions, and concerns with public officials
• Prepare to collectively ignite change on behalf of the community and for CHWs

Agenda: 

• 10-10:10 a.m. | Welcome & Interpretation 
• 10:10-10:30 a.m. | Diversity Welcome, Icebreaker, Background, Purpose 
• 10:30-11 a.m. | Community Health Worker Policy & Workforce Sustainability
• 11-noon | Civic Engagement 101 – The Power of Your Voice & Story
• noon-12:30 p.m. | Summit Break 
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. | Community Health Worker Chat & Q&A w/ Legislators 
• 1:30-2 p.m. | Community Health Worker Ally Roundtable

Other names that fall under the CHW umbrella include:

• Case Worker or Public Health Aide,
• Community Care Coordinator,
• Community Health Advisor/Educator/Promoter/Representative/Worker,
• Community Outreach Worker/Specialist or Neighborhood Health Advisor,
• Consejera/Animadora (counselor/organizer) or Promotor (a) de Salud (health promoter),
• Environmental Health Aide or Family Service Worker,
• HIV Peer Counselor,
• Lactation Consultant/Specialist or Maternal/Infant Health Outreach Specialist,
• Lay Health Advisor,
• Lead Abatement Education Specialist,
• Patient Navigator Peer Educator, and more.

For more details, please contact [email protected]. 

To access the Summit photos, click: here. To view the Summit recording, click: here. The Zoom passcode is xJ=4k%Zq.

Community Health Worker Supervisor Training

If you supervise CHWs or manage CHW supervisors, this training series is for you! Complete four 2-hour modules and learn about: 

CHW Supervisor Strategies I:

• CHW Core Skills and Functions
• Supervisor Support Strategies 
• CHW Code of Ethics & Core Values
• Supportive Supervision 

CHW Supervisor Strategies II: 

• CHW Supervision Models
• CHW Supervisor Competencies
• CHW Supervisor Roles & Responsibilities
• Conflict Management Strategies
• Challenges & Best Practices

Supervisor Strategies I is a pre-requisite for Supervisor Strategies II. All sessions must be completed to receive a certificate of completion.

This comprehensive and virtual training is on December 4, 6, 11, and 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enrollment will be cut off once 30 participants have enrolled. Register by December 1 to reserve your spot! 

This CHWs for a Healthy VA project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of financial assistance awards totaling over $13 million, with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Virtual Virginia CHW Town Hall Meeting (English) (Spanish)

IPHI and Transformative Changes are co-hosting a CHW town hall meeting on November 16, 2023, from noon to 2 p.m.

The New Virginia Majority provides Spanish translation.

We want to hear from Virginia CHWs!

• What’s working and what’s not working? 
• Feedback on draft policies that affect CHWs? 
• Any ideas for improved engagement and support?

CHWs are also referred to as:

• Case Worker or Public Health Aide,
• Community Care Coordinator,
• Community Health Advisor/Educator/Promoter/Representative/Worker,
• Community Outreach Worker/Specialist or Neighborhood Health Advisor,
• Consejera/Animadora (counselor/organizer) or Promotor (a) de Salud (health promoter),
• Environmental Health Aide or Family Service Worker,
• HIV Peer Counselor,
• Lactation Consultant/Specialist or Maternal/Infant Health Outreach Specialist,
• Lay Health Advisor,
• Lead Abatement Education Specialist,
• Patient Navigator Peer Educator, and more.

Objectives:

• Give CHWs a space to share their stories and experiences
• Identify issues impacting CHWs with potential policy solutions
• Educate CHWs about current policy initiatives impacting their work
• Provide information about ways CHWs can become more civically engaged to support the workforce

For more details, please contact [email protected]. 

To view the event summary, click: here. To view the Town Hall recording, click: here. The Zoom passcode is ^8M!w8qt.