Community Health Workers once touted by WHO as future of primary care

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA, February 20, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Leonor Rivas started working full-time straight out of high school. She took a few college classes over time, but then “life happened.”

A caregiver for her parents and a single mother, Rivas delayed college, eventually earning her certification as a medical assistant. In 2002, she joined Providence as its first promotora, a bilingual community health worker who serves as a bridge to health care in the South Bay’s underserved Latino communities.

“It was a good career for me because I wanted to do something that allowed me to help people,” Rivas said. “And it was flexible, so I had time with my son. I worked so he had everything he needed, health insurance and college. I didn’t have that at a young age, but I made sure he did.”

Since Rivas was hired, hundreds of CHWs have joined Providence with the goal of improving access to care, particularly in underserved communities. In Southern California, Providence CHWs work across numerous programs, providing basic care and health education and, when necessary, connecting clients to higher levels of medical care and social services that address homelessness, poverty, mental health, food insecurity, chronic disease and other concerns. They also help clients enroll in health insurance programs and CalFresh, formerly known as food stamps.

In 2019, Providence and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science partnered to create the Community Health Worker Academy, a workforce development program that includes paid internships and is designed to create long-term job placements in hospitals and clinical settings. Ninety-two percent of CHW interns graduated from the academy in the first three cohorts and secured full-time jobs at the conclusion of their internships. Registration has begun for the fourth cohort of students.

The academy is funded by grants from Cedars-Sinai, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the California Community Reinvestment Grants program within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and UniHealth Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organization. The program includes CHW internship host sites at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dignity Health Northridge Hospital, Torrance Memorial Medical Center, San Fernando Community Health Center, Harbor Community Health Center, Venice Family Clinic, Westside Family Health Center and Behavioral Health Services.

The roots of community health worker programs began to take hold in the 1950s in Latin America. Then, in 1978, the World Health Organization endorsed CHWs as part of the future of primary health care. The numbers escalated in recent years as CHWs successfully addressed the unique health and social issues within their own underserved communities, according to the American Public Health Association.

The CHW role has also expanded since Rivas pioneered the practice at Providence, where she first worked teaching classes for parents of preschoolers that focus on nutrition, discipline and child development. She then worked with the diabetes outreach program by providing health education, retinal photography to detect diabetes-caused eye damage and guidance in managing the disease, which is prominent among Latinos.

Over the years, Rivas earned her Class B license, so she is qualified to drive the Partners for Healthy Kids Mobile Medical Clinic, a 40-foot RV that visits high schools, elementary schools and the Providence Wellness Activity Center in Wilmington. There, she assists in providing childhood vaccinations, as well as influenza and COVID-19 shots and boosters.

The job enabled her to raise a son, now 31, who, after earning his master’s degree in social work = told his mom it was her turn. Last year, Rivas graduated from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, with a degree in sociology, and now is applying to graduate school to study social work.

Long on the front lines of increasing access to care in vulnerable communities, Rivas urges people who, like her, want to work in health care to help erase health disparities and empower their own communities to consider training as CHWs.

“It’s really fulfilling, you learn a lot, you interact with the public,” she said, “and you get to help people.”

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About Providence
Providence is a national, not-for-profit Catholic health system comprising a diverse family of organizations and driven by a belief that health is a human right. With 52 hospitals, over 1,000 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing, and much other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 120,000 caregivers serving communities across seven states – Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, with system offices in Renton, Wash., and Irvine, Calif. Learn about our vision of
health for a better world at Providence.org.

About Providence Southern California
Providence Southern California is the region’s largest health system with 11 hospitals, more than 100 clinics, outpatient centers, TrinityCare Hospice and its TrinityKids Care pediatric hospice, Providence High School, home health care services, eight wellness centers, telehealth and numerous physician groups in its Southern California Region. Providence is committed to an enduring mission of outreach to the poor and vulnerable, and last year contributed $485 million in services, programs and charity care to those in need.

Patricia Aidem
Providence SoCal
+1 661-755-1322
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