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Department of Health Services

Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilience
County Of Sonoma › Health and Human Services › Health Services › Divisions › Public Health › Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities
Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilience

Community Health Worker

About Us

The Sonoma County Department of Health Services' Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities project team collaborates with new and existing CHWs and Promotoras de Salud (CHW/P) from Sonoma County’s rich ecosystem of community-based organizations (CBOs) and community health centers. This workforce development grant seeks to enhance and expand existing C/P's efforts in Sonoma County, and together we are extending the reach and impact of CHW/Ps. CHW/Ps decrease the burden of COVID-19 and related comorbidities for our most affected populations. By bringing services into the communities that need them most, delivering these services through trusted messengers, and working in partnership with community members to identify and address underlying systemic barriers to care-seeking and access, we are moving towards greater health equity and helping to build community resilience in Sonoma County.

This programming was made possible by grant number NU58DP007010 from CDC. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.

About the Project

Train

Community Health Workers/Promotores de Salud/Representatives bring lived experience and perspectives that complement formal and informal core skills and job trainings. The C3 Project is a model used to expand cohesion in the CHW/P/Rs workforce and contribute to the visibility and understanding of CHW/Ps potential. The C3 Project also recommends a set of CHW/Ps roles, skills, and qualities as a standard. CHWs are enrolled in the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) CHW certificate course for one year and are encouraged to develop, present, and attend topical workshops.

Deploy

Meaningful integration of CHW/P/Rs into transdisciplinary healthcare and social services teams is widely recognized as a key to effective and culturally appropriate quality care. CHW/P/Rs thrive and are most effective when they receive supportive supervision, a crucial factor that affects the ability of CHW/P/Rs to grow as professionals, experience job satisfaction, and effectively promote health in their communities.

Engage

The strength of CHW/P/Rs lies in their ability to foster community relationships. CHW/P/Rs coordinate and promote outreach so they can provide education and messaging in communities and clinical settings. Core roles of the C3 Project emphasize care, support, and follow-up through referrals to needed and appropriate health and social services.