A personalstory

TRANSLATING LIVED EXPERIENCE TO  BECOMING A CHW

Mikayla Trujillo, CPSW/CHW

NACHW Leader

Program Coordinator, UNM Project ECHO

An inspiring personal story (PPT 14 slides)

City College of San Francisco  Post-Prison Health Worker Specialty Certificate 

The curriculum for the Post-Prison Health Worker certificate is designed to prepare individuals for positions working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in community health and social services agencies and programs. It emphasizes specific competencies for working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people such as culturally responsive outreach, case management, client-centered intake and counseling skills and community organizing and advocacy. As part of their education, students will complete an internship with a local agency serving incarcerated and/or formerly incarcerated people. The Post-Prison Health Worker Certificate requires successful completion of 20-23 units.
 

Learning Outcomes
In addition to the student learning objectives described in the Community Health Worker Program, students completing the specialty Post-Prison
Health Worker Certificate Program will also be able to:

• Describe      and analyze the historical development of the U.S. criminal justice system      including; prison system conditions, culture of prison life, the political      and economic roots, and their implications for poor communities and      communities of color.
• Examine      and summarize the health impacts of incarceration including health      inequities and common chronic diseases on the health and well-being of      families and communities.
• Examine      and identify the challenges and systemic barriers to reentry an      incarcerated person faces when re-entering society.
• Assess      and apply prevention-based models of criminal justice that promote health      and safety.
• Define      and analyze the role of Community Health Workers and Medical Assistants in      the management of chronic conditions including application of the      ecological model, concepts of scope of practice, working as part of a      clinical team and ethics.
• Conduct      culturally sensitive client-centered counseling and document client-action      plans to patients with chronic conditions with special considerations for      seniors and those formerly incarcerated.

Courses Required for the Certificate of Accomplishment as a Post-Prison Health Worker Certificate Program
Course Units
HLTH 60* CHW Skills ………………………………………………….. 3
HLTH 62* Prep for Field Experience
or HLTH 201* CHW Principles & Practice 1 …………….2-5
HLTH 61* CHW Field: Health Services …………………………. 3
HLTH 63* CHW Field Experience ………………………………… 2
HLTH 66 Health Education and Chronic
Disease Management ………………………………………………….. 3
HLTH 110 Health Impacts of Incarceration ………………….. 3
HLTH 116 Conflict Resolution ………………………………………. 1
Students must complete three (3) units from the following list of electives:
HLTH 10 Health and Aging ………………………………………….. 3
HLTH 25 Women’s Health Issues …………………………………. 3
HLTH 27 Men’s Health Issues ………………………………………. 3
HLTH 38 Trauma Response and Recovery……………………. 3
HLTH 54 Introduction to Public Health ……………………….. 3
HLTH 64 Health Education Practice …………………………….. 3
HLTH 65 Youth Development and Leadership……………… 3
HLTH 67 HIV/STI Prevention Education ……………………… 3
HLTH 90B Harm Reduction and Health……………………… 0.5
HLTH 91C Hepatitis ABCs…………………………………………….. 1
HLTH 95 Transgender Health:
Clients & Communities………………………………………………. 1
HLTH 96 Transgender Hlth: Public Health Strategies……. 2
HLTH 97 Health & Stress in Society ………………………………. 3
MABS 60 Intro to Comp Appl for Business……………………. 3
Total Units…………………………………………………………….. 20

*Note: HLTH 60 (3 units) and HLTH 62 (2 units) are taken concurrently or alternately HLTH 201 (5 units) in the first semester. HLTH 61 (3 units)
and HLTH 63 (2 units) are taken concurrently in the second semester.

Abstract 300054 Training CHWs online to work with formerly incarcerated communities in primary care settings  Monday, November 17, 2014 : 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM

Alma Avila, MPH , Health Education Department, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA and Martha Shearer , Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and Transitions Clinic Network (TCN) received a national innovation award through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations to train and employ formerly incarcerated community health workers (CHWs) in primary care clinics serving recently released prisoners.  The collaborative aims to improve access to quality care for formerly incarcerated patients – an underserved population at high risk for chronic illness and death – and promote formerly incarcerated CHWs as a certified workforce.

CCSF adapted a 20-year old CHW certificate program for online delivery to train TCN CHWs. The curricula is based on the CCSF-developed textbook Foundations for Community Health Workers. A new online facilitator’s guide based on this curricula is under development and will be discussed.

CHWs from Transitions Clinics across the country and in Puerto Rico have been taking online classes since August of 2012. This presentation will showcase the online curricula and highlight several pedagogical features, including the use of video demonstrations of CHW core competencies, student discussion forums, and performance based assessments. The presentation will illustrate the rationale for the TCN model and need for primary care clinics specializing in treating patients coming home from prison.  All TCN clinics hire CHWs with a history of incarceration and include them as integral members of the primary care team.

The presentation will be co-facilitated by City College faculty and a TCN CHW who was trained through the online curricula. 

Learning Areas:

• Chronic      disease management and prevention
• Diversity      and culture
• Implementation      of health education strategies, interventions and programs
• Planning      of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives: Explain the challenges and successes of adapting an in-person CHW certificate program for online delivery. Discuss the importance of providing culturally relevant training and quality primary care to formerly incarcerated communities. Demonstrate the significance of hiring formerly incarcerated people as CHWs to work with clients and communities impacted by mass incarceration.

Transitions Clinic Network

What is the Transitions Clinic Network?

In 2011, Transitions Clinic received funding from the Langeloth Foundation to create and support a network of clinics nationally that serve returning prisoners with chronic illnesses.

The Transitions Clinic Network currently serves 24 communities across the country. Our partners are diverse and span the country from California (see below) to New York, even including Puerto Rico.

What We Do

Capacity Building:

• Training for Primary Care Providers.
• Training for Community Health Workers.
• Training in Team-Based Care Utilizing CHWs
• Supports creation and dissemination of relevant best practices.

Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Evaluation Support:

• Individualized needs assessments.
• Tools for data collection and evaluation.
• Training of Community Health Workers in CBPR.