Kentucky Homeplace trains 11 more community health workers

By Heather Close Published August 21, 2023 FEATURED, HEALTH BUSINESS, HEALTH POLICY, YOUR HEALTH

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Community health workers fill a vital role in meeting the health-care needs of Kentuckians. Now the state now has 11 more of them.

CHWs aren’t trained medically, but as patient advocates who come from the communities they serve. They help their clients coordinate care, provide access to medical, social and environmental services, work to improve health literacy, and deliver education on prevention and disease self-management.

The graduates from the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health’s CHW program, called Kentucky Homeplace, were recently honored by the center and health insurer UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kentucky at a ceremony held in Hazard where the center is located.

Through this initiative, funded with $35,000 from UnitedHealthcare’s Community Plan of Kentucky, the 11 students from Hazard and Perry County high schools completed the training with Kentucky Homeplace and can now apply for CHW certification.

Once completed, they will be able to serve as health-care advocates providing education and guidance to help Eastern Kentuckians connect with health-care resources.

CHWs serve in their own communities, which helps ensure cultural sensitivity to their client’s health disparities and special needs. Ten more CHWs will graduate in 2024.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says Kentucky had 1,540 CHWs in May 2022, with an average wage of $54,530.