The Community Health Worker Academy

The Community Health Worker (CHW) Academy is IPHI’s training institute dedicated to expanding the public health workforce. The CHW Academy will train new and existing CHWs in the District of Columbia and neighboring counties in suburban Maryland and northern Virginia.

The program aims to increase access to care, improve public health emergency response, and address under-resourced communities’ unmet public health needs by enhancing the skills of existing CHWs.

Public health needs are unmet when capacity, services, and resources are limited. Through the CHW Academy, IPHI aims to expand the critical role of CHWs to improve public health emergency response and help under-resourced communities gain access to care. This initiative was made possible by a three-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

To put this plan into action, IPHI:

1. Provides specialized training, continuing education opportunities, financial support, and mentorship to CHWs.
2. Facilitates field placements and apprenticeships with community partners to increase the experience, quality, and job readiness of CHWs.
3. Recruits CHWs from communities that are disproportionately impacted by social determinants of health. By recruiting people from more affected areas, the public health workforce can effectively connect with populations through unique experiences and perspectives.

 

The CHW Academy is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3 million with 100% financing from HHS/HRSA sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.

To learn more about the Community Health Worker Academy, please contact us at chwacademy@old.institutephi.org.