NEW YORK, NY (May 24, 2023) —CAI has received federal funding to launch a new three-year Community Health Worker Certificate Program in New York City. The award is part of a White House initiative created to strengthen the nation’s community health workforce, increase access to care, and address the public health needs of underserved communities.
CAI is working closely with health centers, harm reduction centers, and other community-based organizations in the Bronx, Upper and Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens to recruit and train 200 new community health workers who live in the areas where they will learn and later work. These trained health-support professionals will serve as a bridge—helping members of their community understand and access needed health care and related services—and become valued members of interprofessional medical teams.
The three-month Community Health Worker Training Program curriculum developed by CAI combines on-the-job training with classroom and skill-lab sessions. Throughout the program, trainees will receive direct financial assistance and on-the-job support from job coaches and mentors.
“This program focuses squarely on health equity, in part by creating a supportive learning environment that builds on the strengths and experience of people who aren’t in college or planning to go to college,” said Rama Murali, project director. “In this way, we will increase both the number of skilled community health workers and the population of workers who share lived experience with the community members they serve.”
Upon completion of the program, 45 participants will be eligible for a Community Health Worker paid apprenticeship program registered with the New York State Department of Labor.
Read more about CAI’s Community Health Worker Training Program.
####