Celebrating Progress: One Year of CHW Roadmap Journey
Celebrating Progress: One Year of CHW Roadmap Journey
Since its inception a year ago, the Community Health Worker (CHW) Roadmap project has been a beacon of collaboration and progress in Rhode Island. Spearheaded by RIDOH and its partners, CTC-RI has supported this initiative that has worked to elevate the role and impact of CHWs across the state.
On May 1, 2024, at District Hall in Providence, over 80 stakeholders convened to celebrate the journey and strategize the path forward. The event served as a platform for the four key components of the CHW Roadmap to showcase their achievements, confront challenges, and gather feedback crucial for future endeavors. These components are 1.) CHW Role, Agency, and Leadership, 2.) Payment and Sustainability, 3.) Person and Place-based Coordination, and 4.) Workforce Development. The keynote address, delivered by Seema Dixit, MPH, MS, RIDOH Deputy Director of Public Health, underscored the vital role of CHWs in the community and highlighted the progress made in integrating their role into the state's healthcare landscape. Integral to the event were the contributions of CHWs themselves, such as Steffany Alvares, CCHW, Boswell, Community Health Worker, who facilitated the grounding activity and Swanette Salazar, CCHW, CTC-RI Lead Community Health Worker Consultant and FSRI Community Health Worker Supervisor, and Shawn F. Gray, CSOS, CPRS, Family Support Partner and Parent Support Network of R.I. Fatherhood Coordinator, who participated in a panel on Charting a Sustainable Future for CHWs in RI which was moderated by Marti Rosenberg, EOHHS Director of Policy Alignment. The panel, which included esteemed individuals like Sarah Lawrence, CCHW, LCSW, PhD, CHWARI Executive Director, Community Health Worker Association of Rhode Island, Deborah Garneau, MA, RIDOH Maternal Child Health Director, Anne Ekedahl (De Biasi), MHA, WE in the World Senior Fellow, Policy, provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Moreover, the Summit provided a platform for implementation teams to showcase their progress and solicit feedback, fostering a spirit of collaboration and shared purpose among attendees. As the day concluded, participants came together to brainstorm next steps, reaffirming their commitment to advancing the CHW Roadmap agenda. View the full roadmap report here. View the roadmap progress poster here. View the roadmap implementation team posters here. This work is supported by RIDOH.