Testimony for the Board of Certification of Community Health Workers’ Public Hearing
June 28, 2017
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony. I have been a Project Director for various grants and programs at SSTAR in Fall River, Massachusetts. We are an Integrated Primary Health, Mental Health and Addiction Treatment facility. We employ two CHWs in addition to many staff with different job titles that function in similar roles.
I have seen the critical value that Community Health Workers, Care Managers, Case Managers, Patient Navigators, Community Support Providers, Recovery Coaches have brought to the clients of our agency.
In the past, care was often not coordinated, barriers to care prevented people from making it to their appointments or being able to follow their treatment plans. Being able to have a support person who could help address barriers and support their treatment goals became often the key to improved health and wellness.
Our two CHWs completed the Massachusetts training program and one of our Nurses received training to be their supervisor. Having training programs, standards and certification requirements supports the highest level of quality of this profession.
The issue of having a CORI check for employees in a treatment program is important but should not preclude someone from consideration. We have wonderful staff in recovery that have had difficulties in the past while in active addiction. The value they bring to their work with our clients would be lost if a CORI was the determination of their character. Other factors such as their time in recovery, supervised work experience, demonstration of adherence to a Code of Ethics need to be considered.
I am including testimony from a colleague at SSTAR, Timothy Comeaux, L.I.C.S.W, Clinic Manager of the Family Health Center at SSTAR:
CHWs are an incredibly valuable resources, as they can connect with patients on a deeper level than nurses and PCPs can. CHWs are from the community and speak the languages of patients and understand the culture. CHWs help resolve the common gap of patients returning to a follow-up medical visit having never picked up medications that the PCP expected the patient to begin taking. As the staffing cost for CHWs is lower than that of nurses and social workers, they can often spend more time with the patients and assist a great deal with helping them access community resources. The issue currently is that since the CHW service is not reimbursable, Community Health Centers generally need grant funding to provide this important service. Taking steps to integrate CHWs fully into the ACO model moving forward will help CHWs continue to have the opportunity to help patients achieve positive health outcomes, and having a CHW certification would help in standardizing the training and qualifications required to refer to a staff member as a CHW.
I appreciate the opportunity to provide this testimony and show support for the growth of the Community Health Worker profession.
Paula J. Beaulieu, M.S. CADCII
Director of Prevention Services at SSTAR