What is a community health worker?
For more than a dozen years, the Dallas County Health Department has been privileged to have a community health worker (CHW) on staff. CHWs are frontline public health specialists with a close understanding of the community they serve. They act as a liaison between their clients and the services needed.
The Dallas County Public Health Department’s community health administrator is Abigail Chihak.
Quite often a CHW bridges gaps in communication. This can include interpreting from one language to another but, more importantly, it means helping individuals who are simply unfamiliar with the world of healthcare. Having someone you trust in your corner reduces anxiety and the chances of medical mistakes due to miscommunication.
CHWs frequently serve as a liaison between medical and social services. For example, someone frequently misses medical appointments and is gaining too much weight, and the clinic staff is frustrated, and the patient doesn’t feel well. The CHW can assist the medical staff in getting to the root of the problem.
Result: the patient reveals to the CHW a lack of reliable transportation and limited access to nutritious, lower-calorie food. These problems with social determinants of health are then addressed when the Community Health Worker connects the patient to free transportation offered by the patient’s insurance and provides information on local food pantries.
CHWs are employed in many settings: clinics, non-profit agencies, churches and various government departments. If you’re interested in becoming a community health worker, visit the Iowa Chronic Care Consortium website.
Ann Cochran is the health navigation coordinator for the Dallas County Public Health Department.
