strengthen the
HEALTH
WORKFORCE

We strive to integrate community health workers permanently into the health workforce, leveraging their trusted expertise and lived experiences to enhance the health and well-being of Chicagoland communities.

Community health workers (CHWs) have lived expertise and trusted relationships that make them a crucial part of the health workforce.

Living within the communities they work in, CHWs are valued resources, connecting people to essential services and organizing for improved policies that impact health. The presence of and investment in CHWs leads to:

  • Improved quality of care and communication between providers and patients.
  • Pathways for economic mobility in communities that have experienced divestment.
  • Long-term cost-effectiveness by improving social, environmental, and political factors that influence health.

Currently, the value of CHWs is not widely recognized and funding to support their work is insufficient.

OUR SOLUTION
We strive to integrate community health workers permanently into the health workforce. We leverage their trusted expertise and lived experiences to enhance the health and well-being of Chicagoland communities.

To accomplish this goal, we partner with and support diverse stakeholders to:

  • Elevate the value of Community Health Workers.
  • Showcase effective ways employers can integrate them into their organizations.
  • Advocate for increased funding.

 

Stay up to date on all the ways we are working to ensure
all Chicagoans can live healthy lives