Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jennifer Chow, BS, Children's Division, Health Care For All, 30 Winter Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, Lisa Renee Siciliano, LSWA, Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network, Chang Building, 222 Maple Ave., Shrewsbury, MA 01545, and Maritza Smidy, MEd, Sisters of Providence Prenatal Clinic, 384 High Street, Holyoke, MA 01040, 413-536-7385, maritza.smidy@sphs.com.

The Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network is the statewide professional organization for community health workers (CHWs). Founded in 2000, the Network is one of the oldest statewide CHW organizations in the country and has a growing membership of almost 1,000. Members include CHWs, our allies and supporters from across the state. Founded as a volunteer organization, through CHW capacity building and professional development the MACHW Network has moved to a staffed organization with CHWs in leadership positions. The Network has a proven track record in assisting CHWs with professional development and utilizing enhanced skills to improve public health efforts in Massachusetts. The MACHW Network is fully committed to building CHW leadership capacity. While this has proved challenging on many levels, the Network has remained dedicated to our mission to strengthen the field of community health work. MACHW provides an example of CHW capacity building at its best including, submitting CHW drafted legislation, development of a CHW advocacy toolkit, written by and for CHWs, and hiring a CHW as MACHW's first Director. All strengthen public health efforts by building CHW leadership capacity. Through interactive discussion the CHW presenters, will discuss their personal experiences, lessons learned and the future potential CHW leaders have to enhance public health efforts.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Identify challenges to build CHW leadership capacity
• 2. Identify strategies to maximize CHW leadership capacity

Keywords: Leadership, Professional Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered