Training CHWs online to work with formerly incarcerated communities in primary care settings

City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and Transitions Clinic Network (TCN) received a national innovation award through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations to train and employ formerly incarcerated community health workers (CHWs) in primary care clinics serving recently released prisoners.  The collaborative aims to improve access to quality care for formerly incarcerated patients – an underserved population at high risk for chronic illness and death – and promote formerly incarcerated CHWs as a certified workforce.

CCSF adapted a 20-year old CHW certificate program for online delivery to train TCN CHWs. The curricula is based on the CCSF-developed textbook Foundations for Community Health Workers. A new online facilitator's guide based on this curricula is under development and will be discussed.

CHWs from Transitions Clinics across the country and in Puerto Rico have been taking online classes since August of 2012. This presentation will showcase the online curricula and highlight several pedagogical features, including the use of video demonstrations of CHW core competencies, student discussion forums, and performance based assessments. The presentation will illustrate the rationale for the TCN model and need for primary care clinics specializing in treating patients coming home from prison.  All TCN clinics hire CHWs with a history of incarceration and include them as integral members of the primary care team.

The presentation will be co-facilitated by City College faculty and a TCN CHW who was trained through the online curricula.