What is a CHW in Maine?

Maine Community Health Worker Initiative (MECHWI) & the Maine DHHS/CHW Steering Committee have proposed the following CHW definition for consideration and adoption by Maine DHHS programs:

A trusted frontline public health professional, who applies their unique understanding of the lived experiences, socioeconomic needs, language, and culture of the communities they serve.

A Community Health Worker:

• Acts as a bridge between providers and individuals to promote health, reduce disparities, and improve service delivery.

• Empathizes with and advocates for individual and community needs.

• Helps to build individual, family and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support, and advocacy.

Examples of Community Health Workers Titles:

Patient rights advocate, health coach, recovery coach, community health advisor, cultural broker/navigator, family advocate, health educator, travaye sante kominote, liaison, promoter, promotor/a de salud, Travaye Sante Kominote outreach worker, peer counselor, patient navigator, health interpreter, and public health aide 

Image Credit: Rosenthal EL, Menking P, St. John J, Fox D, Holderby-Fox LR, Redondo F, Hirsch G, Lee L, Brownstein JN, Allen C, Haywood C, Ortiz Miller J, Ibarra J, Cole M, Huxley L, Palmer C, Masoud S, Uriarte J, Rush CH.  The Community Health Worker Core Consensus (C3) Project Reports and Website. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. 2014-2022. https://www.c3project.org/