Rural public health workforce training network program - the massachusetts (MA) area health education center (ahec) rural workforce training network ("arwtn") is pleased to propose to design, develop,…

Rural public health workforce training network program - the massachusetts (MA) area health education center (ahec) rural workforce training network ("arwtn") is pleased to propose to design, develop, and deploy a rural public health workforce training network (rphwtn) program across multiple rural communities in three regions of the commonwealth of massachusetts. The MA arwtn is comprised of three ahecs which are part of the massahec network: the cape & islands ahec, baystate franklin ahec, and berkshire ahec. These ahecs - one from far eastern, one from central, and one from far western part of the state - are the three governance partners for this project, as documented in a memorandum of understanding signed by the partners in february 2022. This innovative approach proposes to address the critical health workforce deficit across the commonwealth by sharing resources and learning among the three committed ahecs and their network partners. The wider network includes three clinical partners which serve their respective rural regions, including outer cape health services, serving the rural outer cape COD (barnstable county) region, baystate franklin medical center/umass chan medical school family residency program, serving all of franklin county, and community health programs, serving the rural berkshire county communities. These clinical partners will provide input about workforce needs and serve as employers for workforce trained through this program. Two education network partners, cape COD community college and berkshire community college, will design, develop, and deliver training and cross-training curricula that can be provided via distance learning modes across the entire rural workforce network. The MA arwtn will focus on track 1, community health support, specifically on training community health workers (chws). The need for all clinical workforce has been growing dramatically, particularly since the covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. All the clinical partners participating in the program report significant and growing workforce shortages at the same time that the need for services is rising. Chws have evolved as a vital tool in addressing needs due to chronic conditions, behavioral health, substance use disorder, social determinants of health, and service coordination in community-based settings. Competition for chws has become a limiting factor as the available pool of potential workers has decreased. In addition, healthcare providers report increasing need to take a health equity-based approach to ensure vulnerable populations have equal access to these services. To address the shortage of chws, the MA arwtn proposes to target under-represented populations such as immigrant and migrant workforce, many of which are currently working in low-paying, unbenefited jobs in the service, tourism, hospitality, agricultural, fishing, and other sectors in rural areas. In addition to providing a much-needed source of workforce, these new workers will help create a more diverse workforce. At the same time, these new workers will provide increased capacity to reach people in their communities who may be underserved and isolated by language, culture, ethnicity, and race. The program proposes to develop and deliver training in languages including spanish and portuguese, which are spoken at home by many of the target population being served. In addition to expanding the number of new workers, the program will provide training for incumbent workers who are or may become chws. This will strengthen existing workforce as well as providing a career growth path. A key focus of the program will be to provide cross-training in areas such as billing and coding, electronic health record scribe/chart support, service coordination, peer recovery support, crisis intervention, benefits counseling and health promotion.