Calaveras Public
Health Services is recruiting residents to be trained as Community Health
Workers. Community Health Workers [CHW]
guide adults in learning chronic condition self-management skills. The Community Health Workers conduct
workshops in the areas where they live. “We are looking for adults that have a
chronic condition or a partner/family member caring for someone with a chronic
condition to become the CHWs,” stated Dr. Dean Kelaita, County Health
Officer. The participants will learn the
Healthier Living model developed by Stanford University. The strength of the model is that the CHWs
are people in the community who also have chronic conditions and have been
trained in self-management skills that include physical activity, reducing
stress, healthy eating and
communication with your doctor. This is
an opportunity for local residents to gain personal skills in managing a
chronic condition and support building skills with others.
“A chronic condition
is a health problem like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis,
depression or diabetes,” continued Dr. Kelaita.
Chronic conditions are ongoing medical conditions that can shorten lives
if not managed. They can limit a person
doing everyday activities. In
California, 14 million adults [38%] live with at least one chronic
condition.
Helping patients to
make good choices and practice healthy behaviors requires a relationship
between the medical providers, patients and their families. Medical providers rely on their patients to
follow their recommendations but only have a short time to spend teaching their
patients self-management skills. In the
workshop, people learn how to build skills and gain the confidence they need to
lead healthier lives. Health or medical
experience is not required.
There is no-cost to
be trained. It requires a 4 day, 8 hours
per day initial commitment to complete the training. The four day training will be held in San
Andreas on July 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th. There is a commitment after being trained to
conduct two workshop series a year in the communities where the CHWs live.
You must register in
advance to attend the training. For
registration information, contact Public Health Services at 209.754.6460 or
visit the Public Health website for the application at www.calaveraspublichealth.com. The training and workshops are funded by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Prevention and Public
Health Fund, as part of the California Community Transformation Initiative, a
project of the Public Health Institute.
