The
Calaveras County Public Health Department is recruiting residents to
participate in a training to become Community Health Workers. The Community Health Workers teach chronic
condition self-management skills to people in their community. “We are looking for adults that have a
chronic condition or a partner/family member caring for someone with a chronic
condition,” stated Dr. Dean Kelaita, County Health Officer. The participants will learn a workshop model
developed by Stanford University. The
strength of the model is that trainers are people in our community who also
have chronic conditions but 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 confidence in managing a chronic condition and
building the skills with others.
“A
chronic condition is a health problem like high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, or diabetes,” continued Dr. Kelaita. Chronic conditions are ongoing medical
conditions that can shorten lives if not managed. They can limit the ability of people to
engage in normal activities. In
California, 14 million adults [38%] live with at least one chronic
condition. More than half of them have
multiple chronic conditions.
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 the skills and gain the confidence they
need to lead healthier lives. The new
Community Health Worker supports the information a patient receives from the
medical provider. Health or medical
experience is not required to become a Community Health Worker.
The
training is no-cost. It requires a 4
day, 8 hours per day commitment of time to complete. The training dates are Monday and Tuesday
September 23rd and 24th and Thursday and Friday September
26th and 27th. The
Community Health Workers are trained and certified to teach self-management
skills. There is a commitment to conduct
two workshop series a year in the communities where the workers live. Each workshop has 6 sessions. Each session is 2.5 hours.
You
must register in advance to attend the training. For registration information, contact the
Mother Lode Office of Catholic Charities at 209.532.7632. The Public Health Department training and
workshops are funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part
of the California Community Transformation Initiative, a project of the Public
Health Institute.
