What is a Promotor or Community Health Worker (CHW)?
A Promotor or Community Health Worker is a frontline public health worker person who, with or without compensation, serves as a liaison and provides cultural mediation between health care and social services and the community. A promotor or community health worker is a trusted community member who has a close understanding of the ethnicity, language, socio-economic status, and life experiences of the community served. A promotor or community health worker assists people in gaining access to needed services and builds individual, community, and system capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, patient navigation and follow-up, community health education and information, informal counseling, social support, advocacy, and participation in clinical research.
What does the Promotor or Community Health Worker (CHW) Training and Certification Program provide?
In collaboration with the West Texas AHEC Program Office, training is offered to become a Certified Community Health Worker (CHW). The Community Health Worker Certification Course provides 160 contact training hours on the following eight core competencies: Communication, Teaching, Interpersonal Skills, Service Coordination, Capacity Building, Advocacy, Organization, and Knowledge Base and is certified by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Who can become a CHW?
- Everyday people who want to make a difference
- Anyone who is at least 18 years old
- Anyone with a high school diploma or GED (required)
160 Hour Certification Course Registration Information and Fees:
- Tuition waiver may be available - contact Stephanie Loya at sloya@wtamu.edu.
CHW Online CEU Series - Behavioral Health
The CHW Online CEU Series in Behavioral Health is certified by the Texas Department of State Health Services and offers 12 DSHS-Approved CEU hours towards CHW recertification.
- Topics include:
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- Addictions
- Crisis Intervention
- Ethics
- Intro to Group Counseling
- Intro to Personalities
- Life Span Development
- Physiological Psychology
For more information on the Community Health Worker Course or CHW continuing education opportunities, contact: Stephanie Loya at: (806) 651-3482 or by email at sloya@wtamu.edu