On Thursday, September 22, 2022, Hostos Community College’s Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) was awarded a three-year $3 million Health Careers Opportunity Program grant to support its Community Health Worker Training Program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW).
Over the three-year grant period, Hostos CEWD will train 270 new and/or incumbent workers as Community Health Workers. Trainees will have the opportunity to participate in either a CHW field placement experience or Hostos CEWD’s New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Registered CHW Apprenticeship Program. The Hostos CHW Training Program will also help eligible participants obtain credit for prior learning that can be applied to their college transcript when they enroll in a Hostos degree program. In addition, Hostos CEWD will provide comprehensive student support services, which includes assisting participants with textbooks, childcare, transportation (if needed), and providing them with a stipend.
Hostos CEWD is committed to providing high quality CHW training as well as partnering with employers to help them meet their CHW workforce needs. Hostos CEWD first developed its CHW training program in 2012 as part of CUNY CareerPATH, an initiative funded by the US Department of Labors’ Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant. In 2013, a credit articulation agreement was signed to allow CHW students to earn up to nine (9) academic credits towards an A.S. degree in Community Health at Hostos. In Spring 2017, Hostos CEWD further expanded its program by establishing a NYSDOL Registered CHW Apprenticeship Program. The apprenticeship program has allowed Hostos CEWD to partner with employers who want to fill vacancies by having their staff participate in the CHW apprenticeship program.
Hostos CEWD’s long-term goal is to increase the number of skilled Community Health Workers locally and regionally; as well as, creating an industry “gold standard” for training CHWs.
“This award confirms Hostos CEWD’s long standing commitment to educating Community Health Workers,” said Dr. Evelyn Fernández-Ketcham, Vice President for the Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development at Hostos. “By 2025, Hostos CEWD will have trained over 550 Community Health Workers thanks to the financial support we have received from HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce, the Robinhood Foundation, and the Mother Cabrini Foundation. In addition, support from industry partners such as the Montefiore Community Health Systems Lab and the Department of Family and Social Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will continue to be critical to our success. In honor of the “Promotores” that started this work, we forge ahead to train Community Health Workers.”