| Academic Programs |
(11-13 credits)
Purpose: Designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in community health and social service agencies. Community health workers provide basic health advising and promotion and link community members to health and social service systems.
Program information: This certificate provides a blend of didactic and field-based learning that incorporates effective training environments for learners interested in being community health workers. Community health workers act as culture broker between their own community and systems of care. Community health workers perform a broad range of health-related functions and play an important role in bridging the gap between cultures and healthcare systems. They work with health care organizations to increase cultural competence, improve access to health care for racial and ethnic minorities, improve the quality of care for the chronically ill, promote health communities, and educate families about access to and use of health care coverage. Students complete 11 to 13 credits semester credits and will learn six basic core competencies to prepare them for employment as a community health worker.
Historically, training and education for community health workers has been provided on the job. Recently the Community Health Worker National Education Collaborative was formed to provide a post-secondary curriculum of core competencies that are standardized. MnSCU is one of six national Core Technical Assistance Institutions that develop the best practice methods and resource materials to support other higher education institutions in responding to the need for community health workers.
Admission criteria: Requires a high school diploma or GED. Students must be fluent in a primary language, and assessment into EAP/READ 0093/0094 or above is required.
CMHW 1000 The Community Health Worker Role: Advocacy and Outreach, 2cr
CMHW 1015 Organization and Resources: Community and Personal Strategies, 1cr
CMHW 1025 Community Health Worker’s Role in Teaching and Capacity Building, 2cr
CMHW 1035 The Community Health Worker: Legal and Ethical Responsibilities, 1cr
CMHW 1045 Community Health Worker: Coordination, Documentation, and Reporting, 1cr
CMHW 1055 Communication Skills and Cultural Competence, 2cr, or
HSER 1104 Multicultural Awareness in the Helping Profession, 3cr
CMHW 1060 Community Health Worker Internship, 2-3cr
For more information call an admissions representative at 651/450-3000 or send us your question.