Wyoming Rural Health Institute Launches Community Health Worker Training Program at UW

The Wyoming Rural Health Institute has launched a Community Health Worker Training Program in the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences. The initiative is designed to create new career pathways in health care and to expand Wyoming’s workforce focused on improving access to and utilization of care.

Community health workers (CHWs) work within communities as front-line agents of change, helping people navigate the health care system, incorporate health behavior change into their lives, and work toward overall health and wellness. As nonclinical professionals who live in and represent the communities they serve, CHWs provide patient education, serve as patient advocates and help community members navigate the health care and social services systems.

This emerging profession is particularly impactful in rural communities, but many states do not have formal, statewide training and certification programs.

UW’s CHW Training Program is online and asynchronous, consisting of four mini courses that can be completed in just six months. Learners obtain competencies in eight areas, ranging from upholding professional standards of the CHW profession to creating conditions that facilitate community-level health and wellness change. 

“We are thrilled to have now launched the second cohort of trainees in the program,” says Bryant Smalley, executive director of the Wyoming Rural Health Institute within the UW College of Health Sciences and principal investigator of the grant funding the program. “Expanding access to CHWs is an evidence-based way to improve health outcomes in communities that experience health inequities, including rural and frontier communities, and our hope is that this new career pathway will open opportunities for employment and improved patient outcomes.”

Across the two cohorts, nearly 50 trainees have begun the educational program, including learners from across Wyoming. For trainees who are residents of Wyoming, the program can be completed at no cost through the funding provided by the grant. Trainees also are eligible to receive support for school supplies and can complete a paid apprenticeship upon completion of the program’s coursework.

“As a critical new entry-level health profession, community health workers offer the opportunity to grow the health care workforce in Wyoming,” says Jacob Warren, dean of UW’s College of Health Sciences. “Through this program, we are excited to further expand the college’s central mission of providing health and wellness professionals for all of Wyoming.”

To learn more about UW’s CHW Training Program, visit www.uwyo.edu/hs/chw or email chw@uwyo.edu.

The program is supported by grant T29HP46748 through the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) -- $3 million in federal funds. The statements in this release do not reflect the opinions of HRSA, the Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. government.

About the Wyoming Rural Health Institute

The Wyoming Rural Health Institute is an interdisciplinary hub of rural and frontier health-related research, training and community engagement supported by more than $8 million in federal funding.

Through partnerships with local, state and national entities, the institute focuses on discovering, implementing and researching the impact of innovations in rural and frontier health.

About UW’s College of Health Sciences

UW’s College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech-language pathology, social work, kinesiology, public health, health administration and disability studies. The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and Cheyenne, as well as operating a speech/hearing clinic in Laramie and primary care clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.

With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and frontier populations.